As i promise in my introduction thread i now give you some information about the Loden.
Here in Austria Loden is a very common fabric used for many kind of clothes.
Historicaly Loden was used by the farmers in the alpine Regions of Austria and Bavaria.
First it wa used as a very weather and water restistant fabric for Coats,Trousers and Jackets worn by forest workers,hunters,farmers.
Under the Austrian Archduke Johann, wich was a avid hunter,Loden became very popular.
Since then there is a special kind of Loden called "Erzherzog Johann Loden" because he was the first of the aristrocrats wich wore this fabric.
In this time Loden was something for the more poorer population in Austria.
When the Archduke startet to wear this kind of cloth everyone wants to have it.
Basically Loden in Austria is used for so called "Trachten".This is comparable to the scottish highland dress.But we dont wear kilts and sporrans in Austria
In Austria we call it "Trachtenanzug" (Trachten suit):
please click the picture to see it bigger.
This is a typical Trachen suit or as we called it "Steireranzug" because this style was developed in Styria.
Every region in Austria have different styles of suits and colors. I will soon post a picture of mine then u can see the different.
Now to the making of Loden. I have to confess that i cant translate all of the technical terms by myselfe. So i went to wikipedia and came up with this explanation:
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers that form the structure of the fabric. In the process of feltmaking, wool fibers shrink and come together to form a dense mat when subjected to heat, friction and a change of alkalinity.
Felt is the oldest form of fabric known to man. It predates weaving and knitting, although there is archaelogical evidence from the British museum that the first known thread was made by winding vegetable fibres on the thigh. Felt dates back to at least 6,500 BC where remains were found in Turkey. Highly sophisticated felted artifacts were found preserved in permafrost in a tomb in Siberia and dated to 600 AD.
Many cultures have legends as to the origins of feltmaking. The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks. It is said that Noah's Ark was lined with fleece and the combination of urine and the trampling animals left behind a felted wool carpet. Felt is now widely used as a medium for expression in textile art as well as design, where it has significance as an ecological textile.
Felt is made by a process called wet felting, where the natural wool fibre is stimulated by friction and lubricated by moisture (usually water), and the fibres move at a 90 degree angle towards the friction source and then away again, in effect making little "tacking" stitches. Only 5% of the fibres are active at any one moment, but the process is continual, and so different 'sets' of fibres become activated and then deactivated in the continual process.
This "wet" process utilises the inherent nature of wool and other animal hairs, because the hairs have scales on them which are directional. The hairs also have kinks in them, and this combination of scales (like the structure of a pine cone) are what react to the stimulation of friction and cause the phenomenon of felting. It tends to work well only with woolen fibres as their scales, when aggravated, bond together to form a cloth.
Knitted woollen garments which shrink in a hot machine wash can be said to have felted — an example of how the fibres bond together when combined with the movement of the washing machine, the heat of the water, and the addition of soap. Therefore, woolen clothes should only be hand-washed or machine-washed in cold water.
Cheaper felt is usually man-made. Man-made felt, if made using the wet method, has a minimum of 30% of wool fibres combined with other manmade fibres. This is the minimum required to hold a fabric together with the fibres alone. It would be difficult to achieve a stable fabric by hand at this ratio. All other wholly man-made felts are actually needle-felts.
Needle-felt is a man-made form created by the use of barbed needles forcing groups of fibres through a web of carded fibres to create a non woven fabric structure. This is not true felt.
Loden is a type of felt originally worn in the Alpine regions, which has recently gained worldwide acceptance as a textile for fine and durable clothing.
A very famous Loden producer in Austria is here: (available in english)
http://www.loden-steiner.at/lodensteiner/index.html
There i buy most of my Loden fabrics. He has a great range of colours and weights.
From really rough heavy weights to light weight flanell like types.
I use the lighter Loden as alternative to flanell because here in Austria its almost impossible to get good english flanell.
So i hope you get a little idea what Loden is.
If you have any question i will be happy to answer them as far as i can !
Herbert K.
edit:
In aonther post i saw even the duke of windsor wear a Trachten Suit:
http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=4923