| Abstrakt: |
The production and functional properties of sinew thread are integral to the creation of Arctic clothing, both in the strength of the thread itself and also how it was sewn into garments. To evaluate these properties, nineteenth-century Iñupiaq garments produced for daily wear and part of the Edward W. Nelson Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History were examined. All clothing was constructed with only two stitch types: overcast and running stitch. Stress-bearing seams were created exclusively with overcast stitch, primarily using a Z-twist sinew thread. Conversely, only minor seams of what appear to be repairs or attachment of trim were sewn with a running stitch. To explain these differences, reproductions of historical clothing pieces using overcast-stitch seams were undertaken, and evaluation of the strength of flat and twisted sinew thread was compared to that of modern cellulose threads. While linen thread is significantly stronger than cotton and sinew, twisted sinew is equivalent in strength to cotton. Twisting sinew increases its pliability and durability, although experimentation showed that this weakens its strength compared to flat sinew. Conversely, flat sinew is stiff and tends to delaminate and tangle. Overcast-stitch seams proved to be extremely durable; when replicated using various thread types, they held up to stress tests better than the hide pieces they were securing. The hide was more likely to fail than the seams, which is a testament both to the inherent strength and durability of the sinew thread design and the method of seam construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
