What Makes Me Tick

(originally posted on WP 8/11/20.)

tick·ing
/ˈtikiNG/
noun: ticking; plural noun: tickings
    1.    a strong, durable material, typically striped, used to cover mattresses and pillows.


Many of us are familiar with ticking fabrics.  I’ve loved their country-style simplicity for a long time.

Some ticking fabric samples, from my sewing cupboard, and the remaining yardage from some curtains and a shower curtain.

But, do we really know ticking?

Turns out that the ticking fabrics we usually come across in the typical fabric store aren’t *woven* ticking, they are plain weave fabrics *printed* with a ticking pattern.

I’ve noticed this before, of course, but didn’t think too much about it, never really wondering if ticking was *always* printed, or if, in its history, the pattern was ever loom-woven.  But, as I am weaving again, I am noticing things which escaped attention before, like fabric construction.

Now, this is woven ticking.

And, BTW, that French mattress is to die for!  Especially if it is stuffed with either a feather/down mix or organic cotton.  Just makes me want to curl up on it under a cozy  handwoven or handknit afghan, and take a nap.

SO much nicer than the 10 or more old mattresses we had to haul down and out of the 2 attics in the Saugerties antique when we moved there in ‘94 (yup, 2 attics) and into one of the 2 huge dumpsters we had to rent to clear the crap out of that house.

If you’ve ever seen 'My Favorite Wife’, with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant then you’ll know what those old mattresses looked like.  

Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence of those mattresses, which were surely covered in real ticking, as I was far too busy also pulling up 10+ rooms of musty old carpets and pulling hundreds of nails and carpet tacks.

Is it a big deal?  No bigger a deal that most things which we can need to not really pay much attention to, because more important matters are always begging for our attention.  But once we begin to notice something, we can need to keep delving (LOL, or at least *I* can need to!), to discover as much of its story as possible.

Sites mentioning bits of ticking history:
http://www.lorangerieshop.com/2016/09/26/mattress-ticking/
https://www.debrahalllifestyle.com/its-all-about-ticking-stripes/
https://www.textiletrunk.com/ticking

Then I found this site – possibly more than you’d ever want to know about the humble ticking!

(Fustion is mentioned being woven with a linen warp and cotton weft, when cotton is so much easier to warp and tension, than linen. The yarn placements could be reversed, at least in a balanced plain weave fabric, where warp gets no more emphasis, and hence wear, than weft.  One reason Swedish weavers warp with Cottolin, then weave with linen.  No-one needs a warping battle on their hands.)

Here’s some more tickings, *very* few of which are made here in the US.

Ralph Lauren (woven) ticking, linen and cotton, made in India, $156.80/yd.  Ha, couldn’t it be made here in the US for $156/yd??

Ashton ticking, polyester and acrylic (ugh), made in China.

Waverly, 100% cotton, made in China.

Waverly tickings are made in either the US or China, depending on the colorway. Regardless, they are printed, not woven patterns.

Charlotte Fabrics, cotton/poly, made in India.

Even before I did this bit of digging into ticking (say that fast 10x!), I had already decided to add ticking to the To Weave list.  Either cotton warp with linen weft, or more likely using Cottolin for both warp and weft.  LOL, after I buy another 500-600 heddles, because wowza, about 40” of width at 24 epi (ends per inch)…

But what a simple yet beautifully classic fabric that would last (almost) forever, to cover throw pillows, be sewn into curtains or valances, and cover chair pads, as well as tea towels.  I may need to live forever, to get to all I want to weave!

Onward,
Dawn