Recommended Fabrics
Recommended clothing choices for Factor e Farm and environments with manual washing and high climate variance.
- WOOL: Merino wool is an ideal fabric for Factor e Farm. Wool insulates when wet, and when thin is good all seasons and dries quickly and can be effectively layered. It is odor resistant and has natural antibacterial properties. Merino Wool is fairly expensive, but recommended as a material for boxers, socks, undershirts, and midlayer (below jacket), and when cycled frequently can minimize the number of garments necessary. Inexpensive wool can also be purchased and "worsted" (boiled). Worsted wool gloves are worn by lobster fisherman in wet demanding environments. A similar but lighter material is used for traditional military pants.
- Wool Care: Wool technical garments are easily and quickly hand washed and can be light machine washed with the least power usage. Wool being animal hair, is cleaned with a similar PH to human hair and so can be washed in a sink easily with shampoo or mild soaps. It requires no agitation and can be washed quickly in cool or warm water. Wool also does the best when washing is not available. Allow the garment to dry. Shake it out thoroughly and re-wear a day or two later. It is better to dry NOT in the sun, as when wet, it may degrade the fabric. Heat drying may promote shrinkage. http://www.icebreaker.com and http://www.smartwool.com/ are two brands of commercial available wool garments for base layers. Thicker traditional wool garments can be found inexpensively. Additional care must be required to dry thicker wool garments laying flat, however wool mid or outer layers may be laundered infrequently.
- LINEN: Linen is recommended for VERY hot days at factor e farm. You will find it is much more bearable than cotton shirts and pants. Linen dries quickly in or out of the sun.
- COTTON: Cotton dries slowly, and requires significant agitation to clean, does not insulate well when wet, and will quickly develop a smell as an underlayer. It is however the most durable fabric both for working and for commercial washing. It is also the cheapest. Cotton is recommended for overshirts, jackets and pants used in work areas. Cotton should be dried in the sun when possible.
- SYNTHETICS: There are some technical fabrics that are very good at heat regulation, odor resistance and washability. Others are not. The best are often expensive. It is NOT recommend to wear synthetic materials in a construction environment. Synthetics are very hazardous in environments where they could burn or come in contact with hot materials. For this reason it is not recommend to wear polyester or nylon in any construction areas. They are very lightweight for hiking, and can be made breathable for hot temperatures. They also have a good use in dress shirts and pants http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1850124313/ministry-of-supply-the-future-of-dress-shirts , http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/594084262/pants-by-bluff-works
See also Laundry
