Georgia Randles

What first drew me to focusing my concept on traditional and contemporary sailing materials was when I first started looking at the history of Helly Hansen. When first researching the origin of Helly Hansen, I was particularly intrigued by how Helly Juell Hansen first produced their products. They first started making oilskin jackets and sou’westers in 1877 from natural materials such as coarse linen that had been soaked in linseed oil, this was incredibly innovative at the time and since then Helly Hansen have continued to be innovative for their apparel. After discovering this I decided to research traditional sailing and discover what resources and garments these sailors and fishermen had when sailing during the 19th - 20th Century. 

Firstly, the traditional sailing materials that were used came mainly from natural fibres; these materials included jute, hemp rope, linen and cotton. Jute is a form of flax and comes from the Bast Fiber which is long, soft and shiny and can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is one of the most affordable natural fibers, and composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose and lignin. Flax canvas is essentially of double warp, for it is invariably intended to withstand pressure or rough usage. Hemp was used for ropes and sails on many ships including those of Christopher Columbus. It came from the cannabis sativa fields of patriotic American farmers who originally grew the fibrous crop for the British; hemp was important during the Revolutionary War. Linen is made from the fibers of the flax plant, and was a popular choice of sailcloth due to it being strong, absorbent and it dried faster than cotton. Cotton sails first became popular in Europe after 1851. It replaced flax fibres as cotton sails were very stiff making them difficult to handle, and were overall better quality. Cotton was light and was easy to produce as sails were getting bigger. Although, due to cotton being a natural fibre it had a poor resistance to rot, UV Light and water absorption. Some of these natural materials are still used for sailcloth and sailing materials today. After researching these materials, it made me start to think of how I could improve the weaker characteristics of the natural fabrics to make them waterproof or resistant to UV Light. To gain an in depth view of traditional sailing I researched what the conditions researched into different types of traditional garments that fisherman, sailors and naval officers, such as the Guernsey Jumper, the Peacoat, the Waterproof Mac, and the N-1 Deck Jacket. Looking at these garments helped give me an idea of what shapes, functions and fastenings would be good for sailing. 

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