Greg Biggs, & whomever,

Linen thread has been around since the invention or the manufacture of lace, pre written history. Some time in the 15th Century silk & cotton entered into history for making lace, thread, yarn etc. in Europe. Z-twist or S-twist (left or right twist) linen thread is not a reliable method of dating cloth, by just that one factor alone, dating could be off by 100 years or so. Maybe the number of twist, would give you a 50 year window. However during this time period you had homemade thread and sometime in 1600, manufacturing of thread & yarn entered in the Northeast of what is now the U. S.. The number of twist and direction, left or right, depending on how it was made and by whom.

Linen thread and silk thread was widely replaced with the mercerizing of cotton thread and yarn in the 19th Century. 1844 pops in my head as the invention date of mercerizing of cotton but I could be off a year or two without pulling out the school books. Because of the superior strength of mercerized cotton thread over linen or silk thread it was widely used in sewing machines from the 1850’s both home use and manufacturing thread, yarn mills.

Maybe a local University or State University if they have a Textile department that could help Wox date the flag with a more reliable dating methods.

Happy Trails!
Tom Martin
www.Piedmontflag.com
www.Confederate-flags.org