Linothorax vs Quilted linen vs spolas

[Matt Lukes]

It isn't soft. If layered textiles is quilted correctly the result can be extremely rigid. The stiffness of the product can be altered by the number of layers and the closeness of the rows of stitches. Take a look at modern kendo armour. The armour can be made even more resistant by rotating each layer so that the weft and warp of each layer run in different directions. Conversely, as soon as you add cross stitching to the vertical rows of quilting, the level of protection actually reduces. No idea why.

It's not soft relative to the same fabric connected by hide glue? So then the difference is the extra fibres of the stitching- if extremely close together that would seem reasonable to be stronger than the microscopic fibres of the glue. And it further makes sense that rotating the layers could be stronger- many fabrics have single threads in one direction and double threads in the other.

But man, it sure must be labour-intensive to do that much sewing...