craigie wrote:The local wool shop will see you right! Failing that a horses mane is a sure fire resource
Horse hair is too stiff and thick to serve as IT
Mandrake is correct, the long hair of a young lady was the original IT and has withstood the test of time, given that it was still the thing to use well into the 1950s and 60s as the monofilament and nylon type threads had yet to be developed (another gift of the post war era); human hair & black thread were the standard for centuries, it seems.
The use of Panty Hose strands started in the mid-70s if I remember correctly and then came "wooly nylon" in the 1990s (a.k.a. elastic IT).
I'm aware of a new thread that is slated to hit the market sometime in the next couple of years, that's actually made from the saliva of a particular fish (I want to say the "Lung Fish"), a strand half the thickness of a human hair can move over 50 lbs in direct weight . . . it's probably going to be bloody expensive at first but can you imagine the things we'll be able to get away with

This is the sheep & spider DNA based fibers look to be the most promising for the next generation of IT because of their strength.