# Swiss Voile Alternatives? (biab)



## huscre (17/6/09)

I went to my local spotlight yesterday (Wollongong) on search for swiss voile. I looked around for 15mins but couldn't find it. So I asked the lady at the counter where they keep it. She said they don't stock swiss voile, "it would be very high quality and prohibitively expensive".
Istead she sold me some other voile. ("bohemian voile" comes to mind but I think I'm mixing my textiles with my beers.. figuratively.. not literally yet). It looks like calico and says it's 100% cotton .

After further research (eg. here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ic=29970&hl=) I'm thnking cotton won't work and I need 100% polyester? The BIAB instructions mention "100% swiss voile", but that doesn't specify what the 100% means. 100% nylon? 100% cotton? 100% polyester? 100% swiss?

Now does anybody know of another material that will work since they don't sell swiss voile in wollongong and I'm not about to drive to Bondi to buy $6 of fabric? Surely someone's had good experiences with other materials right?

Thanks, and sorry for the boring question.


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## Bribie G (17/6/09)

AFAIK it's 100% polyester but if you could get a nylon version that would probably do as well. Look for a very fine 'sheer' curtain material like they make net curtains from. Apart from that I don't know what else it would be called:


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## Pollux (17/6/09)

You want the poly swiss voile, it's in the curtain section....

Someone posted the PLU number somewhere once, I think it was in the BIAB thread. Go in with that in handy and ask them try again.

It's not expensive, it's like $6-8 a metre.


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## Pollux (17/6/09)

Found it


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## Bribie G (17/6/09)

I think the fabric lady got confused with another fabric called Swiss Voile that is a sort of lace, and very expensive. A few people have experienced this confusion, yes it should be in the curtain section.


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## Sammus (17/6/09)

huscre said:


> I went to my local spotlight yesterday (Wollongong) on search for swiss voile. I looked around for 15mins but couldn't find it. So I asked the lady at the counter where they keep it. She said they don't stock swiss voile, "it would be very high quality and prohibitively expensive".
> Istead she sold me some other voile. ("bohemian voile" comes to mind but I think I'm mixing my textiles with my beers.. figuratively.. not literally yet). It looks like calico and says it's 100% cotton .
> 
> After further research (eg. here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ic=29970&hl=) I'm thnking cotton won't work and I need 100% polyester? The BIAB instructions mention "100% swiss voile", but that doesn't specify what the 100% means. 100% nylon? 100% cotton? 100% polyester? 100% swiss?
> ...




Yeah she's full of it. The girls at spotlight here are clueless, its frustrating. My gf runs a clothing design/construction and alteration business so I'm always in with there. It's with the curtain fabric, and it costs all of about $6 per metre.


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## muckey (17/6/09)

from someone who doesnt biab but had a little to do with textiles once.

I'd say the polyester would be better than nylon. considering polyester is normally dyed at 130degrees C I think it'll put up with boiling wort no probs


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## crundle (17/6/09)

I had similar issues finding swiss voile in Adelaide at Spotlight, the younger attendants there knew nothing about it, but the older people did. You will find it in the curtain section, it is a very sheer, shimmery material, and is 100% polyester, NOT cotton.

Being in Wollongong also, perhaps Sammus might be able to PM you with details of where exactly in the store it is?

Crundle


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## Bribie G (17/6/09)

Muckey said:


> from someone who doesnt biab but had a little to do with textiles once.
> 
> I'd say the polyester would be better than nylon. considering polyester is normally dyed at 130degrees C I think it'll put up with *boiling wort* no probs



The BIAB bag is removed before the wort is boiled so usually never experiences temps of over 70 degrees. However the poly would certainly be resistant to other forms of 'rot' which would be a worry with cotton. My bag has done 30 brews and is still in excellent nick.


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## Sammus (17/6/09)

crundle said:


> I had similar issues finding swiss voile in Adelaide at Spotlight, the younger attendants there knew nothing about it, but the older people did. You will find it in the curtain section, it is a very sheer, shimmery material, and is 100% polyester, NOT cotton.
> 
> Being in Wollongong also, perhaps Sammus might be able to PM you with details of where exactly in the store it is?
> 
> Crundle



Naw I got mine from newcastle. Rarely use it though (is part of a never ending build of a compace 10L system I am/was building for a friend ). I ust wanted to vent about the annoying spotlight ladies in the gong.


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## muckey (17/6/09)

hey bribie, did you give the bag any special treatment when you first used it, other than a wash?

just wondering noting some of the treatments that fabrics sometimes get


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## huscre (17/6/09)

Thanks for all the info guys,

I've printed out the picture of the fabric tag and I'll head back in there in my lunch break.

Hey sammus, great to see an experienced brewer in the area, BTW did you realise you just reached 2000 posts?


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## Sammus (17/6/09)

Well whatdya know, I did too. I'm not sure I want to click the send button anymore 

Oh and BTW, there are lots of experienced brewers here. You should update your info, let us know where you're from. I'll introduce you to some of the local brewers.


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## huscre (17/6/09)

Profile updated, thanks for the info!
Yeah I'd be very keen to meet the local brewers, I'll PM you.


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## crundle (17/6/09)

Yay! More brewers united!

I wonder if AHB has a facebook group?

No treatment given to my swiss voile bag other than on brewday, being immersed in mash temperature water. It is a bit stained now though after making some stouts and porters, but still working well. I throw it in the washing machine every now and then to clean it up.

Crundle


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## pdilley (17/6/09)

I bought both the nylon and the polyester from the Gong's spotlight.

Take lift or stairs up. Go stand in front of counter. Tweedle Dee is on the left, Tweedle Dum is on the right.

Stand in front of Tweedle Dee, behind her are table of fabric rolls going back to the end of the store. When the tables behind her breaks into an open walkway and the continue on, the last table before the break had all the swiss voile rolls. White and ivory were there and I found nylon 1st time but then the following day found polyester on the same table.


Cheets,
Brewer Pete


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## PostModern (17/6/09)

crundle said:


> I wonder if AHB has a facebook group?



The Illawarra Brewers Union do.

huscre, you should now also be able to see the IBU club forum here on AHB.

We'll tell you about the Voile alternatives in there


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## apd (17/6/09)

huscre said:


> Surely someone's had good experiences with other materials right?



Muslin works well. I'm too lazy to get it sewn into a bag so I just have a 1x2m piece, doubled over and draped into the pot. A few wooden pegs around the lip hold it in place. Super easy to clean. I think it was about $4 per metre.



Andrew


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## huscre (17/6/09)

Yee Haa I found it in spotlight! Brewer Pete was extremely accurate in his details, though I think Tweedle Dum was off today. Still I found the table and it had numerous rolls of polyester swiss voile with slightly differing thread spacing. I went for an Ivory which looks practically white. Tweedle dee cut it up for me and I was on my way!

It was $6.99 per meter.

PS. I joined the IBU facebook group! <-edited


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## [email protected] (21/11/09)

huscre said:


> think Tweedle Dum was off today.
> It was $6.99 per meter.
> 
> A relative, Tweedle Dumber works in spolight in Christcurch NZ, my wife went in for Swiss Voile, was told that they 'don't stock that stuff' and was sold 'bahaman voile' 'which is just the same', a tan coloured lightweight cotton thats going to rip the instant you put your grain in the bag!
> ...


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## SpillsMostOfIt (21/11/09)

I cannot say for sure, as it is now three years old, but I think my original baggie is made of nylon voile. I have a big chunk of polyester voile that I bought to line the Pebble Bed Mash Tun and intend making a new baggie with, but...

Wikipedia reckons nylon has a melting point of over 250degC. That should be enough if you're just mashing in it...


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## Blitzer (31/1/14)

Quick question, has anyone tried the new Craftbrewer BIAB bags, they apparently have new design with a more open weave? Do they drain better than the previous design. Currently limited in the size of my beer as I will put my back out if I have 10kg of grain in there


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## SNippets01 (31/1/14)

apd said:


> Muslin works well. I'm too lazy to get it sewn into a bag so I just have a 1x2m piece, doubled over and draped into the pot. A few wooden pegs around the lip hold it in place. Super easy to clean. I think it was about $4 per metre.
> 
> 
> 
> Andrew


This is what I have done as well, super cheap and have not had any issues at all since. (over a year).


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## Rambo (31/1/14)

I've used one for the last few brews. Drains well, similar to the voille I was using in my 9 litre setup. Didn't have the original, so not sure how it compares.


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## Lodan (31/1/14)

Blitzer said:


> Quick question, has anyone tried the new Craftbrewer BIAB bags, they apparently have new design with a more open weave? Do they drain better than the previous design. Currently limited in the size of my beer as I will put my back out if I have 10kg of grain in there


I had the old bag and now use the new. 

The bag is more free draining than previous. When i first got it i noticed the stitching, particularly the loops at the top, was a better quality too. Five brews and going strong


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## Scooby Tha Newbie (31/1/14)

Swiss works very well. One trick is to sew it but use inside out. Use nylon thread. Even if your hopeless at sewing (I am) inside out it works a treat. 
PS. I was using the mother in laws sewing machine. It WAS Stressfull but makes beer.


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## spog (31/1/14)

Scooby Tha Newbie said:


> Swiss works very well. One trick is to sew it but use inside out. Use nylon thread. Even if your hopeless at sewing (I am) inside out it works a treat.
> PS. I was using the mother in laws sewing machine. It WAS Stressfull but makes beer.


I bet the mother inlaw was pissing her self laughing


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## Rambo (31/1/14)

I was going to sew one myself, but when I saw the quality of the seams in this bag I was happy to pay a few extra dollars. If the voille was on sale when I needed it again, I'd probably have gone with the Bribie method of just cutting a huge circle to fit the pot/urn.


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## kz412 (3/7/14)

Sorry for the necromancy... this seemed like the appropriate thread to ask. 

I have a couple of metres of what I was told is Swiss Voile that I got in a bunch of odds and ends from the bloke I bought my current setup from, only it's brown, not white. 

Girlfriend's kindly offered to sew me up a new bag this week, so was wondering if anyone sees any issues with this material, or should I be making a trip up to Spotlight?


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## spog (3/7/14)

Bung it in a large pot of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes,this should loosen any dye in it,if a "lot" of dye colours the water pay spotlight a visit..
Cheers....spog....


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## joshuahardie (4/7/14)

I have some old bags that have turned brown from years of use. if that is likely it, then no problem


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## Suzie555 (7/10/14)

Light penetrating fabric - Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 100% cotton or cotton blends. The term Voile comes from French, and means _veil__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_. 

The finest quality lady's cotton handkerchiefs used to be made of Swiss voile with some embroidery in one corner.

Your intended use of the Swiss Voile is the important consideration. Muslim (yes that is the name of a type of fabric) would suffice as a cheaper alternative to Swiss Voile. The fabric muslim is still made today in India.

The fabric shop Country Bumpkin did stock voile last time I checked out their shop. They made use of it for delicate clothing for new born babies for summer clothing.
Tessuti in Melbourne Victoria (Australia) stock an amazing range of (expensive) fabrics but if anyone could track down Swiss voile they could.

I used to shop at Spotlight but often their staff knowledge of fabrics is deficient and they keep a narrow range of more specialised fabrics. Instead I find that Etsy.com can supply all the fabrics I really want

Robia voile is often available on etsy.com and I love it made into summer weight tops leaving the sleeves unlined but lining the bodice front and back as it is a see through fabric. Robia voile is also a perfect fabric for babies and girls summer dresses. Due to the raised dots on Robia voile is a lovely fabric to use for smocking applied to the fabric. 

If you search for a history of fabrics you will find that there used to be a difference between Swiss Voile which was always the more expensive Voile and Singapore Voile which used to be readily available in years gone by and was the cheaper version of Swiss Voile. 

I have attached a picture of Robia voile.


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## Suzie555 (8/10/14)

PS.
Depending on your intended use Cheesecloth is an even cheaper version of fabric that is often used for many other uses, other than just for clothing. 
Some people call Cheesecloth the name Gauze instead.
Cheesecloth and Gauze are very available in India.

And might suffice instead of Swiss Voile which was always the RollsRoyce of the voile fabrics.

I have attached a picture of cheesecloth aka gauze


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