Burial shroud

To clarify, my grandmother was dressed in a simple shroud but was her body was buried in a coffin.

It certainly is not 'horrible' to dress a body in a shroud....as suggested up thread.
My father died, very young, in the 1950's. I was ten years old.
For three days his body was in an open coffin at home.
I remember thinking how serene and beautiful he looked. He was dressed in a beautiful white, silky shroud with a purple girdle around his waist.
Nothing horrible about that.
But we must all do what is right for us at the time.

The shrouds this Scottish lady was making were very thick wool and standalone... instead of and not inside a coffin. She embroidered some and they were lovely.
I asked for the cheapest coffin for my OH. It seemed a waste of money and good wood to do anything else.
My DDs chose what he would wear and I was not really happy with his lovely velvet jacket going in the ground but it seemed to be important to them so I went with the flow.
I do not see the point in expensive coffins. I asked about a wicker coffin thinking it might be cheaper but they were more expensive .... but probably more economical friendly as faster growing.

Eco friendly

I saw the woollen shrouds the Scottish lady was making and they were indeed beautiful, but I’m not sure you weren’t just a bit too “close” the body for my liking. I asked myself whether I would like to have been one of the pall bearers and the answer was no.
I chose a wicker coffin for DH (if it creaked, no-one was freaked by it!), and he was cremated in his (wool) suit and his regimental tie with his hands resting on a beloved stick he always walked with. Having been in uniform almost all his adult life, would have hated the idea of going to meet his maker dressed in a shroud.

Aldom I couldn't let my husband but be in anything but clothes. Everyone has there own opinion . We choose Dad's favourite suit shirt and tie his favourite tartan boxers and socks . Put mom in her favourite dress with a full underskirt as mom had had a double mastectomy,knickers and the funeral directors even put tights on for her.

I wanted my husband and parents to be in what they wore in life . My daughter knows I want to be cremated in my favourite clothes .

I couldn't cover my husband,or parents faces after they died don't know why I just couldn't do it . But when they went to the funeral home no one was allowed to see them again .
I bought the cheapest coffins as no point in spending lot of money on something that was going to be burnt .
I did say to my daughter I would just pay and have just a cremation but she wants a funeral so offered to pay for it now she said no that's her responsibility when I die and to spend the money on what I want know . So letting her have her way.

People have their own opinions on life and death. We are all different that's what makes like interesting.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I arranged direct cremation for Himself two months ago.
So an inexpensive coffin and probably a ‘horrid’ blue cotton shroud. What does it matter, really?

The undertaker (a family friend) and I were discussing wicker caskets.

I had been to a funeral 15 years ago when one of the coffins was carried in down the aisle of the church. It creaked. I couldn’t help thinking of a picnic basket.

The undertaker said unlike a wooden (sealed) coffin the air in wicker can circulate. Some funerals take weeks to organise due to circumstances, bodies decompose and the air can be quite pungent. Something I’d not realised.

We were advised not to get a wicker coffin for my sister because of the creaking.
Probably now due to the way she died, they probably thought it wouldn’t be a good idea. I never gave it a thought about the latter, only how pretty it would look with the flowers cascading over the top.

AuntieE to answer your question. Yes it is legal. Muslims are not buried in a coffin they are buried in a shroud.

I don;t think BUSTARD , which is a bird, would fit in the crossword.

Given that wicker coffins (like all others) are generally wheeled about these days I don't see how they will creak much at all.

... but I don't see why it matters if they do?

I'm determined to have as minimal a funeral as I can. I'm going for a direct cremation so hopefully can just have a shroud. I'm going to investigate avoiding a funeral directors, why can we just not go straight from the mortuary to the crem? I live near Hull where the dodgy funeral director who piled the bodies up was from!

If you are Greek Orthodox you would be wrapped in a shroud, in your coffin, of unbleached, undyed cotton or silk fabric. You would then be buried, not cremated. My mum’s shroud came from when she did a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We hadn’t been made aware of it but fortunately the funeral director had dealt with lots of GO funerals and so we were able to look for it.

mae13

Cardboard coffins are the way to go, and if we really want to preserve trees then cardboard should be mandatory.

Polished coffins with shiny brass handles are purely for showing-off purposes.

Polished coffins with shiny brass handles are purely for showing off purposes.

NO THEY ARE NOT.
Such a hurtful and unnecessary comment.
They bring a sense of tradition and comfort to some- if not many.

Sad that too often in death people are buried in coffins that can cost more than any piece of furniture they ever enjoyed in life. A bit like more people turning up to their funeral than ever popped in to see them when they were alive.

I think that I would like pockets sewn into my shroud, just to disprove the old adage.

The shiny brass handles could well be plastic or similar.

I don’t think crematoriums would want real brass, surely?

Always remember going to the Co Op to sort out the details for mum’s funeral.

The funeral director was a youngish lad, but so kind and empathetic.

When choosing a coffin, the first thing he said was ‘You don’t have to spend silly money on the coffin, a cheaper one will be just as good. It’s entirely up to you’.

Not all of them are out to hard sell everything.

An old friend had a wooden boat in which he used to go fishing. His children and grandchildren painted a version of it on his cardboard coffin. It was great, and gave me the idea about DH's coffin eventually.

No thanks!

I think there's been a lot of misinterpretation here. The OP was talking about a shroud burial that doesn't require a coffin. Most of you are talking about what a person wears inside a coffin. I rather like the idea of a wool covering and no coffin. You get back to the earth a lot faster, which can only be a good thing, surely?

Grandmotherto8

I'm determined to have as minimal a funeral as I can. I'm going for a direct cremation so hopefully can just have a shroud. I'm going to investigate avoiding a funeral directors, why can we just not go straight from the mortuary to the crem? I live near Hull where the dodgy funeral director who piled the bodies up was from!

You can go directly to the crem. There is actually no need to involve an undertaker.

When our neighbour died, his funeral was organised entirely by his friends and with no undertakers involved. His coffin was made by a local carpenter (though in keeping with what the crematorium required re paint etc) and was a replica of his famous invention: the wind-up radio. An event to remember!

A friend of ours was put in a willow coffin. It creaked as she was carried down the aisle. I cringed... I was afraid she might fall out of it. It didn't seem sturdy enough for the job. Sustainable though, locally sourced, woven willow..;)

I chose a shroud when my husband died and regretted it. A cheap blue polyester when I saw my husband for the last time.

StoneofDestiny

Sad that too often in death people are buried in coffins that can cost more than any piece of furniture they ever enjoyed in life. A bit like more people turning up to their funeral than ever popped in to see them when they were alive.

How true 😞

Sad indeed StoneofDestiny when put like that. 😢