Looking Ahead

From Le Chevalier errant, BNF Dept. of Manuscripts, French 12559, 1403-1404, fol. 167r.

I'm in something of a low point with projects and SCA-related things at the moment. There are several mundane things pulling on my energy and attention, which I think is normal and part of how we make being historical recreationists work with our every day existance. Every so often we need the minor breaks to refocus and reinforce our passions. There are some things coming down the line for me, however, that I'm excited by and will no doubt get me going again full steam ahead in good time.

The first of these is that I'll be attending Gulf Wars next month in Mississippi. My husband and I will be there for the full week, and it will be a much needed vacation for us both. I'm not scheduled to teach any formal classes during the week, but if you follow me on Facebook and you'll be there, keep and eye out for posts about where and when I might be available if you'd like to come meet me, ask questions, or chat about your projects, all completely informally and low-key. I also plan to continue my tradition of documenting my daily outfits via social media while there.

I won't need to make much for myself for the week-long event, except maybe another chemise, and possibly a simple lightweight dress for early mornings or showers. I'm currently working on an arming doublet for a friend, though, and I'm hoping to get in some new items for my husband.

Dearg stepped away from the SCA a few years ago, and Gulf Wars will mark his return. (Nothing like jumping in with both feet, right?) When he first started in the SCA, like most people, he wore generic garb for many years. Eventually, he settled on early period styles to go along with an 11th century persona. He still has that garb, and it all stiff fits, but since he's basically a having an SCA do-over, he's open to trying out some new things. To that end, he's asked me to make a full mid-14th century outfit for him. I've been waiting soooo loooong for this!

After looking at some ideas I had on Pinterest (mainly the guy on the right in this image), and talking through some color palette ideas, we settled on a very standard labor class outfit with a gold, gray and burgundy color scheme. I will need to make him: a linen pull-over tunic, a wool surcote with a button front, a wool hood with linen lining, wool hose, linen shirt, coif and braies, and garters.

I did some preliminary sourcing of materials to help him visualize the plan. The golden colored wool is something I already have on hand. It's sort of an odd mustard colored yellow, and I couldn't figure out anything to use it for for myself. When I showed it to Dearg, though, he liked it. It will be his surcote. We picked a brownish/pinkish red linen for his tunic, and a deep red wool for the hose. The grey herringbone flannel will be the hood with a solid gray lining. There might also be a hat involved too, but I haven't gotten that far yet. I'll make him a pair of woven blue wool garters to match mine.

I'm excited for this project and the new avenue it can take me down. I have only done a small handful of items for men (since most of my closest male friends also know how to sew and can do things for themselves), so it's nice to be able to do the full ensemble for a change. I'm sure I'll learn much along the way. Since there are several things to make for this outfit, I'm being realistic in terms of deadline and not rushing to have any of it done by Gulf Wars (though having the surcote ready for him would be nice.)

I have also been planning some new things for myself. I have a project or two still in the "unfinished project" pile that I haven't entirely forgotten about yet that I'd eventually like to get off my plate. I would also like to challenge myself to create a "masterwork" dress this year. My idea with this is to create an "example" dress that shows as many of the relevant medieval tailoring skills and techniques as it can. In order to get the elements and the period evidence for them to align as much as possible, I'm using mostly general period or specifically turn of the century sources for this, putting the style in the circa 1400-1410 category.

I'm on the lookout for the "perfect" wool for this dress. In my head, it's lavender, but it could also maybe be pink. Or even green. I'm mostly open to waiting for the right wool to find me, though, whatever the color. While on the surface, it will no doubt look like every other fitted cotte I have, there are some details I'd like to include that will set it apart on closer examination. Side lacing, silk facings, smaller buttons than I normally do, and card woven edging are all in mind. It will, of course, start at the patterning stage, where I can finesse my current pattern to correct some of its current errors, including widening the neckline and ensuring a comfortable fit in the shoulders and biceps with some adjustments to how much ease I typically include (meaning: adding a bit more).

For now, this one is still in the "I'm thinking about it" category, but I'm investing in the idea more and more, and I think it would be a great use of my time later this year.

This year may also be the year I finish at least one of the ongoing non-crafting projects I've had on the burner for a long time. I have several, and every so often I poke at them to keep them from going completely cold. I'd like to take this opportunity, while I have fewer obligations in the project department, to get into those and move them further along. There are a few research-related projects, as well as a fun (also researched, but less academic) project that uses my creative writing skills. I wish I could share more, but I don't want to give too much away just yet, since there's still no guarantees they'll be any closer to sharing any time soon.

While at the moment, I'm in a bit of a lull, and things are mostly quiet, I think that when these things come along and need my attention, I'll be ready for them. I'm definitely looking forward to spending the week with friends in March, and for the start of the spring event season.

On My Worktable

After the rush of getting things done for my elevation, I decided to just chill out for a bit, and turn my attention to some other areas of my life. Which of course resulted in a bit of a longer break from productivity than I intended. So now I'm like a car with a battery that needs to be recharged. Despite this, I do have a few projects on my table that I'm at least giving the sidelong glance to as I work my way back to a productive pace. Here's what's on my radar.

Some News and a Handful of Projects

Photo by the incomparable Dame Marissa von Atzinger.

Last weekend, I was honored to be placed on vigil for the Order of the Laurel (the SCA's highest award for excellence in the arts & sciences). I have long hoped that being worthy of the Laurel would be a part of my journey, and though it is a milestone, not a destination, to be able to rest here a while and enjoy this step is exciting and fulfilling. My elevation will be occurring next weekend (hardly enough time to plan, but there are family reasons involved), so I am of course waist deep in sewing! I thought today I'd catch you up on my plan and what I've done so far.

On My Worktable

It feels lately like my project list has the hiccups. I've got the regular list of projects that builds up like normal, but then little projects pop in randomly out of nowhere, usually inspired by some experience at an event. This most often takes the form of repairs or easy updates. Occasionally, it is a project that may have been really low on the priority list that I realize I badly needed. At the moment, between events and not having any gowns in the works, I'm working on a real hodge-podge of things. Let's start with the little things I've already done.

On My Worktable

I'm trucking along with projects this summer, gearing up for Pennsic. I've taken on several extra projects for others, but in between those, I'm working on the pieces for my new sleeping garb set. Here's a sneak peek:

On My Worktable

Silk Clothing, Tacuinum Sanitatis, 15th century (BNF Latin 9333), fol 104r

I'm somewhat between projects at the moment. My new supportive chemise pattern is ready, but I'm hesitant to use the mid-weight linen I originally intended to use instead of a heavier weight linen, which I would need to purchase. I'm waffling here because I want to move forward with this project to be able to make the next item, but funds are needed elsewhere at the moment, so it may be a while before I can acquire different linen. The lure of instant gratification is quite strong.

On My Worktable

As we head into summer (and it's been so hot, it like summer is already here), my project list is starting to thin out. Which is good, because I don't like having too many things on my list when it's time for all that fun family stuff that happens in the summer months. Let's face it, it's more fun to hang out in the pool on a hot day than to sew a dress inside. That being said, I do have a handful on projects in the works that still need attention.

Last week, I started work on the last dress I'll sew for a while (at least until fall). This year has already been incredibly productive on the dress front, but I had one more piece of fabric in my stash that finally "spoke" to me. I've been wanting to have a surcoat for the 1390's since Gulf Wars, and the chocolate brown wool I've had since last year is perfect for it. Yes, yes, I know. Wool in summer. But Gulf Wars allowed me to appreciate that while wool is not ideal for 80+ temps, it's not the worst thing either. As long as I make smart decisions about how I wear a wool dress, and don't stand out in the sun, it's not all that much more uncomfortable than wearing a few layers of linen. After all, hot is hot, not matter how you slice it.

Stab stitching on the edge of the front opening. Buttons and buttonholes pending.

The dress is assembled (I used the same pattern I've been using all year), but is still missing sleeves. Over the next few days, I'll concentrate my efforts on the exterior finishing. My goal with the garment is to achieve well-crafted detailing by putting my hand-sewing skills to best use. 

I have several embroideries in-progress, but I haven't felt like working on them. At the moment, I'm finishing up the last of three Queens' favors I'm contributing for Pennsic. I also have my linen alms purse and silk bag, but I haven't touched either of those in quite a bit.

I started a bag using long-arm cross stitch and a pattern I created from an extant piece. The two sides of the orginal pouch are essentially color reversed, which it neat. The figures are harpies- head of a woman, body of a bird, tail of a snake. Bizarre and beautiful. The spaces between the harpies have letters, but I couldn't distinguish what they are (and they probably don't spell and English word anyway). I haven't figured out what I'll do in the spaces in my version.

The big embroidery project is the tunic I need completed by July 4th. I've shown this in the past, and unfortunately, not much about it has changed. Once my new dress is complete, however, I'm putting the brakes on everything but that tunic. Get-er-done, as they say.

There are other projects of a secretive nature. Hush, hush, and all that. I always have those, though. I try to fit them in when and how I can, but they do definitely fill out the project list.

What about you? What's on your work table?

On My Work Table

First off, I'm excited to let you know that I'll be teaching something at this fall's Royal University of the Midrealm (RUM) that's pretty dear to my heart. The class is titled "Blogging for SCAdians", and just as the name suggests, I'll be talking about starting up, maintaining, and keeping up with a blog geared specifically to a historical re-creationist audience. As you can imagine, I've got a lot to say on the subject. If you've been looking for that last bit of inspiration to start your own blog, need some insight into why your existing blog may not be going as well as you hoped, or just want the inside scoop on the back end of blogging, then I'd love to have you join me.

I'll also be teaching a class with a friend of mine on 15th Century upper class fashion. He's a lover of all things 15th Century, but he never really looked at women's clothing. I haven't studied men's clothing. So we're pooling our knowledge for a decade-by-decade look at the evolution of high class fashion for both sexes in the 15th Century. It is our hope that this class will open up our own research to broader avenues, and provide us with a better understanding of the larger picture surrounding our specific interests. And those who attend get to benefit as well! It's gonna be epic.

As far as projects go, I've had a bit of a motivational slump these past two weeks. (I say that, but I've actually been quite productive with non-SCA projects, like scrap booking and knitting.) I think I'm back on the upswing now, though. I want to have my ginger linen dress ready for RUM, but I'm worried that I held off on it a bit too long. I'm determined to sew it completely by hand, which takes time and patience. So we'll see. So far, I've sewn on the backing for the eyelets (the linen is pretty weak, so I really needed extra reinforcement there), and completed the finishing on the front and back center seams. I hope to have the side seams finished by the time I go to bed today. I haven't started the sleeves yet, and those tend to be my make-it-or-break-it component.

I also decided that I wanted to make something green for Christmas Tourney in December to go with their Midrealm colors theme (green, red and white). I decided on a new caplet to wear with my rose red dress. I've got a 7oz green linen for that. I may line it with some white faux fur I've got, or see about getting some white wool instead. Green is not a color I wear too often (I have a piece of gorgeous blue-green linen waiting to be made into a dress), but it's a good color to have in the wardrobe.

What else? I haven't made any new progress on my new silk embroidery, but after talking over some of the issues I was having on my linen alms purse with my Laurel, I've given that a slight reboot.

The first problem I had was that I didn't care for how the zig-zag background was coming out. I ripped it out, but then didn't know what to do. I was having tension issues, so the first thing that needed to happen was to take it off the frame I had it on, put it on a larger frame, then tension the other two edges.

The next thing to do is to begin creating a couched background using the zig-zag pattern I already drew out. I haven't gotten back to that yet. My plan is to use the gray linen for the field and couch it with either white or black linen sewing thread. I'll need to do a test to see which I like better.

For the back side, I had opted for a brick stitch pattern. As I started to work on it, I realized that I didn't care for the way the colors interacted with each other. The white was too glaring and the green and pink were not complimentary to each other. Here's how it looked:

I ripped out the pink and white, and swapped them:

Much better.

The last thing that's in the current queue is a much different type of project. I'll be covering this one over on Growing Up Medieval once I get it started. While browsing around Michael's a few weeks ago, I spent some time looking around in their wood crafts section and found a neat fold and carry castle.

It's perfect to take along to events. While I like the plain wood, I would rather paint it. I loved doll houses as a kid, and always really liked the details that were included on the walls, separate from the furniture and dolls I could move around. So I'll be painting both the outside and the inside. The outside will have details like knotted bedsheets hanging out of a window, bushes and flowers to indicate a garden, and maybe a cat or two. The inside will have a great hall, throne room, kitchen, king's chambers, queen's chambers, and as many interesting details as I can comfortably paint in (since I can't take it apart). I'll then be keeping my eyes open for the right scale of blank peg dolls to paint up to go with it.

But first, I gotta get that ginger linen dress done.

Oh, how I've missed you!

Words cannot express how hard it was for me to stay away from blogging all the way through August!  The mundane world required my presence and focused attention, so I really did need to take the break, but man that was difficult.

I've got a huge amount of things lined up through the month that I'm excited to share.

Starting this Wednesday evening, over at Growing Up Medieval I'll begin posting a plethora of posts documenting the "Kid's Garb Blitz" I'm currently doing to get my children ready for events through the fall and winter. If kid's garb interests you, please check it out!

I also owe you images of my finished frilled hood since it went flat at Simple Day and was not at all photo worthy. I'm going to be re-trying barley starch to see if I can find a recipe that holds up well, even in rain. Once I get that figured out, I'll share the finished veil and recipe.

I've started a new embroidery project, and I have a few new monthly features to debut to replace my old monthly "Internet Round-Up" feature (which has long since been dead).

Today, in the spirit of coming back from the modern world, I wanted to share with you that my medieval dress-making skills have now officially saved me in a mundane context.

One of the reasons I was away from the blog was to travel to Texas for my brother's wedding. Now, while I have many dresses for events, I did not own a single fancy dress for such an occasion. Originally, I had a vague idea that I'd make my dress, but as the day came closer and closer, I decided that I'd buy one instead. I found one online that I liked, bought it, and when it arrived, I realized that it was absolutely horrid.

I had four weeks. I asked for some referrals from my friends, and even though I liked some of the items I'd found, I was really cutting it close, and there was a high probability that I wouldn't receive it in time. So I went to the mall and scoured the plus size dresses. And that's a wasteland, let me tell you.

Looking at my options at the last department store, I realized that the only way I was going to have a dress that I liked was to make it myself.

I wanted a fit and flare-style, sleeveless dress, with a knee-length skirt, but I had no pattern, and I had no time. So I went home and pulled out my medieval dress pattern. I treated it like a flat-front waisted kirtle by placing the two front pieces together to remove the seam and extending the bodice only to my waist. Since I wasn't making a medieval dress, I wore a modern bra with lift, and added darts to the bust. I treated the skirt like a regular trapezoid-panel skirt, such as the kind Sylvie uses, but I increased all the widths to get a gather at the top and a fullness at the bottom. It ended up a little on the short side, but I think that's only because I'm not used to that sort of length on a skirt.

The bodice is lined, but I ended up removing the skirt lining because it was too full. Everything is finished as well, except for the edges of the darts, which I wasn't able to wrap my brain around by the time I got to them. I'd do them differently if I had to do it all over again. I did end up with a bit of wonkiness on the neckline, but I'm not complaining. I had already planned to wear a cardigan, so that did the trick of concealing that little issue.

So when all was said and done, my kirtle pattern had helped me produce this:

Since it's cotton, it's extremely comfortable, and worked excellently for the heat down in Texas (though I did still sweat quite a lot, because, well.. Texas in July.) It being cotton also means I can toss it in the wash and not worry about it.

I don't wear dresses in the mundane world since I almost never have a reason to, but I like this dress and will probably wear it for date night with my husband or maybe to work if I'm feeling spunky.

The necklace was a lucky find. We made a sight-seeing trip to a safari and natural cave two days before the wedding, but when we got to the cave, the kids were too cranky, so we just went throught the gift shop instead. I found the necklace there. It's a perfect match for the dress! (We did make it back to the cave on our way out of San Antonio before heading home.)

For now, however, I'm anxious and excited to get back to my medieval projects!

New Garb for the Boy

So with some of my pressing projects done or well underway, I took some time to create a new outfit for Owen. He isn't really in need of one- we've got a couple of good hand-me-down tunics that still fit him well- but sometimes I just feel the need to make nice new clothes for my little boy.


Owen's built for 14th century. He's lean and has a long torso. He's at the stage now, however, that I need to make things a little loose in order to last longer than one wearing, so I can't make his tunics quite as fitted as I'd like. He's kind of small still, but I'm pretty sure he'll keep his long and lean frame even as an adult. I think Dearg's pretty much resigned himself to me dressing Owen 14th century garb. Not to would be a huge waste!

He's been wearing garb since he was 2 weeks old, and he loves it. He even already seems to understand that we wear garb for special events, and though we try them on at home, they aren't regular clothes. I'll be so sad if the day ever comes that he thinks dressing up dumb.


He's got three new pieces. The short-sleeved undertunic is white linen. The parti-colored tunic is also linen. The gray is yarn-dyed, and the natural is solid. I counter-changed the sleeves as well. It took a little extra sewing, but the result was worth it. The hood is from the leftover wool I used for my goller. It's a bit big, but that just means he'll be able to wear it longer.

It's nice to take some time to make quick little garb like this. It's almost instant gratification, and I get a well-dress toddler out of it!

Garb Quest - Huvet Experiment

I decided that I'd try an experiment to use the dimensions of the Saint Birgitta's Cap (from the article in Medieval Clothing and Textiles, Volume 4), and use some simple math to calculate a proportionate size to fit my own head.

I measured around my head at the back (at the largest point) to my temples (to where I want the finished front edge to be), divided it in half, and got a measurement of 20cm. Using the measurements from the article of the size of rectangle required for the extant cap of 19cm wide by 22cm tall (as the article provides a range, I rounded the measurements down), I calculated that with a width of 20cm, my cap, in order to have the same proportions would be 23cm (rounded down) tall.

I then quickly stitched it together, included the pleating at the base of each half, and discovered quite rapidly that, well... see for yourself:


Sooo... I'm not sure what to conclude from this, other than that a rectangle of 20cm wide by 23cm tall is obviously too small for my head. I suppose some of the too-smallishness is due to not including a seam allowance, plus some of it may come from not including the gap that's on the original but not in mine. Those aren't really that much in the grand scheme, though.

So, I thought I'd revisit some of the blogs that show recreations to see if I could find any answers. Arachne's Blog was helpful. She discovered that a smaller gap worked better for her cap. I kept the 8cm gap on my mockup, but I think it ended up as part of the forehead to nape measurement (the curve) instead of additional to it. I couldn't actually get the 38cm curve line on the 20cm x 23cm rectangle. That should have been my first clue that the 23cm length wasn't going to work.

Archane's Blog pointed me to this paper. Unfortunately I can't get a great translation out of Google Translate, so I'm not sure what she's trying to show with her diagram.

I think on the next try I'll go with a rectangle of 23cm wide (that's the original 20cm wide plus 1.5cm seam allowance on each side) by 35cm tall (that's the original 24cm plus the seam allowance plus the 8cm for the gap). I have a curving ruler around here somewhere that I can use to get the curve of my head right, since that's another problem I'm having.

On a completely different note, here's the hood I made for Dearg:


It fits him very well and he said that, despite it being a heavy wool with a linen lining, it wasn't too hot to wear all day.

After I find that ruler and do a new mockup, I'll share what I come up with!

Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"?

The walnuts I was soaking were ready yesterday for making the dye and testing it. I removed the nuts and set the pot on the stove to boil for 2 hours. I tried to keep my eye on it, but in the last 20 minutes, it reduced all the way down- evaporating all the liquid. So I had to put water back into the pot to salvage it. So I ended up with a very diluted dye. It was also very late in the day by the time I got actually put the fabric in, so I didn't soak and heat it like I was supposed to.

I ended up with a piece of tan linen with a slightly rosy cast to it. There isn't much of it, maybe enough for a pouch or a favor. Overall, I don't think the dyeing was a failure- I did end up with a pretty color- but my process had some obvious issues.

First, I needed more walnuts to begin with. I only had 12 and 4 of them were no longer green. I should have started with about 24 green nuts. Second, I needed to add more water at the beginning to avoid the whole thing boiling down, and covering the pot would have prevented the evaporation. Finally, I needed to plan ahead and devote an afternoon on the weekend to doing the entire process to achieve better color results.

In other news, I've been making steady progress on the black open hood. I'm about to sew the front brim (which is two layers of wool with a layer of linen sandwiched between them) into place. I used these instructions to sew the gores into place, but it looks like I'll need to do some adjustments to the linen gores to get them to fit tight against the wool. I'm using silk thread for the first time, and so far I like it. I figured that I was using 100% wool and 100% linen, I should use 100% silk thread too and turn it into an A&S project. If you're looking for silk thread, I found Gutermann Pure Silk thread at JoAnn's Fabric store, but only the larger stores seem to carry it. The spool of 100m was $3.99.

Also, my fitted underdress in nearly complete! I need to create the lacing holes and we still need to attached the sleeves and hem it, but the hard part is done. It's quite comfortable and supportive, and since we used light-weight linen/cotton, I don't think I'll really notice the extra layer under heavier dresses. We had a little issue with the back seam going off-center, and you can see where the lining layer ends halfway down the skirt, but I don't intend this dress to ever be seen, so I'm not worried about these little details. As long as it does the job.

The New and Improved Project Pile

I'm sure you are all very much aware that it's easy to get carried away with your wish list. When you have the DIY tendency, this is especially dangerous! The phrase "I can do that" is too often uttered, and the next thing you know, you've got waaaay too many projects for your time and money to handle. Hence the necessary re-thinking of my project pile.

So, I've done some purging, some re-thinking, and some re-arranging, Instead of allowing my pile to grow in an amoeba-like manner, I've split it up into three categories. Items that will a) use materials I already have (primary), b) require materials that are inexpensive/easily obtainable (secondary), and c) require materials that more expensive/harder to obtain (tertiary). This doesn't convey an order to their completion, necessarily, though they are in order within their classification. Anything new is added to the bottom of the appropriate category. Precedence will be given to the primary and secondary categories, but the pile is flexible.

Primary Projects:
Teal Wool Fitted Dress: I have the material, and if I continue to wait until I've lost weight, the dress will never be made. I will wait, however, until the end of summer- July and August are too hot in Southern Ohio to wear wool.
Bloomers: I have a linen/cotton blend that I can make into a pair of bloomers to wear under my dresses. I hit a stumbling block with how to construct them, but I think I've sorted that out. I just need some help to figure out how to make pants.
Embroidered Pin Case: I took this with me this past weekend to work on, but never touched it. It's not a difficult pattern, I just need to devote some time to it.
Bourelette (Horn) Headdress: I've been putting this off, mainly because I'm just not sure how to go about doing it, but I've got plenty of fabric laying around to at least experiment.
Carrysack: I'd like to modify this carrysack a little bit by making it smaller and giving it more of a shape (something that feels a bit more 15th century). I have a heavy light-mossy green fabric that should hold up well. I plan to use it for Owen's things. I may go ahead and make two- one for Owen and one for baby #2 when (s)he comes along. I could then embroider their initials or some other design onto them.
Smocked Apron: I'm daft for wanting to do a project that I know will suck out all my energy, but I really want to have a smocked apron. Plus, now that I've done the trial apron, I know how to do it better. I have an oatmeal-colored linen-look material that will look nice as an apron.

Secondary Projects:
Pleated German Veil: A small veil with decorative pleating along the front edge (like this one via Jazwiec) would be a nice addition to my headdress collection. I need to buy a medium weight linen for it.
Buttoned Hood: I'm in love with Cristina Stoltes' hood. I've got a piece of brown wool that should be enough to make one. I need the white linen to line it.
New Open Hood: I also have some black wool that I'd like to make a new 15th Century open hood with. I need to do a better job with the fit, though, than I did with my blue one (which I never wear 'cause it just isn't right).

Tertiary Projects:
Silk Over Gown: See this post. I'm re-thinking the colors a little. Whatever colors, though, I need the silk and the linen lining.
Silk Cardwoven Belt: A wide belt for V-neck gowns. I want to do it with a tone-on-tone checkerboard pattern in black (or maybe a dark brown). Would like to get this buckle. Need the silk too.
Wulsthaube: There are several ways to make the wulsthaube, but I'm thinking this one makes the most sense. I'm thinking of using wool felt and muslin, then getting a gauze linen with a subtle thick stripe in it for the steuchlein.
Black Gown: I'm still in debate about what kind of gown I want, but I've been wanting a black dress for some time. The main contender right now is a long-sleeve, fitted gown, like this one (via Medioevale Cibo Lotta). I'd like to get either a 100% linen or 100% light-weight wool for this one.
Durer Dress: I'm still wanting to do something like Myra's Durer Dress, but I'm not going to do it with the pink linen like I planned. I'd like to do a dark wine colored tropical weight wool, lined a blueish-purple linen.
V-Neck Gown: I've always liked Matilda la Zouche's simple Burgundian gown. I'd like to do one in green - Hex #636D39, for those who know what that means (medium sage green for those who don't!).

As you can see, all but one of the dresses are in the Tertiary pile. That's mainly because they require a lot of fabric, and I'd like to get natural, authentic materials (like linen and wool). It's part of my effort to be more authentic.

I've also established a percentage scale for the purposes of this blog (see the Project Pile sidebar). Once I know what I'm going to do, it hits 5%. Once I have the materials on hand, it's 25%. When I've got half the sewing of the project completed, it hits 50%. When the major construction is done, it will be 75%. After the finishing details and when it's ready to wear/use, it's 100% complete.

Finally, I updated the labels throughout this blog to steamline them, and to be able to find the most common items a bit better.

Alright? Time to get to it!

Accessories make the outfit

Dearg and I are having a "project" weekend. Yesterday, he started making a pair of leather shoes (Viking style), and I made a 15th century ring pouch. I had no idea how to go about making it, except to look at two pouches, here and here, and visually "reverse engineer" them. I had to restart (which ended the photo documentation I was doing), but at the end of the day, I had a brand new pouch!

The ring is a length of copper wire that I tried to bend into as perfect a circle as I could. The fabric is black flannel (left over from my hennin- more on that below). The tie is a 5-strand finger loop braid using pale green and light orange embroidery floss. The button is a deer antler button (the first one Dearg made). As a first attempt I'm pretty pleased with it!

At the moment, I'm inspired by this image. I love how casual this feels. She's wearing a burgundian, but instead of finishing it with a wide belt, she's wearing the sort of thin belt worn with a kirtle. She's also wearing a pouch on a long tie and a turban-style headdress. I can easily see how this is the best way to wear a formal burgundian all day at an event! Then for court, swap your belt and headdress and voila! You're lookin' snazzy for that off chance you'll have to go up in front of Their Majesties!

Speaking of headdresses, I thought I'd share with you the two I created for my class. I'd include a photo of the turban, but it's pretty basic and not much work.

They are both very comfortable to wear. I don't yet have a houpelaunde to wear with the heart-shaped headdress, but I can wear the hennin with either of the burgundians I have. These two photos were taken late, and I'm obviously not in garb, but they still look good. I've got to be a bit more careful with my hair when I wear these for real.

So now all I have to do is figure out what my project for today is....