Crafting Ourselves - an SCA Arts & Sciences Journey

Linnet is one of those SCA seamstresses that undertakes making a new outfit for each of us in the month before an important event.  As the depth of our research has begun to focus more the mid 11th century in Essex (since Errol Flynn isn't really the right time period) we are going to use the Calontir Clothing Challenge (CCC)  to create historically correct  outfits for each of us.  CCC requires four layers of entries consisting of "under layer", "top layer", "outer layer", and "accessory layer".  Our garb projects in the past have focused on the pretty thing one wears that everyone can see, the 11th century tunic, the upper middle class 16th century gown with a doublet, or the Italian ren gown.  While making the inner layer, Linnet would create the correct piece but didn't spend nearly the same time in its embellishment.    This challenge is to create the same level of "wow" in every layer. So what are we going to include in ou

How do you make something that doesn't have a pattern or an extant example?  Illuminations, religious iconography, historically similar pieces, and Owen-Crocker's best guess. We are in the week before the Calontir Clothing Challenge begins.  During this "pre-season" we are allowed to get fabric, prepare patterns, mock-up sample pieces, and plan, plan some more and do some research to give structure to our plans.  Most of our pieces of clothing and accessories are supported from sources or exemplars that are from the mid eleventh century.  The one piece of our project without a lot of historical guidance is the mantle, an over layer worn by upper class Anglo Saxon women in the mid 11th century.  The mantle is belted in the front and hangs a bit higher in the front than the back.  From period illuminations, it appears that the front of the belted mantle is about knee length.   Owen-Crocker writes that the mantle was a rectangular or oval garment with a hole for the head

 In the beginning,  Let me introduce myself, It was a dark and stormy night, There is no exceptionally exciting way to begin a blog other than to make sure you end up with an insight into what lies behind this first post. I wish I knew!  This blog starts with a pair of somewhat hammer hardened SCA * members with years of finding shiny things and then finding newer shiny things and then being challenged by life to find the smallest snippets of time to practice anything at all.  Well, during the year we will all remember, time seems to be the one thing we have lots of, so, here we are: a blog about crafting in the SCA.  This will include arts and sciences because both of us were science nerds by vocation and artistic crafters by avocation. The first project we will follow is an entry for the Calontir Clothing Challenge.  Linnet is the seamstress, Kendrick is the support team.  Linnet can take it from here! *For those of you who found your way here but don't know the SCA, the Society