Crafting Ourselves - an SCA Arts & Sciences Journey

 One of the nice things about the time allowed for the Calontir Clothing Challenge is that it is long enough to take your time, to really do things properly.  I took a break today from sewing the first layer to continue preparing the materials we need for the other layers.   Here are the steps we are taking: 1.  Wash the fabrics . You don't want surprises after you finish your project.     Linen needs to be washed and dried in a machine to shrink it as much as possible before sewing.         Wool will felt if it is too hot or too agitated.  Wash on delicate cycle and air dry.     Silk bleeds dyes very easily.  Wash by hand in cool water with a gentle cleanser.  Air dry. 2. Iron the fabrics .  This is a step I often skipped in the past.  It really helps to do this.     Linen needs a hot iron with lots of steam to knock down all of the wrinkles.           Wool needs a cooler iron with a little steam. Washing roughs up the surface, so you want to smooth down   the fibers again.     

 It's funny how you can do something many times, and still learn more.  When you first start in the SCA, there are two basic ways you are taught to make a tunic with sleeve gussets. The first one is to sew the square gusset to the side of the sleeve, then sew the sleeve to the body of the tunic.  Then you sew the side seams, somehow managing to sew the other three sides of the gusset.  Because this is frustrating, the second way is to split the gusset into 2 triangles.  The side seams are now easy, but you have a seam in the middle of the gusset, which defeats some of the purpose of it in the first place. The problem with both of these methods is that it assumes that you are using a sewing machine.  If you are constructing the garment by hand, gussets are no problem whatsoever. 1.  Sew the gusset to one side of the sleeve. 2.  Sew the gusset to the other side of the sleeve and sew the rest of the sleeve seam. 3.  Finish all of the seams on the sleeve now.  It is much easier than af

 We are getting ready to begin our Anglo Saxon projects, and I am working on mock-ups. But we are making tunics!  And I have made many tunics before!  Hmm.  Tunics are one of the first things that most people make when they start in the SCA, and most people move on to other types of clothes fairly quickly.  Why? Because tunics are easy to make, but tough to make look good.  It is all too easy to resemble a sack of potatoes.  I have made many other types of historical costume, and I prefer fitting clothing that fits closer to the body.  It is easier to make small adjustments while fitting it on a person, and change the way a garment fits.  When you are dealing with clothing that is draped on the body, you actually have to make much larger changes to make the garment fit better.  I have found I love the earlier time periods the best, so tunics it is. The way a tunic fits is based foremost on the width of the shoulders.  This determines how wide the central panel of the tunic is for the c