Pipeline

Just wanted to get this jotted down on ... interweb?

MATHILDE'S GARB WARDROBE AND SEWING PRIORITIES:

Finished pieces -
Square-neck white muslin smock with chain stitch embroidery at the neck and wrists
Keyhole-neck unbleached muslin smock
Purple sleeveless front-lacing A-line kirtle
White pleated coif
White box-pleated apron

Currently in progress -
Green Maciejowski gown - right sleeve; side seams; seam finishing; hem skirt; embroidery
Orange angel-sleeve gown - seam finishing; embroidery; hook and eye closures buttons and buttonholes
Dark green fitted hood - seam finishing; hem cape; buttons and button holes
Brown and cream diamond weave cloak - everything but the center back seam

Have fabric -
Red and black parti-colored cotehardie
Blue wool kirtle and interchangeable sleeves
Blue and gold fleur-de-lis cotehardie
Black linen partlet
Cream linen chemise

Short garb vacation

Just popping in for my weekend post.  The hoods class went very well this week.  I managed to throw together a simple slide show at the very last minute and brought in a couple of more-or-less finished hoods for people to look at.  The loose version got all the love this time around.  Those who attended the class generally lean toward earlier-period styles, which tend to be less fitted.  They tend to lend themselves especially well to layering, which is the preferred method of keeping warm during windy winter events, and during the spring and summer months (and any surprise warm streaks in the cooler months) the layers simply peel off.

I will be taking a little hiatus from garb work this week.  I have to focus on finishing a mundane dress for my sister.  The design process has been interesting, since the majority of my sewing experience has been in constructing medieval garb and accessories.  Next week, however, I need to hit my green gown hard and fast.  Gulf Wars is in a month and a half, and I will NOT be up sewing until dawn every day the week before the event.  Didn't pan out last time ...

Purple field kirtle

I sweet-talked the hubby into taking some photographs this morning before I had to get ready for work.  This is the outfit I wore yesterday to Fashion Academy.

Purple front-lacing kirtle with hand-bound eyelets and grey lucet cord, white square-neck chemise with chain stitch embroidery at the neckline and wrists, white box pleated apron, white pleated (Cheater St. Birgitta) cap, brown and white wool knit drawstring purse, and my trusty not-overtly-mundane brown Mary Janes.

This has become my go-to field garb.  The way things are looking, I'll have the green Maciejowski gown ready for spring and hopefully a blue wool cotehardie or kirtle for Gulf Wars.  Lots of remnant upholstery fabrics hanging around hoping to become sleeves, too.

It literally translates to "boob cloth."

Good morning, everyone!  I'm back from Fashion Academy and ready to tackle some sewing ... after I get off work, of course ...

I'm pleased to report that I got my "Cheater St. Birgitta" cap to a wearable state Friday night and it behaved quite impressively at its first event.  I only had to reposition it once, and I think, had I not been sitting in a car (i.e. rubbing against the headrest) for a couple of hours, it could have stayed on for longer without needing any fiddling.  It even caught the attention of one of the teachers at the event - she inspected the overall design and the craftsmanship, and I'm to send her a cutting diagram and the construction notes ASAP.

Tumbleweed

Recently I've been having access problems with my old website/blog, so back to good ol' Blogger to save my sanity and transfer some of my work.

Right-o!

For now I'm going to assume that pretty much everyone reading this has not been keeping track of my costuming shenanigans for the past couple of years.  I'm a SCAdian with an interest in constructing garb.  My first outfits were, for the most part, crappy things thrown together from bargain bin cotton fabric - but they were hand sewn, which earned me a little bit of instant cred within certain corners of the Kingdom.  Didn't really have a choice at the time, since I had no money for a sewing machine and no place to put it.  I have since gained a larger disposable income, a sewing machine, and a craft room (in progress), but I still prefer hand sewing ... or at the very minimum, hand finishing field garb.

My current project is a green gown based on a composite of Maciejowski Bible images.  The neckline is a shallow scoop formed from a hexagonal opening, and the sleeves are only attached to the body of the garment at the back of the armscye, allowing the wearer to slip her arm through the gap for cooling or to prevent the sleeves from being soiled while she works.  The design process for this gown has been complete for some time, and I am actually nearing the end of the construction phase.  One sleeve seam, the side seams, the seam treatments, and the skirt and wrist hems remain before I go on to the embellishment phase, then submission into an Arts and Sciences competition.

I'll be posting progress photos with the next entry, so check back soon!