In the morning I took a beginner's kumihimo class - the Japanese art of cord braiding. At one time the cords were used to tie together elements of samurai armor, but they became a status symbol after the abolition of the samurai class.
I spent the afternoon making new SCA contacts, enjoying the delicious lunch spread, looking at the items on display in the SCA life category, and voting in the largesse derby. There were some wonderful items in the silent auction being held in the corridor outside the conference rooms.
Twice during the afternoon the judges looking at my entry asked other members of my local group to bring me in to put a face with the name on the form and the item in hand. The second summons turned into a one-on-one conference (Judge #3, below). The overall gist of the conversation was that I have the ability to make a good reproduction and I have a base of knowledge about materials and techniques used in period, but I need to work on making connections between what I did and what people back then did, and to provide more evidence in support of my decisions through documentation.
On both occasions when I was brought to the judges they recognized the outfit I was wearing from a couple of prior events. They and a few other people I talked to throughout the day complimented my eye for costuming, remarking that I looked like I stepped out of a later-period market-day painting.
Since I was entered as a novice, I suspect my judges were selected based on their experience within the clothing sub-category. I will benefit from their comments, recommendations, and invitations for further discussion as I begin my next formal A&S project.
13th century green linen gown
Judge #1
Documentation: 3/5
Very good
piece! You’ve got a good start on your
documentation. Other places that you
might want to document: color choice – from the paintings? Dyes available? Stitches used – GREAT database online. Prove fabric and thread choices. We would love to see a photograph of the
actual St. Louis Shirt. Nice
pictures from the Bible.
Authenticity: 3/5
Very good
patterning. I like the use of the St.
Louis Shirt as the basis of your pattern.
It’s obvious from the Bible pictures that your gown is the right design. I really need you to cite the “correct”
fibers for me to accept your justification of your substitutions. Overall look is very good.
Technique: 3/5
Love to see
handsewn gowns! Your stitches are so
very nice and even. Your gore points are
making us envious! Really, really good
job! There are a couple of modern
techniques, esp. when terminating your seams.
I love the embroidery as your finishing stitch.
Complexity: 3/5
Nice
patterning. Developing your own armscye
is a nice touch. Nice use of various
stitches. The gown is simple
straight-line patterning. Overall, very
well done!
Judge #2
Documentation: 3/5
Thank you
for having the patience to handsew an entire garment. YEAH!
There are some wonderful books out there that go into detail on
constructing a garment like this.
Unfortunately while similar, using the St. Louis shirt was not the
garment you have displayed. Websites are
good to use, however I feel you are ready to take it to the next step and dig a
little deeper.
Authenticity: 4/5 [circled: “… documentation of the methods
and materials used in its construction, how “period” is the entry?”]
I would be
proud to wear this gown. It looks like
the photo you included. I would have
loved to see a picture of you in the dress included in the documentation! By not including documentation for the actual
stitching used or embellishments used it is hard to determine how authentic the
garment is. While I know that your seam
finishing is period, other judges may not, so it is very important to include
that in your documentation.
Technique: 3.5/5
Overall a
very good piece. Your workmanship is
beautiful. I would love to sit down with
you to discuss construction techniques for a more period garment. Your stitches are very even with only some
issues of tightness/looseness and finishing the thread ends. The technique you used to apply the facing is
a more modern way and creates some bulk at the seams. I would be interested in seeing you provide
documentation for the invisible zigzag stitch as I have not seen any references
for that being used in period. It was a
wonderful way to [finish the raw edge?] but I’m not sure that it is period.
Complexity: 3/5
You should
be very proud of this gown. Your skills
in handsewing are wonderful and I’m sure that with more time will only
improve. Even though a lot of time and
labor went into this project it is not a really complex item, being a basic
gown.
Please keep up the
good work! I can’t wait to see your next
project!
Judge #3
Documentation: 2/5
Textiles
and Clothing (Crowfoot), Jennifer Carlson – chart of stitches
Say what is
period for time/place of the item – tie it to what you did. Great intro paragraph! Great process statement. For better score, just add period info. [Judge waffled between 2 and 3. The formatting made the given information
very easy to read, and the images included in the documentation were
appropriate and helpful. Recommended
that I include at least one color copy and try to zoom in on details in the
images when possible.]
Authenticity: 3/5
See
Jennifer Carlson for stitch info.
Difficult to judge authenticity based on info in documentation. With better documentation of period item, you
can get a better score! [Recommended
entering this piece as part of an on-the-body clothing review. Judges in this category care more about the
overall look of the outfit rather than the construction details.]
Technique: 4/5
Beautiful! [Judge and shadow commented on the excellent
handling of the gore inserts and the high quality of the stitching. This was “not your first rodeo.”]
Complexity: 3/5
To up
complexity, try a slightly more fitted style gown. See Mannesse Codex for inspiration. Try set-in sleeves. Also – dyeing fabric, working with silk
[fabric]. [At its heart, this is basically
a t-tunic. Extra props for creating a
personalized pattern.]
Hooray for awesome feedback!
ReplyDeleteJean