Sunday, September 18, 2011

KAS Judges' Comments

Safely back from Kingdom A&S!   Of course I totally ignored the alarm I set to make sure I had plenty of time to wake up, get washed and dressed, then rendezvous with my ride, so I was pretty rushed getting out of the house.  Despite being slightly late getting on the road, we arrived at the event with enough time to get our submissions registered and set up.



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!

What a nice piece!  Thank you for entering.
 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.]

Check out Cynthia Virtue’s website!

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