Making Medieval Clothing
Garb Thyself. It's about to get interesting.
If I can teach big, burly Ronan to sew, you can do this, people. Start with a tunic, work you way up. First garb: used sheets or tablecloths work well to learn on and wear well. We still use our first garb as 'Setting up Camp Garb" and "Having Coffee in the Morning with Wild Hair Garb".
What I've learned:
Finish the seam. Fraying is not fun.
Or don't finish the seam & trim the strings before you wear it every time.
Bias tape is a good way to finish sleeves & neckline, especially if you're going to hide it with fancy trimmings.
Hand sewing difficult areas works better than the machine.
Rips, tears, patches & boo-boos can be fixed and look authentic anyway.
When making a particolored tunic, use the same weight of fabric.
$3.00 fleece throws work particularly well when making hose for boys.
Ronan likes to make covers & cozies for chairs, coolers, ice chests, etc. and he is good at it!
Ronan is also better at making consistent seams and sewing on trim on the machine than I am.
Best girl's dress ever: laid my dress flat. Traced a smaller version of it. Cut two pieces (front and back, including the wide sleeves) from the curtain, and two from its lining. She still likes it best, and wears a long-sleeved T-shirt under it in place of a chemise. It looks periodesque, too.
Best boy's tunic started life as a tablecloth. Added wide, contrasting color border to lengthen the sleeves and put trim on the seams between border & tunic fabric. Turned out very fancy looking.
Don't give up. New-to-me construction usually takes three attempts before I get it right. So I know NOT to start with expensive fabric.
Make/fit your own patterns on the back of cheap wrapping paper.
If it's in the Middle Ages, someone in the SCA has made it from scratch - Ask for tips from the masters, then make it your own.
The best place to group-learn this sort of thing & soak up skills from the hive: A & S meetings. I believe sewing guild will be gearing up soon, as well! Woo-hoo to that!
Contact AElfwyn (aelffriend@gmail.com) about A&S or Sewing Guild, or Carith de Cuevas may know as well. She knows everything and is a super resource to my mind, anyway. So are fair Gentles such as Ilaria the sewing goddess & Judita bat Ephraim Micas & Domhail MacCeallaigh the needlework god & goddess, and Jacqueline de Lioncourt the tablet weaving goddess. Hlutwige, Baroness of Stromgard is greatly skilled at many textile arts, but I'm too scared of her Excellency to ask her for help, though I know full well she's been happy to be of assistance to many folk. The fact is, there are an abundance of masters of the textile variety, but I don't know & can't name them all. Ask any SCAdian; they'll know many-a-one of these persons, and ask folks to share their resources (they will be happy to do so).
Or, if you are like me and can't wait to get started on your umpteenth unfinished project or are way too busy with life or too socially awkward to go to many meetings or just hate going ANYWHERE after you get home from work, here are some useful links to guide and inspire:
PERIOD HAVERSACKS, POUCHES & PURSES:
http://www.trystancraft.com/costume/2009/05/17/period-purses-and-how-to-carry-your-crap/
http://www.simbelmyne.us/sca/haversack/index.html
http://broiderers.lochac.sca.org/projects/log
GERMAN CHEMISE: http://germanrenaissance.net/dorotheas-pleatwork-hemd-smock-with-cord-tufts-and-tassels-pattern-gathering-tutorial-part-1/
ITALIAN CHEMISE: https://historyseamstress.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/italian-renaissance-chemise-pattern/
SAXON GARB: http://historicalcostuming.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html
T-TUNIC with links to other garb construction: http://amtwiki.net/amtwiki/index.php/Shirts
Pre-16th Century Garb: http://www.morgandonner.com/category/clothes/16thcentury/
VIKING, NORSE BYZANTINE, RUS: http://www.easyfreepatterns.com/viking-mens-pants-patterns.html
DOLL CLOTHING: http://miniprojects1.pbworks.com/w/page/28921547/Medieval
HOODS: http://www.virtue.to/articles/hoodlum.html
COWL: http://moirandalls.com/cowl.htm
PATTERNS ON PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/musemistress/patterns/
TUNIC VARIATIONS: http://indulgy.com/post/RPO2cETun2/free-medieval-clothing-patterns-tunic-gleann-na
COAT OF PLATES (ARMOR): http://www.aemma.org/misc/coatOfPlates.htm
PERSIAN GARB & MONGOL COAT: http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Rashid/
GREEK, ROMAN, BYZANTINE: http://www.coroflot.com/jinsukoh/summer-internship-2010-
RUSSIAN GARB: http://pohodd.ru/article_info.php?articles_id=265
https://historyseamstress.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/italian-renaissance-chemise-pattern/
ELIZABETHAN:
http://historicalcostuming.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html
PINTEREST OF SCA GARB PATTERNS & TUTORIAL:
https://www.pinterest.com/multimediamuse/sca-garb-patterns-tutorials/
https://historyseamstress.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/italian-renaissance-chemise-pattern/