sca_attire | Recent Entries

Welcome to

sca_attire. At present we have one moderator,

holyschist.

This community is for discussion of historical clothing and accessory projects, mostly focusing on "SCA period" (c. 500-1600 CE), from anywhere in the world. There's no official early cutoff, so if it's earlier and not completely made up, post away. Up to mid-17th century is fine, too.

Despite the name of the community, you do not have to be in the Society for Creative Anachronism. Members of other reenactment groups and Renaissance festival patrons and people wanting to make historical costumes for Halloween or theatre and people who just like learning about historical clothing are all welcome! All levels of sewing knowledge are welcome, and everyone from hard-core reenactor to casual Halloween costumers is as well.

Please keep in mind that not everyone will have the same commitment to historical authenticity, but this is also not really the place for pure fantasy costumes. It's totally okay if you want to make stage or Halloween costumes, or wenchwear for the Faire! This can be flexible, so if you're not sure, ask

holyschist.

Ideas for Things to Post:

Questions about historical clothing and accessories

Resources and sewing tips

Dress/project diaries

Pattern and book reviews

Discussion questions related to historical costuming

Ads for items you have made yourself or used clothing/costume books/supplies/etc. (not more than once per week)

Other stuff related to historical clothing

( FAQ )

Resources

There will be periodic resource posts for people to suggest useful resources on a topic, e.g. 16th century Italy. If you don't see a post linked here for what you're interested in, please feel free to start one! Please try to be specific to a century/period and culture if you're starting a new post (e.g. "Ottoman Turkey", not "Middle Eastern").

Ottoman Turkey, 1500-1700

Related Communities

renfaire

historicalembroidery

naturaldyes

sca_documentation

sewing

cross_stitch

holyschist

This community seems to be pretty dead these days, and my interests have shifted away from the SCA, so I'm trying to clean up my mental clutter, since I disappeared from DW for a couple years there. Would anyone else be interested in taking over as administrator in case the community revives in the future?

sporky_rat

I sewed myself an apron dress in three hours yesterday. I felt very pleased with myself.

( images below, fair warning! )

I'm very proud of myself. Three hours from pulling out the fabric to hanging it up.

Current Mood: accomplished

holyschist

The Italian Renaissance costuming website Realm of Venus is running a mini-challenge in February, Over and Above, for creating "one or more items of outer-wear, such as cloaks, capes, mantles, robes, loose and fitted over-gowns, etc. Large (i.e. body-encompassing) veils, and parasols, will also be allowed."

You can sign up until January 31! Looks like a fun challenge if anyone needs a little motivation for a project.

On that note...my sewing goals for this year are to destash: whether that's going through fabric and giving away or selling stuff I'll never use (I've gotten rid of most of my ill-advised purchases, but there are still some lurking around) or, you know, actually sewing, I'm going to try to reduce my fabric collection and finish projects with materials I already own. (Possible exception to be made for trim, which I don't really stash much, but I may just go for more time-consuming embellishment techniques.)

Would anyone be interested in little stash project challenges in this comm? If so, what would you like to see?

What are your sewing goals this year?

greenwitch

I've been meaning to make myself a cloak for a while now, but I don't know where to get the fabric. I've seen some great heavy weight wool cloaks for sale at my local faires, but have never seen that weight fabric at my local stores (only suiting). I'm fine with buying online, but have no idea what to look for in terms of numbers. Does anyone have advice on fiber, weights, and/or places to buy online? 100% wool is best, obviously, but if anyone has any experience with blends, that's okay too.

melannen

This is your "Omg one day til War panic!!" update on my previous to-do list post. :D The clothing tub is packed, so I am officially Done Sewing. Until I get there.

Below the cuts are details + pictures of what I got finished - I almost did the entire list! More-or-less! And if I had the seven hours of sitting-in-the-car-sewing time I was planning on before our ride arrangements got turned around, I could totally have had it all done by the time I got there. :P

( Tudor crossdressing outfit )

( Roman-british outfit-y thing )

( Medieval English townswoman )

...that's actually pretty good for a month when I was also doing a bunch of other projects.

melannen

I am apparently going to Pennsic War (again) this year, which means the pile of SCA-related sewing has suddenly gone from "Someday" to "by August". :D

For accountability/advice, here's my garb-related to-do list for Pennsic (no, I don't actually think I'll get all of this done, but if I cheat a lot, I might manage most of it.)

( 12 items )

TOTALLY doable, right? It's not like any of that's particularly ambitious. And this community will help keep me accountable.

(we'll not mention the recipe tests I'd also like to do in advance)....

sporky_rat

...and hits me on the head.

No kidding.

Anyway, I picked up 3 yards of red and white striped linen from the bolt that hit me. I need summer clothing like whoa and was thinking a chiton. Unfortunately, it is not my correct location.

zarhooie suggested an apron dress with an underdress. Anybody else have any ideas?

(By the way, nothing other than linen or cotton. It's March and already hitting 81°F/27°C.)

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: The Apartment
Current Music: Farscape: Back and Back and Back to the Future

sporky_rat

So who's getting ready for Gulf Wars?

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: The Apartment

holyschist

So, I was thinking it would be nice for the historical costuming/general costuming folks on Dreamwidth to get to know each other better! We still seem to be pretty scattered, and I know I personally would love to read more people who are writing about historical clothing research and projects or crafts in general.

Here are some suggestions for what to fill out, but they're just a guideline. Feel free to write whatever you think will help you find new DW friends!

Name:
Where I wear my historical clothes:
Favorite time periods to costume:
Favorite thing about costuming:
Least favorite thing about costuming:
Other types of costuming (e.g. steampunk, cosplay, SF/fantasy, silly):
Other crafts/interests:
Some posts to get an idea of my style:
Anything else:

Since not everyone who does historical/history-inspired costuming in DW is in the community, please feel free to link this post so it can reach a wider audience. Although

sca_attire is focused primarily on clothing from c. 500-1650 AD, this meme is for anyone who does historical or historical-fantasy costuming, whether that be Age of Sail, steampunk, WWI, or Temeraire cosplay.

Historical Costuming Friending Meme!

Thumbnail images of people wearing clothing from different historical times and places

Viking, Heian Japan, Tudor, Victorian, Age of Sail, or Steampunk--come meet other historical and historical-fantasy costumers!

holyschist

I guess I'm starting a sort of dress diary about my current project over here. I am trying for once to fit a themed event, and not incidentally, dress like my SCA persona for the first time ever (sad, I know!).

Due to time and money constraints, I am doing parts of two different projects--a doublet from my favorite portrait of Isabel de Valois and a near-replica of a Spanish jerkin in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Eventually I'd like to make the entire Valois outfit, but I don't think it's happening by December.

Also some questions about beads/embroidery and some thoughts on a Spanish man's outfit from a portrait of Don Gabriel de la Cueva there.

(No actually pictures of fabric or project yet--next update!).

reyl

Here are pics of the cotehardie and chaperone I made for my BFF. This is my first attempt at a cote ever. Tell me what you think :)

Current Location: Skraeling Althing, Ealdormere

holyschist

strawberrykaren posted in the LJ

sca_garb about some upcoming books on clothing and textiles.

Personally, I'm most excited about Clothes of the Common People 1580-1660.

You can see some preview pages from Medieval Garments Reconstructed: Norse Clothing Patterns at Oxbow Books.

Another book (planned for April 2011) that I am looking forward to a lot is Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns: Book 1, which includes a detailed analysis of the Laton jacket (the late 16th/early 17th century embroidered jacket reproduced by the Plimoth Plantation). It is supposed to be a new series, so I'm crossing my fingers for some future 16th century clothing books from the V&A.

ETA: Some more books for those with deep pockets or interlibrary loan.
Any other upcoming clothing/textile/embroidery books you guys are looking forward to?

holyschist

ETA: For the purpose of this question, "pinking" refers to small straight slits/cuts in the fabric, as for example in the doublet described in this dress diary. I have typically seen these described as pinks on 16th century clothing, but it might be simpler to think of them as very small slashes.

I have some general questions about pinking silk, with regards to 16th century clothing.

Most of the pinking I would like to do would involve 1/2" - 1" pinks, typically on dupioni or taffeta (eventually I might do a project with duchess satin, but not in the near future). I've come across some references to special "pinking chisels," but the only reference to someone who actually sells them that I can find is Green Man Forge. Their website (http://www.greenmanforge.com/) does not seem to exist.

Does anyone know where one could get "pinking chisels"? What kind of chisel or other tools do you use for pinking?

Currently I'm working on a project which will not be densely pinked, but where the pinks will be about 2" long (heading into "slash" territory?). Would this be easiest to do with an x-acto or utility knife (or possibly scissors) or is it better to get a 2" chisel?

holyschist

I am working on a Sekrit Project (more details later, I am sure!). Phase I involves collecting images of women's clothing in England, c. 1490-1630 (I'm keeping track of a few other paintings I especially like--Spanish and Italian--too, but not actively looking for those right now).

What I have so far is in this post. I'm looking for all social classes, but mostly aimed at upper middle class to nobility. While I've got some portraits of Elizabeth I in there, I'm more interested in gowns that would be, uh, more practical to make, e.g. not covered in solid beadwork that would make my eyes cross to figure out the pattern (embroidery is okay, for purposes of my Cunning Plan) and not made out of impossible-to-find-or-imitate-in-miniature fabric.

Right now I have some gaps in portraiture where I couldn't think of any (or many) favorites readily:

1490s
1500s
1600s
1610s
1620s

Do you guys have any favorite portraits from those decades in England? Or favorites from other decades I haven't included in that post?

holyschist

The moderator of the

dressdiaries community on LJ has set up a sister community on Dreamwidth:

dressdiaries. Nothing there yet, but hopefully it becomes as active and fun a community as the LJ community has been.

dressdiaries is

a community for seamstresses and tailors, costume and fashion nuts and other sewing people to post dress diaries - accounts or journals of their triumphs and struggles on sewing projects. Historic costume, modern fashion and fantasy projects are all welcome!

princess

So I'm still enjoying piling hurt on myself, and I've decided that what I need to do to get motivated about the green monstrosity is add another layer of complexity. To that end I am looking for some good instructions to draft a doublet-esque style bodice (such as this portrait of Maria de Medici by Allori). I don't want to use a commercial pattern, but am rather trying to figure out how to do it on my own.

Thanks ahead of time.

melannen

I am going to Pennsic War! Is anybody else going? Actually I'm leaving um, later this morning, after sleep and loading of car, but I will be checking internet at least once before Friday, so I would love to hear about any other DW people coming!

(I will be at Settmore Swamp, building a tower.)

...The reason I put off making this post until the absolute last minute is that I knew I said I'd post photos of me in the wedding garb, and I kept putting that off.

I didn't get the doublet/binder or panes done, and not as much embroidery and trim as I wanted (that will be worked on at Pennsic) but overall it came out quite well, if not nearly as impressive as most of the rest of the wedding party. :D

I forget to get any pictures of me with my camera, and since I haven't asked consent to post anybody else in the official wedding pictures, you get two random shots of me on the dance floor from somebody else's camera.

( Two mid-sized pictures of me in men's court garb from 'The Tudor Tailor' )

princess

I'm trying to figure out what the best way to get a 2" wide strip of felt out of a piece of fabric is. I'd like to pad my pleats in the skirt I'm making, and it seems most cost effective to buy a piece of felt and cut it into a strip/strips. Does anyone have any good suggestions for how to go about that? Would the continuous bias strip method work?

Current Mood: puzzled

princess

If anyone knew of someplace I could find a higher resolution image of this painting: http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/Lady1535.JPG

I would seriously owe them a debt of gratitude...

(I'm trying to figure out how the dress actually works before I put it on my list of maybe projects.)

princess

So I'm staring at half a dress (the one I started diarizing) and realizing that I probably should have hand sewed it. I'm actually going to go back and undo some of the stitching and do the rest of it by hand. Which led me to thinking about a few things.

1) Handsewing feels tedious while I'm doing it, but in the long run it looks better. I think I feel better about that.

2) Maybe it's time to think about transitioning off my machine for most of my major pieces.

Has anyone else reached this point in their garbing?

SCA Attire - Historical Clothing and Accessories

Sticky: Welcome to SCA_attire!

Looking for a new administrator

Apron Dress!

Realm of Venus Mini-Challenge and 2012 goals

wool for a cloak

War Attire Update

My attire to-do list

So a bolt of linen walks into a bar...

(no subject)

Historical Costuming Friending Meme!

Historical Costuming Friending Meme!

Valois doublet and Metropolitan Museum jerkin

Party Cotehardie

Some upcoming books

Pinking questions

Looking for clothing references, (mostly) 16th century English

Dress diaries comm on DW

Patterning tips?

Pennsic!

Question about padding pleats.

Huge appreciation...

Handsewing vs. Machine

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August 2014

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