Good Garb!

[Divash]

Good luck, Berzerker_prime! You'll be posting pictures so we can see how cool it all looks, right?

Also, what are French seams?  

[Berzerker_prime]

Well, they're the thing I ended up skipping after all, due to an interruption early this morning that lasted a couple hours (my lord called needing some attention and I found myself quite amenable to the chat). Basically, it's a method of finishing seams whereby you leave no raw edges on either the inside or the outside of the clothing. It's kind of time consuming since you basically have to sew every seam twice.

Here's a pretty good tutorial on it.

They make a piece very sturdy, when all is said and done.

But, yes, I did manage to complete the garb. In the end, I simplified the embroidery pattern around the collar a little. There was one small detail I left out which may get added later (especially since I bought a different color linen thread with which to do it), but I'm going cross-eyed, so I've hit my limit.

Here's a pic of the embroidery around the collar.

And one of the Viking embroidery design it was based on.

I'll try and get someone to get a pic of me in the full garb at the event tomorrow.

^_^  

[Divash]

Oh, very cool. Thanks for the link -- and I really like the embroidery you did, too. So tasteful and pretty.  

[Sir_Catherine]

Berzerker_prime

I'll try and get someone to get a pic of me in the full garb at the event tomorrow.

I hope you did get a photo. Your garb looked wonderful and well worth showing off.  

[Dragostae]

I've been slowly blinging out my Byzantine with extra beads I had lying around the house, though I did buy some gold coloured glass and some amethyst beads. I'm also working on Coptic embroidered roundels on my undergown.

The beaded collar can be found here. It does lay flat, and looks pretty spiff.

As for the segmentae (or the roundels), I have one done. The second one is about a quarter done and doesn't look half bad, though it's still on the hoop. We'll see how this goes.  

[Divash]

Hoo-ha, that is fancy and gorgeous! Okay, now I have GOT to step it up and learn to sew, for real.  

[Dragostae]

Really, it's up to you. I can't sew. Embroidery and beading aside. Garments are beyond my scope of knowledge. Embellishment, though, I'm all over. (I seriously wonder what the Byzantines would have done with a Bedazzler, if it were period.) I'm updating my Byzantine (which was a hand-me-down from one of my household sisters) with trim and beads, both of which are period to my persona (though, I suppose I'm cheating with buying commercial trims, but after embroidering this sucker, I'm a little sick of needles), and embroidery, which is about the end of my scope of knowledge and know-how.

Try finding an art you're fascinated by. And it's okay to dabble, too. My Laurel and I are both dabblers, and we both have learned lots.  

[Berzerker_prime]

As promised, a pic of the garb from Saturday.



I'm not really happy with the under tunic as it isn't as full as it really needs to be on the bottom. But, I ran out of fabric. In point of fact, I actually had to sacrifice a couple inches of length at the bottom in order to have enough to make the sleeves. At some point, I'll have to try and get some more of the same stuff and add some gores into the side seams. Or just make a new one altogether.

This was also my first real attempt at a proper veil. It made me crazy! The veil bands were surprisingly itchy, despite being linen. I guess it's something that I'll have to get used to wearing if I'm going to continue using it.  

[Divash]

Wow, Berzerker_prime, you look terrific! What is your circlet made of? Did you do the tunic embroidery yourself, or buy fabric that already had that pattern around an edge and sew it there? Is it all linen, or partly wool, or something else? Where'd you get the belt flagon?

Also, yes, linen is itchy until it's been washed several times. You can soften it more rapidly by tossing your fabric into the hot wash before cutting or sewing it, along with a pair of old sneakers. When the hot wash is done, throw it into the dryer on the highest heat setting for about 45 minutes. (Best if you do this with other clothes, too, so you're not wasting energy and water by washing just fabric, unless you bought a LOT of fabric.) The next few times you're doing a hot wash and dry, toss the fabric in with it. After about five or six go-arounds of this, then lay out, cut, and sew your fabric into garments.  

[Berzerker_prime]

Yup, both tunics are linen. The bolts advertised 100%, but I understand that some companies count a certain amount of cotton as still being "100%" so that can get dicey. The circlet is just something I picked up at a local shop. I suspect it's aluminum. I did the embroidery with linen thread, too (I'm extremely lucky in that I have a store near me where I can just run out and get some!). I'm eventually going to do the same pattern around the sleeves, too, but that's back-burnered for the time being.

Weird on the washing thing. Normally one washing of the fabric does it for me. But, judging by the way the white linen for the veil and the bands still felt starchy afterward, I suspect it had a lot of extra in it. It looks like it has a smaller thread count, so I wonder if it wasn't intended for use in stitching projects rather than clothing. I guess I'll have to toss them in my delicates bag and wash them again. I'd probably want to get all the icky face oils off them on a regular basis anyway.  

[Dragostae]

I finally bought my trim from Calontir Trim, and I just need to get more pearled cotton. I'd get silk, but not on my budget right now.

I plan on getting photographs of it when I'm done. smile  

[Divash]

I can't wait to see it, Dragostae!  

[Berzerker_prime]

Ditto!

Out of curiosity, since it sounds like we have a fair number of mid-westerners here...

This might be a little OT, but, anyone planning to go to Costume Con in May? It's going to be in Milwaukee this year and I'm excited! ^_^  

[Kittywitch]

I went last year and was quite impressed by absolutely everything (except the manners of the merchant across from me, but I was impressed by his hypocrisy), but it's too far to travel this year.  

[Divash]

What's Costume Con, and what are the dates?