Tonight? Tonight is sewing, dagnabit.

[soldiergrrrl]

I am *this* close to being done with my new tunic.  Then, I can focus on John's fighting garb.  Liam found some gorgeous trim to go on it, and in exchange, he's getting some gold and red trim, in addition to his Centurion eagle trim, to spiff out the bottom of the cote. 

Speaking of that fighting cote...Liam has done a fantastic job with it. 

He agreed to listen to me and slow down with the machine as well as hand-baste most of the seams rather than pinning.  Pinning would have been a lot faster, but the seams look so good!  He also flat felled them all, so the coat is darn-near reversible.  Slowing down with the machine also allows him to correct seam allowance and whatnot before it disappears under the needle and that's been a good thing. 

I'm really proud of him.  The bottom isn't nearly as fwooshy as I'd make it, but that's my personal preference.  Now, he's just got to make sleeves, and he's all set. 

So, my goal this week...finish up my tunic (and it's 99% handwork at this point, so I can work on it on the drive to Houston for the Quilt Show) and get John's tunic and pants cut out.  I managed to score a yard and half of heavy heavy dark blue linen that I'm going to use to reinforce the elbows, the collar and the cuffs so that they don't wear so fast, but I'm still struggling to understand the directions in Levantia's books on the collar slit for Byzantine men's clothing, so John may have to suck up the center slit for now.  I'm going to scan the bloody pages in one of these days and see if anyone else can make heads or tails of them.

Honestly, I'm way behind where I wanted to be, garb-wise, but at least I'll have something for Baronial and if I can, I'd like to make another new tunic for BAM, or maybe...just maybe a cotehardie.  I have some pretty bubblegum pink twill that would make a lovely cote.  ;-)

Speaking of cotes...attack_laurel has a page on an interesting stitch technique on an Elizabethan garment, and I'm wondering if we have any evidence of this being used any earlier, like...oh...on a cote?  I'd love to try this for a cote, before I start working on my Elizabethan.  Excuse me while I giggle like a fiend.  Yeah, after I work on Turkish, German and Byzantine.  And a cote.  Then I'll work on Elizabethan.  (Ah hahahahaha hahahaha hahahahahah...*wheeze*...ahahahahahahahahahahah!) 

BTW, if you're doing research, and you're not so used to it, anyone have a good outline of how you go about it?  I can do research for news stuff, but costume research is totally out of my league.  I just don't know how to do it.

Okay...off to the salt mines with me!

Comments

Re: Fighting

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, dearest. It's lovely and I'm proud of you. It's not easy for some folx to admit that they need help, but you've been really good about trying new things and ripping out what doesn't work.

:-) You're going to look great at Baronial.

Re: Fighting

[cenliamgordon.livejournal.com]

Aw, shucks...

Re: Fighting

[soldiergrrrl.livejournal.com]

:-P

[piroshki.livejournal.com]

And y'seeeeee? If you'd just listened to me and taken a treadle home with you, you wouldn't have to be worried about anybody going too fast!

...of course, I still pin-baste loosely, then baste with the chain-stitcher, and pull out the basting when I'm done...

As far as costume research goes, I started with the period-museums. You'll probably find most of yours in Europe. If you remind me (i.e. send me an email) I'll sort through the myriad of links I've been using, checking through each, and point you in the direction of the ones that have good coverage of that period.

Out of curiosity, what region are you specialising in? Sounds stupid, but the allowable and acceptable fashions vary from region to region, so you might not be so interested in the Scandinavian museums as the French or English.

...and while we're on that, did I ever send you that wool yarn for couching? If I didn't, I'm going to have to send more, because the box I thought I sent, isn't where it should've been when I should have put it if I didn't send it.