Little Welsh Viking

For a Regency Ball being held in Edinburgh last month, I  spent a considerable amount of the last year working on a suit. A suit. Not a tunic, not a nice, simple cloak and braes. A full three-piece suit. In velvet. It was bloody awful. Actually it was a great challenge, really educational, and it's allowed me to learn several new skills! I am now familiar with how suits are put together from the drafting of the pattern up. It's taught me the use of tacking, how to do pad stitching, and how to piece successfully and use grain and piled fabrics properly. With its shirt and waistcoat. My child! The velvet was difficult, frayed constantly, and needed to be worked immediately after cutting to prevent it falling apart. This stuff is a challenge for a novice to use, and I recommend finding someone experienced to give you the benefit of their wisdom! The breeches were pieced heavily to make use of the limited cloth I had available, and they also feature my first ever po...

So last week the British Isles were battered by the worst snow storm for several years. Several railway lines were shut for days, buses were stopped, roads closed, and Tesco ran out of milk and bread because we can't survive two days without wholemeal bloomers (hah!). It was hell... Obviously, re-enactors went MAD. There are some awesome shots of people in their finest winter gear taking a trip out to show off. I decided, in a small way, to follow suit. My Viking kit is the warmest clothing I have, so I went for my wraparound jacket, a linen undertunic, leg wraps, Jorvik type shoes, and a pillbox cap. Nicely set off by my orange Mammen embroidered cloak. I also went armed, because it's dangerous out there! Enjoy! Glorious snow victory! Snow horse was a Good horse. As a note, my Merchant of Menace-built Jorvik shoes stayed pretty much waterproof, warm as anything, and quite dry internally all day. They also carried me without slipping on ice, packed snow, ...

It's made of linen, I sewed it by hand, and it's the simplest, shortest piece of kit I've made in YEARS. Hot. Make a coif: it's fantastic!

The pink tunic has had a LOT of work done to it. The neckline was chopped a little too deep, so I decided to put a fairly typical 11th century facing on it. I used some pale blue linen for it because, as the wonderful  Isabel Northwode  suggested, linen is a bastard to dye deep colours. The eventual aim is to get this thing embroidered with pearls, silks, rich designs and the like, but for now, dearest interpeople, I just want it wearable! The drape of the tunic works nicely. It's a touch snug for my current under tunic, so I may need to wear it "commando" or make a more snug undershirt for it, which is OK, because I have a linen stash and itchy fingers! The bottom hem. Now the rub appears! Remember my last post about the Old English Hexateuch? Well, I kind of fell in love with those side-split, trimmed tunics, so this bad lad is going to be one! I know, I know, it's a bit of a fanciful piece of kit considering how much evidence we have for silk tun...

Goodness me! Sorry about the hiatus there, everyone. I've got lots of news! As some will know, I've moved house to Scotland recently. That's pretty much taken life over for the last month or so, as it's a big move for me, and a stressful thing to do at the best of times. It's been made especially difficult because winter always gets a bit dark and cold and sad for me. The black dog is an infrequent, but vicious little visitor to my happy head, and takes up too much of it. Anyway, this blog is meant to be about old clothes, so let's talk sources, shall we? The Old English Hexateuch (AKA MS Cotton Claudius B) is an amazing resource, available for free on the British Library website. It has beautiful, full colour pictures of 11th century Saxon clothing for both the ladies and the gents. You want to see contemporary pictures of what C11th Saxons were wearing? Look here. Fabulous. Truly fabulous. Typical Saxon appearance: tunics, hose, dress and mantle, b...

And it is good trouser news... So, I went to Toronto last month (hence the brief hiatus. Sorry), and managed to get some serious, serious  fabric bargains. There are a few shops on and around Queen Street which offer incredible prices on genuinely lovely fabric. Wools, silks, linens, even some thread and notions, and they were CHEAP. One of the bargains I got was some gorgeous superfine wool tabby, for the equivalent of £7.50 per metre. The lady at the shop even burn tested it without prompting, and was very helpful to me and Madame while we were having a poorly day. Shout out to Fabric By Designers for their helpfulness! So nice. So soft. So wool. This stuff is beautifully soft, drapes gorgeously, and I grabbed a yard and a half of it to make my Viking trousers, because it's ideal! I wish I'd bought more now...ah well! I measured them based off my housemate's pair, as I mentioned in an earlier post, as they're ideal in terms of the look they provide. ...