So this just ran across my desktop and I thought I would share it with you. Some of you may not know what the SCA is and if you do well it a neat little video so you should watch it anyways! A well made video and fun to watch.
Vair Cloak
I received several responses to my post which I have cross-posted on a few of my regular forums. The responses have been varied on how to achieve the look of vair from a labor intensive two-tone fur sewing project to a felting method. While I have gotten a number of ideas I had to share this particular image to the right.
Vair Cloak Belonging to Ian Uzzell, Regia of UK
This particular example comes from Ian Uzzell, Regia from the UK, by way of a response to my post on a forum. The snippit below is from the owner of the cloak himself:
“Hazel has now finished my 12th C tunic and cloak. The cloak is lined with vair – which is the belly fur of squirrels. Manuscripts show several cloaks so lined.The tunic is full length is heavily
embroidered at the neck and has wide lined sleeves.”
The skins were gotten from the House of de Clifford, professional furriers.
Ian notes:
“I quote from the supplier: This squirrel blanket/ plate is made from Baltic winter squirrel necks. it measures 28″w x 44″d This pattern is often used in heraldry and seen in medieval paintings. Squirrel was called ‘vair’ and the white fur was called ‘miniver’ . This fur is one of the purest softest furs in the world. The fur trade in Britain was started through the trade in Grey Squirrel pelts across the Hansiatic trade routes, and was probably bought in Novgorod, Russia. Grey squirrels not being native to the UK in medival times and only having red squirrels we wanted something ifferent!!!”
I myself am not a fan of using real fur unless I happen to be able to re-purpose an old fur coat that is still in good condition.This is why I am trying to find a way to make it instead of buying a piece from a furrier. That and it is just far too expensive for regular wear! Though I do have to admit that I am jealous of such a beautiful piece of work!
The Results Are In!
The results to my previous quandary are in! The white details on the cloaks from the Codex Manesse illustrations I mentioned in this post are vair. Vair is the heraldic representation of patches of squirrel fur in an alternating pattern of blue and white.* So the lining and collars of the cloaks that are represented are the white bellies of squirrels with the black or blue fur from their backs. There is a possibility that it may have been a larger animal but I have no idea as to whether or not that would still qualify as vair or not.
Heraldic Ermine
I was prepared for the answer to be ermine but in retrospect I should have know that it was something quite different as the usual representation of ermine is three dots around a tail looking thing like what is seen to the right. I’ve seen a lot of that on shields and coats of arms but I suppose I didn’t really put two and two together on this one. Now many people have tried with varied success to replicate ermine and I have found the best and longest lasting method to also be the most labor intensive. I start with a chosen white faux fur and then sew in smaller pieces of a black fur. The process includes trimming the area where the black fur tip is to be sewn in and backing the tip with additional black fur. Hot glue won’t work for this so hand sewing is mandatory.
My question is now how do I recreate the look of vair. I don’t really like using permanent marker to color the fur since it can run and ruin the whole piece. With ermine I can add in little pieces of black fur but I’m not sure that I could do that with this. Does anyone have any suggestions?
*Vair. (2011, June 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:16, June 21, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vair&oldid=433843956
Ermine or Not
There is a rather wonderful book that was written and illuminated between 1300 and 1340 (the approximate date of completion) called the Codex Manesse or the Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift in German. It was produced in Germany and It is the single most comprehensive source for the texts of love songs in Middle High German. Besides representing over forty poets it has a number of beautiful drawings that depict fashion, life and people of the 1300’s. I have taken to studying something that I have found rather interesting in a few images and I am trying to decipher whether or not what was drawn is supposed to represent ermine or not. There’s one image that I would like to produce which has brought me to this but that can wait until later.
The fist image I found was this one to the right. (A larger image can be found here.) The Minnesänger or poet depicted on this miniature could be Wilhelm von Gliers The Minnesänger explained on this miniature could be Wilhelm von Gliers who is said to have lived from 1267 to 1317 and was the son-in-law to Walthers von Klingen. The part I am interested in is the white and black that decorates the cape.
For all intents and purposes it looks like a great cloak of sorts with a definite collar of this white decorative material. It looks as though the whole cloak is lined in the stuff and so I can only assume that it is some kind of fur. I asked my husband, a historian, and he said that it may have been stoat fur while I thought perhaps ermine. Fortunately it was not the only example of this possible fur.
The second example to the left with both a female and male model wearing the same kind of decorated cloak. While the woman’s version is much simpler, the men’s version is pretty much exactly the same as the one above and both are clasped over the right shoulder. I think that the cloak itself looks very full and could possibly be a full circle cloak. I’m looking for any input that you may have as to what it may be. Stoat or ermine or or something else entirely?
War of the Roses
Yay! I have returned from the middle ages! This weekend’s camping trip was a lot of fun! For anyone not familiar with the War of the Roses event set up by the Barony Concordia of the Snows, it pitts the house of Lancaster versus the house of York. War points are awarded for each field won, fencing, heavy lists, archery, thrown weapons, brewing competition, seige weapons, arts and sciences and shopping (which ever side spends more money wins the point).
This weekend was packed with goings-on: His Excellency the Baron Concordia of the Snows received the Laurel (Kingdom order for the arts), three people were awarded the baronial Order of the Sapphire, five citizens were awarded the baronial Order of Friends (for service to the Barony), four dogs were awarded the Order of theFawn (for service to the Barony and one posthumously), and the Kingdom awarded the owner of the country club a baronetcy though he does not participate in the SCA for all of his help, kindness and generosity.
The weekend over all was quite fun and though mildly marred by occasional torrential downpours on Saturday and a air mattress with a leak on Friday evening, it went off without a hitch. I’ve included a photo of me in my finished Chemise and a skirt made “just because” Thursday evening prior to the weekend as well as one of our camp right after I finished setting up Friday.
P.S. Anyone planning on going to Roses in the future that has never been be prepared to deal with lots of rocks hidden undergound when you stake in your tent.
Categories: Camping, General
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My New Tent Picture
So I promised to post a photo of my new tent. These aren’t the best since I took them with my iPhone camera but here are a couple to tide you over until I take better pictures this weekend! This is a Kodiak canvas tent. It’s 12×14′ not including the awning with a rubberized floor. The floor is awesome since nothing can get through and it also adds a layer of insulation which is really nice. The thing is completely waterproof and the ventilation pockets near the top that you can see below on the side (in green) are really great during the really hot days since they allow the air to flow through the top and keeps the hot air from collecting there.
The “front door” and awning…
Me standing up straight with inches to spare and the black thing behind me is the gear loft that came with the tent.
Last but not least a general picture on the inside….
Yay! Camping Season Has Begun!
For any of you who are in the SCA already you know that the camping season is off and running and how exciting that is. For those of you not in the SCA, the camping season is the high point of the year for a lot of people if not everyone in the SCA. For the most part all of the largest events happen during the spring, summer and early autumn. It’s only understandable since it’s the best weather for camping and camping allows for a longer event and the real immersion into SCA life. Like regular camping, this isn’t for everyone though. So if it’s not your thing, no worries!
Now, I personally love camping! I’m going to my first camping event in many years and my first in the EK (East Kingdom in plain speak) To mark this auspicious occasion I went and splurged a bit on a new tent. My first tent was a nylon affair, a pup tent and let me tell you it was harder than hard to change into garb. Not to mention that it was hot and impossibly muggy inside on the best of days…never mind when it was hot and humid. My new tent is a beauty! It’s a Kodiak canvas tent 10’x 14′ with a 6’5″ceiling. It’s a wall tent or as close to one as makes no difference. The great thing about canvas tents is that they are amazingingly breathable (not hot and wierdly humid like nylon thents) and they don’t wick water. Go ahead and pile stuff against the wall, no water will seep in! Not to mention I can stand to get dressed which is a godsend. Now this tent is not a period pavillion…it’s a modern day cabin tent. I’ll take some pictures of my camp and post it here for you too see in another post sometime soon.
In the mean time if you’re going to be at War of the Roses this weekend, May 22-25th hopefully I’ll see you there!
Project #1 ~ Chemise Update 2
So I’m running a little behind with my updates on my chemise project. I’ve recently thrown my ack out of whack somehow and have been forced to stay laying flat on my stomach for sometime…yay. Anyways I took this picture a couple of days ago, right after my last post really, I’m ready and able to sit long enough to explain it!
So what you’re looking at is what we call a flat-felled seam. You see these on the outside seams of jeans usually. While these are definately not period there is a method to my madness. Firstly I don’t own a serger to finish my raw edges. This is a great way to finish these edges and not have anything rubbing you raw at the same time. Secondly I want this piece to last a long time. The chemise is something that you wear often and will be washed more often than any other piece of garb you own. Flat-felled seams are stronger than your average seam and you’ll find that they are less likely to come apart on you which save you the time that you would spend fixing them.
For this particular piece I made it so that the seam that you see in the picture is on the inside of the garment since depending on what you’re wearing you may see large amounts of the exterior seam. Hmm…at this point I should probably insert a picture of the exterior seam here…I’ll make sure that I get a shot and add it soon. From experience I also will say that these don’t chafe or rub as much as other types of seam finishes (including serged seams) do, especially under bodices etc.
Project #1 ~ Chemise Update 1
So per the directions I have cut my fabric into four parts for my chemise: two body pieces and two sleeves. I sewed the corners at 8 inch corners and laid it out on my bed. This is what it looks like:
I realize that beige muslin on a primairly beige comforter is not the most brilliant strategy but it was the only space big enough for me to lay this monstrosity out. As you can see it looks far to lareg for a body but it will gather together. The hole in the center is the neck hole and the piece hanging off the foot of the bed and its opposite are the sleeves… It’s a bit awkward to work on becuase of the shape but it’s really a minor problem and when I sew things up it’ll be a perfect fit!!
Side Note #1 – Featherlight Boning
In case any of you out there are thinking about using the plastic Featherlight Boning which can be found at almost any sewing shop, including Joann’s Fabrics, for any corset-type project my advice is this: don’t. The only time that this stuff works for corsets or bodices is if you are without any curves whatsoever. Since most women today, myself included, don’t fall into this category we have to look at other options. Just for laughs I will post a photo of my bodice with featherlight boning after one day of wear here:
You can see that the plastic has bent, clearly warping the bodice after only a short day of wear. Not to mention that it causes the front points of the bodice to roll up in a most unbecoming manner!
One popular option is Spiral Steel Boning. This is the more flexible of the two with its being flexible in all directions. However it may not be appropriate for all boning uses. It does work remarkably well for those situations when boning has to follow along a curve. It’s also the more comfortable of the two for long periods of wear.
The other option is White Steel or Sprung Steel Boning. This is more rigid than the previous option and doesn’t give so easily on all axis. It will not bend to fit the curved seams like the first and unless you are used to it, can be uncomfortable for long periods of wear.
I have worn garments made with both and I find that the more rigid of the two I found more comfortable. That is partially a personal preference as well. My best recommendation would be to get a set of each and find a way to try on your bodice with them. Better yet find a friend who is similar in size and body type and see if they’ll let you try theirs on so you can get an idea of what they feel like!!
Categories: Garb
Tags: bodice, boning, featherlight, spiral steel, sprung steel, warping
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