Garb
Ecclesiastical Garments of the 13th Century: The Alb
Extant Albs The overall shape of the alb has not changed in many years and, thanks to an exsisting garment at the V & A Museum we can see how the garment was cut and created. (No. 8710 of 1863 and labeled “Albe, white linen, with apparels of crimson silk, Sicilian fourteenth century.”*) The alb was … Continue reading
Ecclesiastical Garb and Religious Personas in the SCA
Over vacation this past week I was going though the hundreds of pictures from my SCA events. I happened to be going through a new book (Medieval Costume in England and France by Mary G. Houston) and noticed that for all SCA folks like decorative garb not may take on the roles of the religious … Continue reading
Standing Collars in the 1300’s?
So as I have been going over the images in the Codex Manesse I have noticed robes, not cloaks I think, that have these standing collars. I have included the pictures I’ve been studying in this post. In some cases they are the same color as the robe and others the are different colors. I … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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. … Continue reading
Project #1 ~ Chemise with Ruffle
While this is not my first project by any means it’s the first I’m tracking here. Yay! Now for the monumental let down…it’s a chemise. I’ve been dying to modify on so it has a bit of ruffle at the sleeve and neck. The pattern I’ll be using is here: http://www.reddawn.net/costume/chemise.htm It’s very simple and basic. … Continue reading