Adelheid in the SCA

I reached out to a very knowledgable person the the SCA who makes absolutely STUNNING outfits. I had heard that Swiss necklines can be more rounded, and wanted her opinion on the matter. I complimented her guards and she said she used a ruler and chalk. I almost fell off my chair. I had used a TAPE MEASURE from the waist down to mark all the spots then pinned. No markings. No straight lines. I literally face palmed, to the amusement of Mr. Now I'm wondering if I have time to redo the guards, but about a month out and I'm still working on lacing holes. I wished my learning process wasn't so learn by doing 🤣 but on the upside now I have a better idea of how to do it next time. That's what these learning garb items are for. Thank you a million times over to Mistress Agnes. May I hope to be half as skilled one day 😊 YIS AW

Adelheid needs accessories. So, I decided to cut a veil and wimple. I've a car trip to go on and it will be a great pastime to roll the hems. At least that's what I think I'm supposed to do. I'm not sure if I should put a small hem on the front of the veil or not. Looks about right... And the back...  The construction of this involved math, a trip to dollar tree (for paper), the subsequent throwing away of the math, and tracing a half egg shape on the paper. I would have preferred a slightly shorter/fatter circle, not so pointy at the end. But it's ok, there's always a next time. This is my first veil so of course I wanted to do the cutest one. I referenced a post by Katafalk (love her 🥰) where she showed how different veils looked. https://katafalk.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/different-shapes-of-veils/  For the wimple I just cut a rectangle of fabric. There were many ideas and shapes out there in internet land, but this was suf

Up and at it early today... I really want the skirt done by the end of the weekend, and with other commitments the time slips away. I have pinned the stripes in place on the other panel, and now just waiting for my son to finish his breakfast date so I can pull out the machine. Time to handsew the pieces on the first panel!  Moment of truth... matching up the stripes to see if adjustments are required. Success?  First one I looked at... Bang on!! Was feeling pretty good there. But the other two... They got progressively worse. There must be a better way to do this. Not bad... How am I going to fix this?? Took what I learned and tried eyeballing it from the other side. Here's how stripe match #2 turned out: Well, two out of three ain't bad. I'm done for the night and will take the week to finish the hand sewing and to fuss with the two worst pieces to see what can be done. Luckily

Adelheid needs an everyday outfit. The ultimate goal is a linen undershirt, grey linen waisted kirtle, and a Burgundian gown of heavy blue wool with fur trim. Then sleeves, apron and a cap to match. Gorgeous!! But to get there, I need to learn how to do a few things, including how to draft/fit things for my body. I've had some initial luck using a purchased pattern for the Italian outfit, which has given me the confidence to try to draft my own pattern. Mr. and I found some suit wool at a thrift store which wasn't period, but the price was right (8 bucks for several wide yards), so if it didn't work out the cost was low. I grit my teeth and gave it a gentle wash and dry. Using some spare fabric, I mocked up bodices a few different ways before hitting on Morgan Donner's videos, "Drafting a Medieval Kirtle Dress Pattern" and "Making a Medieval Heraldic Dress" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yED06QFK2Q4  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXv5I1A3WQQ The d

I've taken a break from the grey wool kirtle (and most sewing) for other interests. However, with an end of summer event coming up, I need something fancy to wear for court. This little outfit has been planned for a while. It's a lower stakes, fun outfit made from light linen. So I'm not going to be slashing the guards. Here's an idea of the colors: I drafted the bodice yesterday but of course I'm unhappy with the fit. So rather than fight with the fit on my day off I decided to do the skirt panels. This time I went the easy route and took two panels 60 inches wide (fabric width). Then I cut some guards/stripes - one bigger with two smaller stripes on either side. I pulled threads to make sure the grain was straight. Pulling threads.  Press for success!! And there's the idea. And of course, the cat. The size difference didn't show up as much as I'd have liked. The ones for the outside are roughly 2 1/2 in an