SCA: New Winter Cloak

I spent the past few days weaving my butt off. Needed something to do while I wait for fabric to come in the mail. 

I had a bunch of that diamond weave blue wool left over from my smokkr project; it wasn’t enough to make into a coat, so I decided to make it into a large rectangular cloak instead: 

The woven trim is pretty simple - in fact, it’s the first pattern I ever learned to weave, one of the Ladoga designs. I made ten yards of it in three sections, most of it on a “new” loom that someone gave to me recently. (More on that in another post).  

I’m pretty happy with this. It was a fast, fun project which will look great and keep me warm at BAM this year. 

My next post will probably be about more hand sewing, as I’m about to start adding to the blue wool smokkr project to bring the whole outfit up a level. I’m also going to be doing LOTS of weaving the next few months, and I’m planning on building at least one new loom for sure, maybe a pair of them. We’ll see.  

Regency: Marianne Dashwood’s Enormous Hat

 I love Sense & Sensibility - the book, as well as both the 1995 and 2008 adaptations.  Last post, I showed you the new dress I made which was sort of inspired by a color worn by Elinor (Hattie Morahan) in the 2008 miniseries. 

This time I have made a GIGANTIC HAT like the one Marianne (Kate Winslet) wears in the 1995 movie. I love Regency hats, although most of them look pretty silly on me (some of them are just silly in general, let’s admit it), but I just HAD to have Marianne’s big hat, silly or not. 

I ordered a big floppy sun hat from Amazon to start with. Reader, it arrived crumpled up in a little tiny bag and it was so wrinkled and crushed! I steamed it flat again and reshaped it on a foam head to get it back into shape; then used my steamer to bend the brim in the front and back, securing the edges with a bit of thread to hold the brim in place while it dried. 

Since most of my Regency wardrobe is done in blues and greens, I changed the color scheme a bit from the inspiration pic: I used a powder blue fringe-edged ribbon for the band and ties, and natural brown ostrich feathers for decoration. 

The feathers are stitched and glued in place; I steamed them a bit to help curl them so that they would flop over the brim like Marianne’s feathers do. The steam ended up not doing much, so I ran the spines (I don’t know the correct terminology) through my fingernails tightly, like you do with curling package ribbon and scissors, and then made them nice and curly. 

Now, I don’t know if Marianne’s hat also has flowers on it, or just feathers, but I opted for both. The flower is just WAY too big, but this whole hat is just ridiculous, and I love the way the deep purple color looks with the blue ribbon and brown feathers. 

Tada! I LOVE this hat. It’s just so HUGE and fabulous!  Now I need to get myself a big hatbox to keep it in. Oh no, more shopping, lol. 

Regency: Blue “Elinor” Dress

After all the work I spent March and April doing on that blue Norse dress, I was ready for a Regency palate-cleanser to reset my brain. 

In February I bought two more packs of IKEA’s “Matilda” sheer cotton curtains on clearance that I planned to use for a new  gown, but at the time I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it - until I watched the 1995 Sense & Sensibility for the hundredth time and saw this: 

Yes, that’s a photograph of my television, lol. I THOUGHT that I couldn’t find a pic of this dress anywhere online, so I watched the miniseries again (oh no!) and took this picture. It turns out that the reason I couldn’t find it was because this is a green dress, but in this particular scene it looks so perfectly gray-blue, like a stormy sky, and THAT is what I wanted. 

bodice front before dyeing

I used the Simplicity S8941 for this one, just like the white one I made in 2022. I love the way the dress feels, and the way it fits me; this time I made the skirt a bit longer (the 2022 dress was too short and I had to add a panel at the bottom), and I made the sleeves full length this time, which took a bit of re-drafting. Most of the dress is machine-sewn; although I did finish the hems and sleeve cuffs by hand. 

Once it was finished, I dyed the whole thing. I opted to dye it after I made it because I wanted the white cotton twill tape drawstrings to be dyed as well, and I didn’t feel like trying to dye them separately - I didn’t want to risk messing up the color. I used Rit Dye’s Pearl Grey and Evening Blue (2:1), with a couple of capfuls of Teal thrown in to warm up the color just a bit. I’m super happy with the way the color came out: 

The color didn’t come out exactly 100% the way I was envisioning; but I LOVE the color I ended up with SO MUCH.

All done! This was pretty quick - it only took me about two days to sew; the dyeing process was done in the washing machine and took about half an hour and then a complete wash cycle to finish it off. 

I think for my next Regency trick I’ll make myself a new hat. I’ve always wanted Marianne’s big hat from the 2005 S&S with Kate Winslet. More S&S! Yay! Stay tuned… 

SCA: Event Update and Blue Wool Norse Dress

 Last weekend was Bjornsborg’s spring event, this one Roman-themed. It was really something - all the pavilions and activity areas were arranged in a huge circle, with the lyst fields in the center, like a coliseum. Vendors sold street snacks all around the coliseum (paid for with wooden tokens you received at the gate), everything was draped in flowers and brightly-colored fabrics, and everyone was dressed in their best Roman garb. There was even a refreshment station with a PICKLE FOUNTAIN of all things, LOL. It was really cool. 

I spent the weekend in the outdoor kitchen, helping my friends prepare the street vendor snacks, luncheon, and evening feast. It was a LOT of work, and I missed some of the activities because of it, but it was SO much fun. I was a wreck by Saturday night, but it was worth it - especially since the kitchen had a great view of court in the evening, and of the best Laurel elevation ceremony that I’ve ever seen. 

I didn’t win the A&S competition this time, but my  friend Chris won it, and I am SO proud of him!  My entry was a blue wool Norse dress that I’d been working on since March: 

That’s my documentation hanging from one of the brooches on the right; and a little linen stitch sampler booklet on the left. The entire outfit is hand-sewn; the sampler booklet was so that people could inspect the stitches I used on the clothing. 

The fabric is a “broken diamond” weave wool (mid weight, about 10oz) that I ordered from a shop online. The green silk trim fabric is from a grab bag of sari scrap “ribbon”. The Oseberg-style trim is woven with silk weaving thread, and the Hedeby braid on the seams is made with the same stuff. 

The underdress is the same one I showed at Candlemas; linen with linen thread, also hand sewn.  

This is me weaving the Hedeby braid, pinned to my couch. I have to say, although I love the finished look, I HATE weaving this stuff. It’s so tedious, and it took me four freaking hours to braid two yards of this stuff. Probably never doing this again (which I also said the last time I did it, hehe).  

Anyway, the outfit did quite well, and I got a lot of nice compliments on it. But then at court, something happened which I wasn’t expecting at all: 

I got an Iris! (That’s Ansteorra’s grant-level arts and sciences award).  I was BLOWN. AWAY.  Apparently this was given in March, but I wasn't at the event then, so they gave it to me this weekend. What! I’m still kind of in shock. I’m so grateful to everyone who made this happen. I got to read the award recommendations that were submitted, and people said such lovely things. ♥️ 

Anyway, the event was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I’m proud of my work, and proud of my friend, and so happy to have been able to attend. 

The next event is Steppes’ Warlord at the end of this month. At that event I will also be cooking, though not nearly as much; and I’m not entering A&S at Warlord. Except for the two breakfasts I’m helping with, it’ll be a nice break from working. 

Between now and then, I have some Regency stuff I’m working on, so stay tuned! 

Update on Stuff

 I know, I haven’t posted anything since I got back from Gulf Wars. I’ve been busy as heck, I just haven’t had much to say here. 

At the moment I’m working on another full hand-sewn outfit for A&S, which I’ll have lots to say about in a couple of weeks after the competition. Fun stuff about that: I hand-sewed a wool garment for the first time, I tried out weaving with silk thread for the first time (and I’m in love), and while I normally have my A&S project finished a week or two before the deadline, this time I had sort of a supply emergency and now will end up working up until the last minute - possibly even the late night before the event. So…that’s fun, I guess?  Heh. 

I have lots planned for afterwards, too. A new Viking coat for myself, lots more weaving, and a Regency gown I’ve been “dying” to make for over a year now. I may also get a new tattoo next week, but y’all don’t care about that. 

Anyway, more soon, I promise! 

Just for fun, here’s a pic of my first silk weaving project. The band on the left is cotton crochet thread; the band on the right is silk thread from Dixie Weavers, which I purchased at Gulf Wars. It’s so soft and shiny and smooth! It’s a dream to work with - once I got the tension right, that is - and I can’t wait to keep playing with this stuff. 

Bye! 

SCA: Gulf Wars 2025

So, Gulf Wars was awesome, but I came home and got sick for a week, so this post is a bit delayed…

I just spent nearly a week in the woods in Mississippi. We bugged out a day early to avoid some rather serious storms that were headed that way, and arrived home yesterday afternoon. I’m overwhelmed and tired, but I had an amazing time. 

First, the spoils of war: 

I purchased a new pair of shoes for myself, to replace (a) the old pair of Viking turnshoes that I’ve been kicking around in for like seven years and which are falling apart; and (b) the new shoes I ordered last year which are too tight even after a year and hurt my feet. These new black ones are perfect! 

I also bought three spools of silk weaving thread. I was going to order them anyway when I got home from war, but the merchant was right there on site where I could see the thread in person and chat with her about it. Yay! 

The last thing wasn’t a purchase, but a gift: a beautiful Viking knife with a red leather sheath, given to me by my friends at the Moonlight Madness event in merchants’ row. It’s soooo pretty, I love it so much. 

Activities-wise, I did ALL THE THINGS.  I took classes, saw shows, went to parties, and FINALLY visited the Early Period Life encampment which I’d always meant to do.  I even fed a horse cookie to a horse and petted her fur - which, if you know how long I’ve been afraid of horses, you know that’s a HUGE deal for me. 

All in all, I think the best part of Gulf War was that I stretched myself out and had a great time doing it. I pushed my own boundaries, left my comfort zone to try new things, and it felt good to do. I’m proud of myself. 

I even learned how to naalbind, finally. I’ve been trying to get the hang of it for years and I never could do it, but now I can at least start myself off and make chains. I’m hoping with some YouTube videos I can now teach myself to start off in the round, so that I can make some hats and mittens. 

* 

So what’s next? Oh boy, just all the things. I have two events to prepare for, another dress to make by hand, a whole bunch of weaving to get done, a broken loom to repair/rebuild (again!), and I’m helping a friend with a woodworking project he’s doing for A&S. Updates soon! 

SCA: Male Viking Tunic Replacement

 I finally made myself a new tunic to go with my male Norse outfit. The last one had seen better days: it started out life as a dress, which I altered, dyed, and finally cut off to make into a tunic. Then it got dyed again, and I switched out the trim on it twice, and I don’t even know how many repairs to this thing I had done. This is what it looked like in November: 

I decided I hated the woven trim, and I was in the process of measuring for new trim when I discovered that the back right shoulder seam had blown out - and the seam allowances inside were utterly shredded, so it wouldn’t be an easy repair. When I found two more destroyed seams in it, I decided to scrap the whole tunic and just replace it. It was time. 

Here is the new one: 

Simpler, and a better color, I think. The tunic is linen, the woven trim is cotton. I seamed this together on the machine, and then felled all the seam allowances and did the finishing/hemming by hand. I cut the side gores much narrower than the ones on the old tunic - they were wider because it used to be a dress - and it hangs better now that there’s not too much fabric. 

While I love the trim I wove for this tunic (Ladoga 2b), I’m not wild about the way the neckline came out. It’s…I don’t know, I just don’t like it much. Maybe it just needs jewelry. 

But all in all, I like the new tunic, I LOVE the color, and I like the fact that my male outfit is complete again -  I can wear it to Gulf Wars next month. Woohoo!  

Now to make myself a new serk…

SCA: Laurels’ Prize Tourney

This weekend was Laurels’ Prize Tourney. It is not a tournament, nor is there any prize - that’s just what it’s called. What it is is a chance to show off your work and sit down with laurels and with other artisans who are interested in the same things and talk about it together. It’s a huge geek fest, and the time I went several years ago was SO much fun. 

This weekend’s event was no different. I met so many new people, and had so much fun talking about stuff I love to do, and about so much more. I learned new things, found new rabbit-holes to head down when I get some free time, and a new appreciation for where I’m at in my work and how far I have yet to go. 

I brought what I’m calling my “Vikings Are Still Cool” display - a little bit of some of the things I do which are Norse-garb-related.  I brought my red hand-sewn dress from Candlemas, the Oseberg loom that I built last year, a whole bunch of tablet weaving stuff, some of the Hedeby bags I love to make, some other sewing items, and some of the jewelry and glass beads that I’ve made. 

Some friends and I drove up together and rented an AirBNB for the weekend, rather than paying for a more expensive hotel room to share.  It was a great little house - I’d never been to an AirBNB before, so it was a new experience for me. 

What’s Next? 

The next SCA event for me is going to be Gulf Wars in March - a weeklong war between two kingdoms, hosted by a third kingdom and attended by several. 

Before then I’ve got to make myself a new serk and a new male tunic; and I’ve got to get started on my A&S project for Bjornsborg in April, as well. And I’ve taken on a weaving commission that I hope to have done in a couple of weeks, too. 

I also have a new regency dress that I’m hoping to get done somewhere in there - it’s high time I had a black mourning gown, I think. 

Lots of things! More on all that soon.