SCA: 3 Things: Random Viking Kit Stuff

This is such a small thing, but it's a huge accomplishment for me!  I've been learning how to inkle weave...very...slowly...and without much forward progress.  I assumed my work was wonky because I was new, but that I would get the hang of it and it would stop being bumpy and fuzzy with practice.  I was using scrap yarn for this, which is...bumpy and fuzzy.  A weaving friend of mine told me it was likely the yarn's fault, and not mine - so I decided to try it with a new material. 

This time, I used #10 cotton crochet thread, and it came out MUCH more evenly and smoothly, thank goodness!  I made a pair of short (about 1y each), thin (3/8") garters to wrap around my winingas when I dress as a male Viking, to mimic some pictures I've seen online from some of the European reenactment groups.  I really liked the look, and since my raven clasps broke, I had nothing to secure my winingas with.  (Actually, the red garters are purely decorative, since I tuck my winingas in at the bottom).  (Also, I don’t know how period the whole winingas-and-garters thing is. I’ve seen this done as part of the Finnish Iron Age dress recreation (the “Eura dress,” 6-7th century), but I don’t know  if the style carried over into say, Sweden or Denmark, or for how long a time period that style was worn). 

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After the little raven clasps from my winingas broke (the hook snapped off of one), I made the broken one into a piece of jewelry - it's now a pendant for my Viking "festoon" necklaces: 

Now I have three raven pendants for my necklaces: this one, a brass Rus Borre style raven; a silver Rus-style pewter raven that I got as a site token from Candlemas; and a modern silver stylized raven pendant that my BFF got me for my birthday many years ago.  All the ravens! (I also have a pretty nifty knotwork raven tattoo, but sadly it doesn't show with all my garb on.  Oh, well).  Anyway, the clasp on this is totally modern, but I use them on all my raven pendants, and they don't really show because they're hidden between beads.  

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Also, I dyed my male Viking tunic with some leftover dark green RIT dye, because the colors were grossing me out. The greige and blue look was nice, but I just look awful in beiges and warm grays.  So now the tunic (and outfit) is green and dark blue, and I like it much better. 

More soon! 

Regency: A Picnic!

 Over the weekend I went to my very first JASNA event: their annual Box Hill Picnic, in Buda, Texas. I have to admit, I was very apprehensive about going - I'm not exactly a "social butterfly", and new people, and groups of people I don't know, and doing new things, intimidate me something fierce.  

The picnic was lovely, though. It was a smallish group; I met a handful of really awesome ladies and gentlemen who were happy to entertain a newcomer.  We all played a quiz game designed to get us talking to each other (mostly Emma trivia, and I was thankful I'd just read it again recently), ate a nice lunch with wonderful desserts, and took a walk around the park together to admire the local wildflowers.  

I think I'll definitely go back to more JASNA events - now I know there ARE lots of events, even though it's been hard to find info online. There's a Meetup group and a book club, there are English Country Dance classes every now and then, dinners and lectures and all sorts of nifty things to do.  

Here's me and my friend, Star, out at the picnic with our little paper name tags, hehe: 

I wore my white dotted/striped gown, with my blue linen open robe and green linen hat, along with my coral-and-mother-of-pearl jewelry and a Lover's Eye on a gold chain that I made.  Thankfully, I wasn't the only one "in costume" - several other ladies showed up in Regency finery, including one woman dressed all in black mourning, which was pretty cool.  

Hooray, I got out and tried a new thing, and it was wonderful!  I can't wait to go again.  Before the next "costumes welcome" event, I have a new Spencer to make...more on that later.  

Regency: Lavender Striped Drop-Front Dress

I LOVE striped Regency dresses. I keep thinking about making one, but I had no fabric to use …but wait, I thought - don’t I have a lavender striped cotton duvet cover in storage not being used for anything? 

I’d seen people use duvet covers and sheets for regency dresses before (I've even made a dress out of a pair of curtains myself); but I was worried it wouldn’t be enough fabric, but it turned out, the duvet cover was exactly enough for what I needed. (And to tell you how old this thing is, I got it at Linens N Things - remember them? It’s old but it’s in great shape).  

I used my Reconstructing History pattern for this dress, because I wanted the flat front and bib to show off the stripes. I was leery about using the pattern again, as the first time through was a nightmare - but when I made it before, I knew exactly squat about the construction and fitting of Regency dresses, and now I have more experience and a much better idea of what I'm doing now, and this went together really easily. 

 

I drafted new sleeves for the dress, since I wanted a straight long sleeve, and the pattern only had a short sleeve or a double sleeve option. (The double sleeves are neat, but I have broad, square shoulders, and puffy shoulders make me look like a linebacker, so I wanted a more streamlined silhouette there). I measured all the sleeve pieces from the pattern and then drew out my own sleeves based on that, adjusting the fit a bit for slightly-larger-than-usual upper arms. I also added a thin wrist band with a hook on it to close the sleeve around the wrist: 

I started this project and got about halfway through it when I realized I was going to have to make a new corset to go with it.  You can read about that in my previous post here.  

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But wait, you say, isn't lavender/purple a mourning color?  Yes and no. From what I've read, in full mourning (the period right after a person's death) one would wear black or as near to it as was feasible (gray, dark gray, black accessories if you didn't have/couldn't afford a new black dress, etc.).  In half-mourning (the later half of the mourning period, designed to transition you away from all-black and back into more cheerful colors), softer, muted colors like gray and lavender and purple became acceptable.  You could always wear purple any time you wanted, of course - it wasn't strictly reserved for half-mourning.  The folks in the Regency weren't nearly as strict about these things as the Victorians were.  

That said, if I wanted this dress to be a half-mourning outfit, I could always accessorize it with my black crocheted mitts and a sheer black shawl: 

I love my new dress, and I plan to wear it this weekend: the local JASNA is having their annual Box Hill Picnic near Austin, and so I’m grabbing a couple of Regency-friendly friends and we’re headed down!  I’ve never been to a JASNA or Regency-themed event before - I did check to make sure costumes are allowed, and was told that yes, some people wear Regency attire to the picnic. Now I just have to figure out what to bring to eat for lunch. And what to do with my hair! And - where the heck are my white gloves??