The Armour Archive

Charlotte J

I usually use some sort of narrow ware, be that a lucet cord or a narrow tablet woven band. There are also people in our LH group who have played with the idea of using sprang. I've never made sprang, but it seems to me to be similar structure to a hammock. Similar, not the same. Sprang is a bit str...

Charlotte J

I've got my four dresses done. One of them has really nifty sleeves - if you see me in it, you'll know what I'm talking about. It feels like such a luxury to have *enough* clothes, and NEW clothes for Pennsic this year. I usually make do with a couple of dresses and lots of shifts. Now, I'm on to me...

Charlotte J

*checks watch*

Less than a week...

Are you driving it out yourself or shipping? The logistics of it all must be interesting.

Charlotte J

Tracy â€“ I love the outfit! I especially love how BIG it makes the guy look. Football pads have nothing on these clothes.

Charlotte J

So, where does one get accurate patterns for clothing in the 1275-1280 range? I'll look into both English and the HRE (Bohemia/ Saxe-Wittenberg). Not nobility. Just a civilian. Altho, I do archery, so maybe I should lean towards someone who would have a bow. The best part about this period is that ...

Charlotte J

How old is she?

Black is going to be pretty warm in the sun. Is she old enough to understand "uncomfortable and hot"?

Charlotte J

Looking at some of your inspiration pictures, some are Flemish, and some are Italian. I donâ€™t think that these are incompatible, but Iâ€™m curious if youâ€™re aiming for a specific time and place or making it more general? (No, no, Iâ€™m not just trying to figure out what to wear when I come visit...

Charlotte J

So, no real confirmed difference for summer wear between two layers of medium linen and one med linen and one light wool, except for maybe the clamminess. How light is the light weight wool of which summer wear is made? Thanks! Christopher I couldnâ€™t tell you a weight as easily as I can with line...

Charlotte J

Beyond clothing, are you going to serve everything SCA style, or in period style? The Boke of Keruynge is a 15th c. manners manual describing everything a server needs to know, from table setting to hand washing. It helps if you have a staff that you can run things through with once and cooperation...

Charlotte J

Here is something I am curious about. How can wool be such a great way to keep warm, yet also a great way to keep cool? Wouldn't it's radiating effect when paired with linen make it chilly in the winter? I know wool is fantastic in the cold, I'm not questioning that. I'm just wondering if anyone kn...

Charlotte J

Beyond clothing, are you going to serve everything SCA style, or in period style? The Boke of Keruynge is a 15th c. manners manual describing everything a server needs to know, from table setting to hand washing. It helps if you have a staff that you can run things through with once and cooperation ...

Charlotte J

The modern faux turnshoes are faux because the sole is actually a clump sole. They don't get turned. They just have the trim, pointy profile of a turnshoe. There are probably some shoemakers who do that, but many do not. I've personally seen Dru Shoemaker make a pair of shoes on a last, soak them, ...

Charlotte J

I'm sure that like me, a lot of people are spending a lot of July prepping for Pennsic. What are you working on? Any special projects? Mounds of sewing? Me, I'm just working on four simple 14th century dresses. This is the first time I've ever really done Pennsic production sewing - usually I just w...

Charlotte J

Oh! That is splendid. I won't be there early enough to set up, but I hope to come down and see it at some point. I wasn't going to bring my henin to Pennsic, but now I think I have to just so I can dress up for a visit.

Charlotte J

HE sells kids stuff:

http://historicenterprises.com/womens-k ... 0_126.html

If you want to make your own, I have a few articles.

Charlotte J

Iâ€™m at work, so I canâ€™t check, but isnâ€™t â€œWoven into the Earthâ€

Charlotte J

Hose, or rather chausses, pointed just at the hip won't fit as well as full leg and butt hosen. You'll get *some* sag. I've wondered... sometimes there's stretch at the top opening of the chausses, where it's all bias cut. Has anybody ever tried binding it with an on grain strip to help with that st...

Charlotte J

I don't mean to be unhelpful, but it seems to me that this question has been covered a LOT lately. I know that Aaron had some of the same questions a few months ago, and there were a lot of links and such posted at the time. Have you done some searching?

Charlotte J

Gorgeous!

Charlotte J

Is the planning on using this as a supportive, kirtle layer, or having multiple layers of gowns? What are her fabrics? I'd suggest doing the first, supportive layer with lacing and a regular four panel pattern. You probably wouldn't want to put bust support stress on an embroidered panel - so much o...

Charlotte J

I always do all of one side first. I make my eyelets the space of my thumb apart. Then I go back and pin both sides together, and mark the eyelets of the second side. Sometimes I do a few at a time, sometimes all at once. Make sure you pick a point to be the bottom on the second side, and check it e...

Charlotte J

Quick browsing shows me more women than I'd have expected with long dresses in the T.S.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categ ... ry_fashion

A short one:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... omne03.jpg

Even the brasses show some shorter ones:

http://effigiesandbrasses.com/monuments ... e_wynston/

http://effigiesandbrasses.com/monuments/joan_foxley/

Certainly not exhaustive. Just poking about during the day.

Charlotte J

I found a few quickies browsing around the effigies and brasses website, and on wikimedia commons. They're out there, but they're not as easy to find as longer dresses. But I can't imagine anybody saying that she's not accurate enough if her dress isn't long. Even high fidelity LH groups don't have ...

Charlotte J

My first dress was longer than floor length. It was pretty, but a big pain in the neck. I usually hem at floor or about an inch above.

What does she want?

Charlotte J

I'd like to clarify that I don't mean that all has had to be bias cut, but rather to mention that the bias in the front is what is meant by bias cut. Just to be clear and all...

Charlotte J

This brings up something I was wondering a while back, when I was trying to make a pair of joined hosen for myself. For bias cutting, I had assumed that the imaginary front center line of each leg piece would be laid out at a 45-degree angle to the edge of the fabric. However, I realized this would...

Charlotte J

I'm a member of La Belle. Did you get your question satisfactorily answered? If not, shoot me a message, or rewrite your entire question, and I can send it to the group.

But yeah, using the contact info on the website works too.

Charlotte J

When I first met Jeff, we arranged a trade that he'd make me a chest, and I'd make him 20 silk fingerlooped points. After spending all evening fingerlooping, I discovered that I was using muscles that I wasnâ€™t hitting at the gym! How long are the points? Did you make a few very long cords and cut...

Charlotte J

I only recommend giving the tapper a beer, not the braider!

When I first met Jeff, we arranged a trade that he'd make me a chest, and I'd make him 20 silk fingerlooped points. After spending all evening fingerlooping, I discovered that I was using muscles that I wasnâ€™t hitting at the gym!

Charlotte J

Just keep in mind, that unless thereâ€™s been a big breakthrough in the last couple of years, thereâ€™s little to no evidence for lucet being used in the 14th or 15th centuries. Fingerloop and regular plaiting and braiding are much more documentable for that period. And there are ways of making long...

Charlotte J

Quite a few of the patterns produce a cord that's good for lacing a dress. Plus, there's no reason not to make a flat cord for a dress. I've specifically used: 2. Purstringe--3 bos reed, 2 bos white -- c. 1600, 1630 (One color version: a round lace of v bowys -- c. 1475) and 8. A lace bend rounde of...

Charlotte J

A good doublet is also nice and snug around the middle. That allows the stress of the hose pulling down to be taken by the body, not by the shoulders.

Charlotte J

Pictures are here: m The vast majority are of La Belle Compagnie, but there's one of Wolf. Does peter Addams still hand with you guys? He was a good patron of my shop early in my carreer. I would like to say hi to him sometime. Not with La Belle, anymore, but I know him from the SCA. Duke Badouin, ...

Charlotte J

Pictures are here:

http://www.mathildegirlgenius.com/gallery/2010MTT

The vast majority are of La Belle Compagnie, but there's one of Wolf.

Charlotte J

I'll be there, leading the Twentieth Legion. Assuming I actually start getting my stuff out tonight. Hey, it might not even rain on us! Valete! Matthew What not traditional Sunday hurricane this year No sweltering heat either? This so not MTT like; the weather actually looks good. It's crazy! I'm n...

Re: 13th Century Clothing Help

Re: Fabrics Question

Re: Turnshoes!

Pre-Pennsic Projects?