Cutting..

So while waiting for my friend to get home yesterday from work i took advantage of her diningroom table to start cutting items out. First here are images of the white silk for the coif and the green linen for the apron:















Took a couple quick measurements of my head and started cutting. I will be hand sewing the coif. The coif itself is silk but the ties are linen.



































Oh trust me..i will be ironing the pieces before needle and thread touches the fabric.

WOOT!

After a long unsuccessful search, I was unable to find any nice silk to make the coif out of....until this morning. I opened up my craft caddy by the door to look for an embroidery pattern book and found a grocery bag tied shut and inside the bag was about three plus yards of white raw silk. I know that raw silk may not have been the choice fabric but as im doing this on a tight budget, Ill take what little "presents" i get. Im using this silk for frugal's sake. :)
Pics later today, after a drive to a friends house.

Discovery...

So having been woken up early by nature's call and not being able to get back to sleep, i came down to my trusty machine and began researching some more on the outfit. I read that the gown under the apron dress was usually made of a bright colored linen. This surprised me because a lot of references I had seen show a woman wearing a white dress under the apron dress. This didn't make sense to me so my assumption was the white dress was actually the underwear and the brightly colored gown was the outer dress that was directly under the apron dress, making it three layers instead of the two I had originally thought. I called my mentor up with my thoughts and assumptions and she confirmed I was indeed correct and when you do see someone walking around in the white gown with the apron on top they were missing a layer and wearing their underwear as the main gown. LOL! Well this came as a relief to me as, with the economy the way it is, money is snug for us as well. This means I can raid my stash of linen for the outer gown and not have to buy more for the moment! I actually have this stunning bright blue that a friend brought back as a gift from Pennsic for me that would make an excellent gown for under the apron dress. With the apron being a forest green..they will go well together. (Blue being documentable by the use of woad.) WOOHOO!!

Apron Dress Cut out Image

Here is an image I found online that shows the flare with the gores. Hmmmmm....

Found at this site:
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/image/apdress.jpg

Apron Dress

Have the fabric washed and dried...its a lovely shade of dark green. Sort of a forest color. Now Im unsure..to cut out the dress with just flared pieces or straight rectangles with small triangle gores to give the fullness. Ive found references to both but...which is the more accurate. Im sure it has to do with the amount of fabric they had to use whether they made gores out of scraps was determined if they had the width of fabric to use or not. There is also conflicting information on the straps to the apron dress. MOre on that later. Also looking for references to embroidery on the linen caps they wore. Found one but not sure of its validity. Being im on the laptop at my inlaws house doing all this instead of home where my links are, ill post them later when we get home.

Just wanted to keep you updated. And im open to suggestions, posts, links etc.

Still here...

Yes i know its been about a week since last post but with holiday traveling and kids getting back to school...time hasn't been abundant. So...I am researching the apron dress. I have found a couple examples:

This is imagery of the apron dress i'd prefer to make:
http://homepage.mac.com/wolfpaws/redwulf_mac/gunhilda_dress/gunhilda_dress-Pages/Image2.html

I have found others and as soon as I can scan in from book sources, I shall(problems with my scanner...most likely operator trouble).

I have purchased a nice white linen to create the cap with. I am washing and drying it for durability and practicality. (I have a husband that doesn't pay attention to items that should not be put in the dryer. Lost many pieces of my wardobe to that..)

I have also procured a wonderful green linen to make the apron dress out of from www.fabrics-store.com They are my favorite source for linen fabric.

In my research I have also found references and some extant images of caftan type coats. Im thinking with time permitting i may add this to the outfit. I really like this idea better than a cloak. Sleeves!!! What a concept! Most definatly will be made from a wool. Again..along with the apron dress..to find the right wool. (Our Jomar just isnt that great any longer).

While visiting my in laws for a birthday celebration this weekend, Ill be working on the hood. Promise to post pictures from there. Mom in law has a wonderfully long diningroom table that is just perfect for cutting out fabric on. :)

As a small break from researching today i watched some Sex and the City reruns while making cloth buttons and sewing them onto a cotehardie for a friend. On a cool rainy day it was a nice activity.

And so it begins...

It is September 1st and as I promised myself I would start this project. A few questions were going through my mind during the last few days. I was making a list of projects for myself that I could work on over the coming 12 months. What would I create? I know that they would not all be for myself, as I stated before, my two boys are growing faster than i can sew. There will be items in there for them as well. So with that in mind, I've decided on a first project. My mentor said a while ago, before this blog project was even a thought in my head, that I should make a full viking outfit for myself to wear to the up coming SCA event, Birka. My husband is switching to a viking persona so I thought I would make an outfit for myself (and the boys of course) as well. And a Pennsic or two ago he came home with a set of Viking half dome brooches for me and I've never worn them yet. With that decision, Ive decided to split the outfit up over two months so i can get it done well and even get some embroidery on it. Apron Dress and coif for this month and possibly under gown and hose for next month. I wont attempt shoes as my leather working skills are very minimal. That's not to say that later I wont give it a shot, but for now..I'm sticking to the fabric/embroidery projects.

So I have actually already started some research online at various web sites and I have a book on Viking clothing that I will get the chance to read now that dearest husband is done with it (now he has to resurface it from the catastrophe that is his office and give it back to me). That will happen tonight before we leave for a weekend trip.

The under gown will be linen and the apron dress will be a wool of course. Linen hose and coif as well. I have thoughts of making a linen apron dress as well for the warmer days that may come before Birka but..lets see how the wool one comes along first. The wool will be what I have to purchase as of right now as I never seem to keep good wool like that in my stash for long. :)

Alrighty!! Off to cut a path through his office in search of my book!!