To those to whom these words come, greetings from Olwynn ni Chinneidigh, Laurel Queen of Arms and Juliana de Luna, Palimpsest Herald.

The Laurel office is starting to review our policies and procedures for submissions. We expect that the eventual outcome will be a complete rewrite of the Rules for Submissions.

To start this process, we're asking the populace and heralds to give us feedback about the heraldic submissions process and how it should work. A survey which asks some basic questions can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GLJZDDZ ; we'd appreciate it if interested people would take time to answer the questions there. Anyone can complete this; we promise to read all answers. We expect the survey to take fifteen to twenty minutes. Additional comments about or ideas for this process can be sent to rules@heraldry.sca.org.
We have several goals for this process:
- to make the Rules for Submissions easier to use for heralds and submitters alike
- to reduce discrepancies between the Rules as written and the rules as applied
- to reflect on the degree of authenticity we want for the registration process and how best to codify rules to evaluate it
- to reconsider the level of difference we should require between names and devices for registration

In all areas, the Society for Creative Anachronism has moved towards progressively better understandings of what people did in our period. Given this, we are not interested in discussing rules changes that would substantially lower our standards for registration of names and armory. But we are interested in exploring ways to make it easier for people register items that are in period style, whether or not they fit the rules as they currently exist. We welcome ideas about how to do that from all sources.
We look forward to hearing from you! The deadline for the survey is January 31; we will continue to accept comments by e-mail until the review of the rules is completed. Please forward this message to other mailing lists, so that as many people as possible can respond.

Juliana and Olwynn

NOTE: I have attempted, deliberately to turn off comments on this post - the best way to have your suggestions and voice heard is to fill out the survey and/or email to rules@heraldry.sca.org. When the time comes for making decisions and changes, side discussions and comments may fall through the cracks, but the survey answers will be all in one place.

I'm going to make my first Burgundian v-necked gown for upcoming Queen's Prize and I've got a few questions regarding the gown.

For reference, I'm talking about gowns like the ones seen here at Marie Chantal Cadieux's wonderful costuming page.

-I have two different wool fabrics for the main fabric. One is a thinner suiting and the other is a thicker slightly fulled (but not too thick) coating weight (it's not super heavy but it is thicker than the suiting). Any thoughts or suggestions about which to use?

-The patterns I've seen so far have a side gore incorporated into the side of the pattern piece. Would you add a front and back gore also? or maybe just back?

Any other suggestions about the making of this type of dress would also be greatly appreciated. TIA!
YIS,
Annora of Three Rivers

I've approved a big pile of posts. Gmail and Yahoo! haven't been playing nicely again and I thought that the list was quiet over the holidays. My apologies. If it helps, it's not just SCA-Garb, it's every other list for which I'm a moderator.

Final construction entry ( cut for photos. )

I have managed to ( finish the interlaced insertion stitch seam. )

That was hard. Pleating comes next.

I've been planning this project for a while, so I'd made some queries of med_embroidery for advice on going about getting the interlaced herringbone insertion stitch for the centre seam of the Birgitta Cap to ( less wonky than it might have otherwise. )

We now leap to modern times with a pair of flannel pajamas, affectionately nicknamed after Frankenstein's monster. Read on to find out why. . . .

Continue Here

While I'm waiting for thirteenletters to be around so I can do the second fitting on his Sture jacket, I'm making for myself a version of the St. Birgitta coif described in Medieval Clothing & Textiles 4. ( The first two steps, plus photos )

Sometimes a toile can only take you so far... This time it failed on a small but essential part.

( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )( Collarted by the collar and caught by her skirts... )

A family member of mine is interested in beekeeping. Any good authoritative books out there on the art aside from the 'for dummies' or 'for idiots' guides?

Every day the Met has an Artwork of the Day. About a third of them are pre 1600 works. One of the best things about it is that if you click though it has a lovely zoom feature to really get a good close up view of details.

I started an LJ feed for it last year. It perodicly blanks out past feeds im not sure why.

Here are examples of works from the past month.


Scene from the Life of Saint Nicholas, ca. 1200–1210



Saint Barbara, ca. 1490



Plate with the Battle of David and Goliath, 629–630

Side note – does anyone know how the heck to pronounce “bliaut”?
( I want all the details and a bunch of photos, please. )

My assessment:
I'm pleased with how it's turned out so far. Red likes it, never a sure thing when sewing for a small child. She tried it on before lunch today, and was running around the kitchen flapping her arms squealing “I'm a bird, I'm going to fly away!” I spent a couple evenings in research and drafting the pattern / cutting layout for the bliaut, one evening in making the smock, and two afternoons making the bag and bliaut. I may change my opinion after attempting to deal with the side lacings and various other remaining issues, but so far it's gone together quickly and easily, and I'd be happy to make it again. This is good, since I don't plan on going to the event naked, and I still need a dress for myself.

(x-posted to my personal journal)

Returning to the 18th century, we have for your consideration a Robe a l'Anglaise.

Continue Here. . . .

How funny that you should have found the SAME exact research material that I found and used the same exact words to announce it to an email list just days after I posted it to my Kingdom list.

Too bad the extra line containing my name was just too much for you to copy and paste as well!

Rather than write the whole saga of sewing the bling on the coat out again, let me direct you to these posts about constructing the coat:

www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php

www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php

www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php


Some of the tale you may have see, but this is it in stitch-by-stitch gory detail!

A little of the BLING! to excite the curiosity...

This is my first post and also my first completed sewing project EVAR! I am totally inexperienced in sewing, I've never been taught anything more than how to use the machine. I did SO many things wrong with this project but it came out ok, I think~

I think I was sort of afraid I wouldn't finish it, though, so I didn't make any diary posts as it was going. Instead, I'll sum up with pictures of my steps all at once - I hope that's ok~!

I used Simplicity #3635 because I am totally inexperienced and was daunted by other more authentic patters I saw online. I also used some spare fabric I had from failed projects (as I said, this is my first real completed garment I've ever made!) I used cotton duck for the lining and interfacing and the festive modern print you see for the front. When choosing fabrics I decided that 1) I might muck this up or it might never get finished, 2) it's UNDERwear so who cares what it looks like and 3) it's not an 'authentic' pattern. Below you see the pieces cut out, channels are stitched and 2 pieces are boned with 3/8" featherweight boning as called for on the pattern.

( #1 )

Below are the pieces put together (still without lining) and all the boning is in. I really had a hard time with keeping to the 1/2" seam allowance as I worked. Must do better with the next one I make!

( #2 )

Below you can see the lining sticking out a bit from behind, the ribbons are on and it's pinned to a pillow en lieu of a dress form. It took me a while to wrap my brain around some of the steps in the pattern - especially when it came to where to put the last bit of boning at the back edges and where the eyelets should go but with the help of the internets I figured it out!

( #3 )

Below is my 1st attempt at bias tape. Ugh. So wrong. I did it more properly on the bottom later but still a long way off from right or good. No love for the bias tape. I did it all by hand because I can't make turns with the machine with any sort of efficiency. I'd do five stitches, go off kilter and spend another five minutes ripping stitches out and doing it over. No fun. Also I didn't have heavy duty sewing machine needles to get through all 3 layers plus the binding and it was a nightmare to try with the normal ones.

( #4 )

Below is the finished project!! Fits good, though a little large in the back top... :/ Next one will be better~? I also did the eyelets by hand with an awl that was too small so I used it and a mechanical pencil to get them bigger! I made a corset because I want to make an 18th century dress to walk in the Memorial Day parade with my Daughters of the American Revolution chapter this year~ Next up: a shift! Then the dress. I'll do my best to actually diary as I go this time now that I have some confidence. Thank you for looking~!

( #5 )