On New Years Eve I started handsewing a new head covering.  Different style to the St Bridget's coif.  If I can get myself organised I will finally get it finished tomorrow.  Once I do I'll write a post on it and show some pics.  I don't really like myself in headgear as I never get it to fit right or be comfortable.  I'm hoping this one may solve that issue.  Cause you're not doing it right if you're a woman with an uncovered head in the middle ages.  Also it's very standard over here in Drachewald at events to wear some sort of headwear.

I got hold of a coat at a vintage store for 30 pounds.  It was classed as a beaver coat but when I pulled it apart it was in large pieces which to me matches sheep rather than beaver.  It's very very soft anyway.   I've had the coat since middle of last year.  It had been in the back of a cupboard but with a flat move just before Christmas I lost my storage space for it so it had to be done.

So I decided to pull it all apart and see what I could do with it.  The main body was in such good condition that I just cut off the top part to make a good sized rug.  And I've still got plenty left over to do something with later.  It'll be nice to have in a tent at a long event.  I've been home sick for most of this week so I got in and finished it.  All up it's taken me round about 50-60 hours to cut it up and put it back together again in the new format.

So what did I learn on this project.  A scalpel works fabulously instead of a quickunpick / seam ripper.  It also is best for cutting the leather.  No excess fluff unlike when I cut up bits for the fur cloak.  I whipstitched bias cord around the edge, turned it under and stitched that down to the leather.  Then I attached the black cotton backing to the bias cord instead of having to try to attach it to the sheepskin.



Completed rug.



Details of the backing.  Heavy black cotton (or polycotton - it was in my stash).  Adds good weight to the rug.



Details of the stitching.  As I said above - whipstitched on cord to the leather then stitched the backing to the cord.  Really neat edging.

Finally, I did make it for use in the SCA but as I will only be going to one camping event this year in the UK (Raglan) I'll use it in my flat in front of my couch.  The floor is pretty chilly with no shoes on.  :-)

So that's all the ones at the bottom of the banner done.  I estimated that there's up to 750 blanket stitches per cinquefoil.  Oy Vey!

Three of the cinquefoils are now blanket stitched.  Takes quite a while to do one leaf of one cinquefoil by hand.  Photo of front and back of banner given below.  I'm going to Raglan next weekend - tossing up taking it with me to work on during the day.

Back when I was living in Atlantia I decided to make myself a good banner/gonfolon to be able to hang in my dwelling.  I decided to go the whole way and sew it totally by hand.  Why?  I can't remember.  I think at the time I didn't have access to a sewing machine.

I then got busy with mundane work and Pennsic preparation so by the time I left Atlantia and moved over to Drachenwald I had the banner in a partway complete stage.  I brought it with me with the aim of completing it at some point while here.

As you can see by my userpicture my registered device is Sable, semi of cinquefoils, a chief Or.

So, as of last week the banner was in the following state.  The base and chief are complete (ie the fabric has been hemmed).  I went with a textured cotton bought at Joanne's when I was in Richmond.  The base is one solid piece of black cotton and the gold chief has been stitched on top of the base.  I cut out 14 cinquefoils in gold cotton and used fusable interfacing and ironed them onto the black base.  I then started to do blanket stitch in gold cotton thread doubled (Gutermann Cotton colour 1661).  I got only partway around the first leaf of the first cinquefoil.

Last week I pulled it out of my UFO pile as I was a bit sick of embroidering blackwork.  As of tonight I have completed the first cinquefoil.  This means I've got another 13 to go.  After they're finished I'll then back it with something as I don't think I kept any of the leftover fabric.  I'm sure I will be able to find some plain black heavyweight cotton when it's needed.

So here's some photographs of the progress at the moment.



Full banner.



First cinquefoil complete.  Ruler underneath is in inches to show size.



Back of stitching.  For those who are interested.  This will be covered by a backing piece so I haven't bothered to tidy up the thread ends and have just left them in knots.

When I moved to Insulae Draconis I found I only had one wool tunic for a place that has very cold weather.  So I decided I need another dress.  This one is made of felted wool that wasnt cheap but it's not too heavy and not too light so I don't mind the cost.

I decided on a Norman influence so I have embroidered circles onto the neckline.  Eventually I plan on filling in the circles with Norman patterns/figures and also add them to the sleeves.  However, I needed the dress to be finished for the February Coronet event run last weekend.  I didn't get the base hemmed in time, but as it's felted I didn't worry and just wore it without the hemming being done.

This morning I finished the hemming and have now had it go through a woolwash in the washing machine.  Unfortunately the blue of the wool has dyed the cream silk embroidery thread a blue tinge but it's okay.  The photo below is before washing.  The front is shorter than the back because 1 I am a large woman with a large butt - the back has to be longer otherwise the front hangs too long and 2 I only had a limited amount of fabric so I cut off an amount from the front piece to be used for the armpit gussets.

It's a slight big but as my other wool tunic is too tight then this is fine.  I've gone for scoopy/wider sleeve ends.  It's good for nighttime when I want comfort.  I'm sending it home ASAP so it'll be there for Rowany Festival at Easter.  (It's alot of fabric for fitting in the suitcase on my trip - I'm sending a box home early to reduce my excess baggage.)

The first coat has been unpicked and washed.  But change of plans.  The second coat has turned out to be lamb not beaver as I originally thought.  I was umming and ahhing about having mixed furs in the cloak anyway.  So now I've decided to keep the second coat for another project and just use the fox from the first coat for the cloak lining.

That being said, I don't have enough fox for a full lining as the cloak is a 3/4 circle one.  So I am going to cut the fur in half and do a lining that is only half length.  I definitely have enough to do a half length lining.

Here's a picture of the second coat.  I had my suspicion that it might have been lamb due to the weight of the coat.  Unpcking the lining showed the back consisting of one piece - too big for a beaver pelt.  Still feels lovely though.  I will use it for something else.  I had been looking for a sheepskin anyway.

I have a green wool cloak made from felted horse blanket.  I made it over two years ago - before I left Lochac for mundane work commitments.  I love my cloak but it would be lovely to be even warmer by lining it. I'm going home for Rowany Festival in 2 month's time so I'd like to have it done before then. 

One of the bonuses of being in Drachenwald currently is relatively easy access to vintage and new furs.  I bought 2 furs coats at a vintage store this morning for under 80 pounds total.  My aim is to cut them up and use the pieces to line the cloak.

Here's the first coat before I pulled it apart.  I think it's some type of fox.  It's not beaver as the other one is beaver and that has a distinct feel to it.





It's in very good condition for being probably over 50-60 years old.  When unpicking the lining I found that the shoulder pads had disintegrated but otherwise the interal stitching is very well done.  I'm guessing it would of cost a pretty penny when bought new.  The lining has now been removed and it's had a wash using the handshower in the bathtub.  Before I stitch it to the cloak I'll wash it properly using good shampoo or detergent but for now it'll do with just a rinse to get rid of all the disintegrated crap.

This first coat will be the main part of the lining.  The second coat (beaver) will be used for the trim/edging.

I'll put photos up here as I progress with this project.

I won Saint Florian de la Rivierre Arts and Sciences Baronial Championship a couple of years ago.  At the time my device wasn't passed so I couldn't provide an embroidered shield for the champions cloak.  Now that it has been passed I was asked by Her Excellency Baroness Maud to make one and send it back so it can be added to the cloak.

I've been working on this one for a while cause although it's small, it's single thread split stitch which takes fooooorrrrreeeevvveeerrrrr.

I've been working on it on various flights I've taken over the last couple of months.  And I managed to get a bulk of it done while at Pennsic 39.  (It was too d*mn hot to do anything other than sit under a tree)

Here's a photo of the pouch I won the championship with and the finished embroidered shield.  It's on a piece of linen fabric offcut and put together using Gutterman's silk thread.  Probably around 50 hours work all up but done over about 3-4 months.  Short attention span and need for good light put the breaks on being able to work on it.

Very happy with it.  It's just drying now after a dunk in some hand washing liquid.  The fabric will be trimmed nearly off and posted back to Lochac to be sewn onto the cloak.