Making SCA Garb - 02

I do not remember why, or when, I actually made this next tunic. I do know I wore it in the Fall of 2017 at my very first Arts & Sciences display at Falling Leaves.

This one was a paler green and I am not happy how it looked - mostly because I did not have a belt I was happy with. But here are the pictures anyway.

Again - no pattern used, just "winging" it.

Here I am at my last Halloween event at Smith & Nephew with one of the animals they brought for the kids to interact with. The veil kept slipping backwards, something I need to work on.


I also realized that cotton is not as cool as I would like so I started either removing the sleeves from the undertunic or just wearing a skirt underneath the dress.

2017 SCA Falling Leaves A&S

This was my very first effort at any SCA Arts & Science display - and I actually did not realize it was a competition as well. However I have been canning and preserving for decades so I was fairly confident of that part of the project. It was getting my head around the various medieval aspects that opened up a new rabbit hole of research for me. 





I started with freshly picked peaches from a local farm's end of season - which meant they are not in perfect condition which does not bother me since the cooking and canning will collapse the fruit anyway. 

First batch started to be cooked down. I used honey for both batches since that would be much more readily available then processed sugar that we use today. For the peaches I used freshly grown cardamon seeds and ginger. 

I also did a batch of blackberries which were also available in the period I am looking at. These were flavored with honey, freshly ground nutmeg and cloves.

Fruits set to simmer and reduce some of the extra liquid - blackberries in the back, peaches in front. 













My exhibit set up for my first display/competition. I was pretty happy with the arrangement. And I had crackers and finished jams for tasting. 

Making SCA Garb - 01

Like many who grew up in the 1970s I was required to take several courses in Home Economics from 5th through 12th grades. I actually liked those classes for the most part. Maybe due to having learned how to cook at home from my mother and grandfather, and doing handwork such as crocheting, knitting and embroidery - so I was comfortable working with needle and thread.

This basic understanding of fabrics, how to read a pattern and being basically frugal enough to want to update and repair clothing rather than throwing it out, has been a good beginning base in the making of my own garb for SCA events and my persona.

The first over tunic I made was done sometime after 2001 for a market style event with classes that I attended somewhere near Medford (This is the best recollection I have as I have no paperwork from that event). I do remember seeing a wider variety of personas there than I do currently. Unfortunately the only picture I have of myself at that event is so blurry as to be unusable.

I had no pattern to work off of - just images from a book so this was all done free hand. This was worn at a Halloween event at work. I made the golden trim from left over material I had from another project.

At this time - 2015 - I had sewn two Regency style gowns with corset for use while volunteering at Gore Place in Waltham, MA as a tour guide. 

These were also part of a work Halloween event - ignore the hair... I was going for a wild look and it got out of hand!