Aurora's Cloak : Finished

Fits perfectly! Just grazes the floor, so the 8" grow stripe leaves plenty of years worth of wear, yet. I tried it hilariously on my husband (comedy) but he declared it VERY comfy and wants his own made of velveteen. That would take... a lot of velveteen.

Anyway, Aurora loves her cloak, says it's very warm. Exactly what I was going for! And I can't say how glad I am that this mink collar finally has a home. It's been kicking around in my sewing box for eight years. GET A LIFE! (It has.)

The purple looks glorious with her Sansa Stark hair.

Time-Honored Traditions

The lake at Hunter's is a favorite for over-warm children (and over-warm fighters!) Moms sit in the shade up on the hill, chatting and sewing and resting, the kids laugh and splash and don't technically swim, because that's not allowed without a life guard. Wading though? Wading is fine. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, kids.

Additions to the Toy Bag

I just raided Aurora's bookshelf for a few titles to slip into the "mom, I'm bored" bag I plan to bring along to events...

I don't think she's ever actually read them of her own volition, so they'll be novel (hah!) when she pulls them out at events.

I chose:

A Medieval Feast
by Aliki

Chanticleer and the Fox
by Geoffrey Chaucer

Elidor and the Golden Ball
by Georgess McHargue

As she gets older I'm looking forward to including other titles such as Eleanor, from the Royal Diaries series, (as well as Elizabeth, Mary and Isabel!)

Moving Along

So Aurora's cloak is almost done. Obviously as you may have noticed by now, I really do straddle a line between fantasy costuming, and what would be period. For example, I'm pretty religious about using only natural fibers in my garb, with a rare allowance for blends if they're comfortable and good looking. But I'm as willing to use cotton, which is not period, as I am silk, wool and linen, (which would all be perfectly accurate.)

My designs are somewhere between Pre-Raphaelite and accurate, and honestly, I'm okay with that. If I have a desire to do something historically accurate from the ground up, I will, but most of the time I'm satisfied with just looking fantastic. I'll put the work in, it's not that. I'm not one of those people wandering around in an unhemmed poly-cotton t-tunic and jeans, fuck that noise. I'm going to look like I tried, and tried hard, but so long as the SCA doesn't have accuracy restrictions (like one would see in a typical reenactment camp) I'm not going to lash myself to perfection. I would rather see brilliantly executed fantasy than poorly executed period any day of the week.

I've got a massive fabric stash to use up, and use it up I will.

The point of this diatribe is that very obviously this cloak is not period, the velveteen is cotton, the pattern is Kinsale (late 19th century) if it's anything, the stripes are so Rennie, and everything about it just smacks of fantasy. But I'm okay with that- I'm great with that! I think it looks great, and that's what matters to me.

So all that's left to do now is add the mink collar, make the button loop, and sew that and the button on. I'm not 100% pleased with how the grow-stripe got stitched down, it's a little lumpy here and there in the front, but she's six and if she has this cloak on she'll either be a) in the dark, or b) running around (these two things are not mutually exclusive.) So I don't think many, if any, will notice that.

I got all of this done in 4 episodes of Lost. Awesome.

In other news, I've been cannibalizing all of my old underkirtles and overkirtles into over-and-under-kirtles for her. This lucky kid is going to be awash with silks and linens and all kinds of lovely things.

Aurora's Cloak

 Started Aurora's cloak today- pulled the following out of my stash- purple cotton velveteen, purple cotton, a strip of purple silk (to use as a button loop), a shell button and the fur collar. The shell button is actually quite sparkly with lots of colors flashing through, but you can't much tell in the photo.

Took her measurements- she's 37" from shoulder to floor, so I measured a cloak 45" long and am going to fold over an 8" grow stripe and sew it down. I figure a 45" cloak will last her several years, and the colors and design are mature enough to see her through several phases of her girlhood. I'm planning to sew the lining (a recycled duvet cover) in by hand, and possibly use a contrasting shade of thread for that. ::rubs chin:: Perhaps a fun marigold color? Or an olive green?

I discovered in the middle of my work that the two velvet panels I had (recycled curtains,) were two different shades of purple, even though, omfg, they came from the same damn set of curtains. One was a dusky plum, the other was a richer wine shade. So I cut each panel into quarters and then sewed them back together, alternating. As you can see, (with my husband holding it up for me,) the outcome is whimsical without being jester-esque and obnoxious.

She's sick and run down with a fever, so there won't be much of me holding things up to her and asking her to repeatedly turn around so I can see how they look. But a cloak is just a rectangle, what could go wrong?

(Famous last words.)

Meet Apple

A good little German kampfrau, Apple (whose "period" name is actually Appel, but I just can't resist calling her the former,) is going to be Aurora's friend at events. She's about 20" tall, and is permanently blessed with striped hose because everyone wants striped hose.

I have her hair (which is made from Peace Fleece in the Chickie Masla colorway,) bound up in a crewel decorated kerchief, and pinned in a period manner. Her name is tatted in tramp stamp fashion on her lower back, kind of like a not-so-classy Cabbage Patch Kid.

I'm debating making a miniature kampfrau dress for her, or maybe a Durer housebook dress, or a kleid, even, would probably be the easiest thing to toss together. I think I have some cardinal red wool left from when a dear friend of mine passed on her old fabric to me from back in the days when she was a Rev War reenactor. A tiny kleid in cardinal red would be pretty cute.

Because her feet are pointed, I think it would be best to make her some poulaines instead of those big bear paw landsknecht shoes we all know and love.

She is obviously not period, but the idea is for her to be rag-dolly enough to pass as period-esque while wearing period garb herself, as opposed to, say, carrying around an American Girl doll wearing a princess dress. This is the stereotype I'm trying to break. In service to the dream!

Anyway, stay tuned to see what kinds of fun clothes I whip up for her. I'm excited.

As an aside:
Apple is, of course, the older sister of "SCA Baby" or "wool baby",
who is the squash-shaped creation I made for Aurora when she was about two;

I've been asked many times where Aurora's gnomes, pegasus, dragon and unicorn all came from- the answer is North Star Toys! I'd also like to get their horse and cart with haybales, too, but I probably won't unless another baby comes along. =)

Aurora's Garb Plan

Aurora of Twin Moons, girl child extraordinaire. Heraldry yet to be determined by her but I'm sure it'll involve purpure and a unicorn and a butterfly and flowers and and and...

I loved this silhouette on her, the very draping, early medieval look, she owned it and looked great. So easy to put together, just an A-line dress with some triangular gores put in directly under each armpit. Freedom of movement totally important for a little firebird like her. Things to buy in bold green.

2x under-kirtles. Just like the one pictured here. Muslin is fine for now. She's 46" tall, so 36" fabric would be perfect. Let's call it 3 yards per kirtle, so 6 yards of 36" muslin for this project. (Found in stash: natural colored cotton and white silk.)

2x over-kirtles. Also just like the one pictured here. This was a very thin, airy silk jacquard that I'd had in my stash since 2002. I have no idea where to find anything similar, but anything will work. I'd like one of these in a sturdier rough-and-tumble cotton or linen for work and play, and one in a lighter, fancier fabric for court or whatever. 3 yards is probably a little much, but better to be safe than sorry. 3 yards each of two different 45" fabrics, to be chosen. (Found in stash: olive green linen blend and purplish linen blend.)

Cloak. I already have the over-fabric for this, a dark berry-wine colored cotton velvet. Planning just a gathered Kinsale cloak with a hood and a generous grow-stripe. Needs a lining. Quilter's cotton would be fine, in whatever color. She'll probably choose pink. 3 yards would be enough. 3 yards quilter's cotton. (Found in stash: purple cotton. Also, eschewing hood for a fur collar.)

She has gray cotton stockings she can wear as hose if it's chilly, or go without if it's warm. She gets overheated quickly anyway. What to do for shoes? Boots, flats, mary janes, whatever. check Salvation Army and Goodwill. (Bought brown suede mary janes for school.)

Necklace. Can easily fashion one out of glass beads from my stash, or bring it along with us as busy work for her when I need peace and quiet. The beads all have big holes and the waxed cotton stays stiff enough to string them. 

Gambeson. We're planning to start her in youth combat and I thought it would be cool if she could have her own "armor" - a badass little gambeson with her heraldry on the back or something. I'll do it fitted and feminine, almost like the Charles VI jupon pictured here. I was thinking of just grabbing some cheap pre-quilted cotton in black, binding it in pink 'cause you know that's what she wants, and then going from there. Probably with just painted heraldry, since the sole purpose of it will be to get beaten up.  2.5 yards black quilted cotton, pink binding, pink thread, buttons (about 8-10.)

Belt. Have buckle in stash, make it with whatever. (Found in stash: My old green leaves belt, will cannibalize.)

Taking Inventory

Something that must be done, even for something so simple as a daytrip event, is to take complete inventory of garb, feast gear, and accessories. For a camping event, the list increases exponentially. Oddly enough I am now, for the first time in my SCA career, able to find the extra money for things like tents, fire pits, shoes. This is a new thing for me! Another thing I need to be careful of is that this might not last. My friends might lose interest, my husband almost certainly will lose interest, and I might fade out again. In that case, I want the garb I make right now to be inexpensively sourced and the accessories I buy right now (such as shoes) to be able to be worn convincingly with mundane clothing. Just in case.

Alijna:

Ivory work cotehardie.
Pink silk Durer Housebook dress.
Black velvet Pre-Raphaelite gown.
White shift.
Osnaburg smocked apron.
Maroon "hose" socks.
Green suede mary janes.
Embroidered longbelt.
Leather gloves.
Purse (belt and over-the-arm.)
Straw hat.
Kerchief.
Fur and velvet cloak.
Garters.
Jewelry.

Looking over this, I have plenty of stuff. I have items that can go back and forth between work and more formal events depending on how I dress them up or down, plenty of accessories, shoes, head coverings and things to keep me warm. I'm doing okay right now.

Albrecht:

Grey long-sleeved tunic.
Grey button-down cote.
Muslin under-tunic.
Necklace.
Straw hat.

Husband is in very bad need of pants- two pair, one warmer woolen pair that's long, and one shorter linen or cotton pair for hot days. Also in need of a short-sleeved cool-fabric tunic, to replace his dire need for t-shirts. He is in need of shoes.

Aurora:

Tote bag with dolls, small wooden toys, and medieval-genre storybooks.
Coif.

She has outgrown ALL of her garb and will be needing a full set. I'm thinking two over-dresses, two under-dresses, tall socks ("hose") and garters, shoes, a necklace, and a cloak.

Friends:

-

Both friends are in need of very basic ensembles. For now both the Brit and the Italian can wear basic tunic sets over whatever pants and shoes they have until they're sure they want to commit.

Feast Gear:

5 hand-glazed pottery coffee cups/mugs.
2 hand-glazed pottery goblets.
3 less-than-accurate glass goblets.
1 wooden goblet.
2 wooden bowls.
1 hand-glazed pottery bowl.
1 wooden plate.
Various table cloths and napkins.
Candlesticks and candles.
Oil lamps.

In need of plates, bowls and cutlery.

Camping Gear:

10x10 shade/screen room.
Firewood if needed.
Cooler.
Wooden benches.

In need of personal tents, sleeping foundations and bedding, tarps, a central table to take meals and game at, and a fire pit.

Reconciliation

To even understand what I'm saying here, you have to understand that the SCA is not a hobby to me. It's an abusive relationship with Stockholm Syndrome. God I love it, I love it so much, but oh, oh does it make me miserable. A year and a half ago I was expounding on leaving the beast, and now I return- somewhat less than triumphantly. 

I have a couple of friends who are really eager to get into fencing. My kid is old enough for youth combat now. My husband is willing to endure it for the rest of us. I find myself trying again.

Crap, I said I wouldn't do this.