Saturday, May 15, 2010

Beautiful yarn

A gift from a friend. I don't know what I'm doing with it just yet. Socks? Fingerless gloves? Something else entirely?...

Japanese clothing

I've started making my clothes for Bicolline this summer.

I *know* that on extant paintings of the time, the majority of hats are the typical Chinese pointy hats... but I don't like the fact that they're so strongly associated with Chinese now... I've found better, if less period. For 3,50 a hat, I decided it would be good enough for now.



And, this is the fabric all cut out, with all the edges properly finished (the three on the left are linen, I don't want them to fray!). I had to cheat on the two left pieces and split the collar in the middle. I didn't have enough fabric.


I've started sewing, and hit a snag... the collar seam line, as it continues into the front body piece, and the sewing line for the overlap panel.

Both Saionji and Kass say to sew the overlap to the edge of the front panel, and the diagram in Dalby seems to agree.

But Marshal (I know, modern) tells us to sew the overlap to the collar sewing line, like this:


Trouble is, when I look at pictures of extant kosode in Momoyama: The Golden Age and Japanese Costume and Textile Arts, I think he might actually be right! The okumi sewing line seems to go right into the collar sewing line...

What shall I do?

Add-on: I asked the question on SCA-JML list and I'm not sure I can explain clearly... Here's another diagram...

A: The overlap (in red) is sewn right to the edge of the main body piece.

B: The overlap (in red) is offset from the edge and lines up with the collar sewing line (dotted line). This is the version I think I'm seeing on extant pieces.

A new dress for the little princess

Okay, she's not a princess in the SCA. Though she probably is in her mother's eyes!

I found tons of pink fabric I don't even remember buying, so I decided to make her a dress for our Crown Tourney (in the SCA).

I used La Fleur de Lyse pattern. Beware, the sleeves are short!

The hat was knitted by her mom, and the dress wasn't hemmed yet when the picture was taken. (I made a triple hem for when she grows!)


Recycled wool

Remember that recycled wool I dyed? I used my friend's yarn winder to turn it into center-pull balls... Isn't it great?

Akunoya

So, on to the akunoya project.

Let me first refer you to two excellent web pages:

I was planning on making a vertically striped akunoya, but I finally changed my mind for two reasons: the leader of our group thought it looked too much like circus tents, and, most of all, a vertically striped akunoya would imply much more sewing, which I won't really have time to do this summer.

So, I settled on this design:




I'm starting from this carport (hey, it's free, so, even if the shape is not perfect, it will be good enough for us this year!)


I was planning on making a whole new shell for it, but I can't locate suitable canvas locally and ordering it online would be costly. It's the first time we go there, we don't know if we're going to want to go again next year, and with the shape of this thing not being ideal for an akunoya, I'm not sure it's worth making a whole complete waterproof replacement cover for it just yet.

What I will do instead is buy cheap broadcloth and make a quick shell to go over the plastic. We'll be dry, and if the weather is nice we can raise the sides and just leave the fabric hang down. If we like it, next year I'll make a better one and reuse the fabric for garb :-)