Tag: costuming

  • Ice Dyeing Attempt 1

    Ice Dyeing Attempt 1

    A combination of bright colours and drabs to experiment with permanent ageing techniques for costume.

    You can get a great starter kit here from [amazon text=Amazon&asin=B004WJLBPI]

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  • The Day Before Atlantis

    The Day Before Atlantis

     

    I’m fucking awesome at doing everything at the last minute.

    Like today.

    I got a whole load of my costume finished.

    Last night I hand finished the hem’s on my murder robes – there’s about four days of hand sewing in this thing.
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    And the back:

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    That’s the seam inside the hood:

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    And what the inside seams look like:

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    Just a close up of that nice, almost invisible hand stitching:

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    Then I got started on hemming the sleeves of the bottom layer of robes. Fancy decorative stitches on the sewing machine meant I didn’t have to hand sew it invisibly:

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    And I also tacked down the neck facing, you can see it showing through here because I’d just ironed it:

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    Then I figured that I had to add a new project to the mix. This is something very loosely based on Arya Stark’s belt in the new Game of Thrones series. I’m going to make a second one I think to go over it, made from hemp cord and beads:

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    The fastening, same as I used on the Mythlore belt:

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    And then knotted and all together with the top layers. I also have a hero style belt to wear over it, so you won’t see the cord the macrame is attached to:

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    Then after going to see Rich at Evenlode, we had chips in Chipping Norton. Wonder if this is where David Cameron gets his chips from. They were pretty good:

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  • Dorne Armour Inspiration

    Dorne Armour Inspiration

    So…

    Game of Thrones happened.

    And the Dorne armour is beautiful.

    And now I need this sash to go under my belt for my Minoan costume this weekend.

    And Simon’s Mythlore costume needs the embroidered gambeson.

    MTMwNjgwNjY0NTkxNzM0MDM0

  • Odyssey Robes – The Dyening

    Odyssey Robes – The Dyening

    I tried out the professional dye I got a while back. Procion MX in dark brown. I’d been warned that the pro dyes are a bit of a learning curve compared to something like Dylon, but I was up for giving it a go.

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    I added too much water I think. I added a bit more than the instructions suggest to make sure all the fabric was covered. But the end result was that there was really wasn’t enough dye in the water (because I have dodgy kitchen scales too) and I’m not sure that the soda ash activated enough. We put a second lot of soda ash in after about 25 mins, but I think it was too little, too late.

    However they did come out some interesting colours.

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    And altogether it looks ok. I think. I’m doing to see how it wears for the weekend at Odyssey. And perhaps do some tea staining on it before hand. And roll around in the mud a bit. And throw rocks at it.

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    I do love the colour that the darker brown robe has gone though. It’s now a reddish brown, almost like chocolate.

    2015-06-06 17.56.53And the wool robe over the top is the one I’m currently in the process of hand stitching. Hopefully it’ll be finished. Or finished enough anyway.

    Then I just have to finish the gambeson. And make myself a headscarf. No pressure.

     

  • The Anglo-Saxon-Ish Tunic

    The Anglo-Saxon-Ish Tunic

    Yeah I’ve been procrastinating.

    I bought a load of wool offcuts last year with the intention of making myself a tunic, perhaps a cloak, maybe some murder robes. Today the tunic got made. Sort of made.

    I’m really pleased with how the neckline came out. I loved making faced necklines, they’re so neat and tidy.

    I’m not happy with how the inset gores have come out. They’re not set in evenly and in addition I didn’t put both fabrics the same way round on each side so they look different. I think they’ve got to completely come out and get put back in again.

    Other than that, the grey stitching is just basting thread to hold everything in place before I hand stitch it. And obviously it needs hemming.

    Meh.

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  • Minoan Murder Robes

    Minoan Murder Robes

    I made the outer brown robes today. I’m not happy with how it’s coming together. I’m not sure why.

    It’s made from three meters of Ikea Bomull fabric (£6) and a packet of Dylon dye in dark brown (£3). So that’s murder robes for under a tenner. Still got to finish the hems.

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    CM-150330-5288web CM-150330-5283web

  • The Moshchevaya Balka Kaftan

    The Moshchevaya Balka Kaftan

    So we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. And we saw this piece. And Adam said something along the lines of ‘that would be awesome for Carthage’. So here we have it, this would be awesome for Carthage.

    It’s really great finding pieces in a good museum to use as a basis for costume because there can often be a fair bit of information about the piece. You especially know that you’re onto a good thing when it’s displayed in it’s own case in the middle of the gallery space, like this kaftan is.

    Looking it up on the Metropolitan Museum website gives me this page. And there’s just so much info there to be had. Starting off with a fantastic picture – click to get the high resolution image and examine the garment in real detail. Far better than my rubbish phone camera shots – although my rubbish phone camera shots do serve a purpose. They let me see the back and they let me remember details that struck me at the time.

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    The pinky-red fabric is all modern conservation, the beige fabric and gorgeous patterned trim is all the original bits of this amazing 9th – 11th century kaftan from somewhere near what is modern Turkey.

    Except it wouldn’t have originally have been beige. The Met are helpful enough to have provided information about the garment to help us understand what it might have looked like when it was made. The ‘white card’ description says:

    The original linen coat (caftan), preserved in part from the neck to the bottom of the hem, is made of finely woven linen. A decorative strip of large-patterned silk is sewn along the exterior and interior edges of the caftan. A minute fragment of lambskin preserved as the caftan’s interior attests to its fur lining. The woven patterns on the silk borders of the caftan include motifs such as the rosettes and stylized animal patterns enclosed within beaded roundels, which were widespread in Iranian and Central Asian textiles of the sixth to ninth century. The colors used in the textile include a now-faded dark blue, yellow, red, and white on a dark brown ground. The decorated silk fabrics are a compound twill weave (samite in modern classification) and the body of the garment is plain-weave linen. Two slits running up the back of the caftan make it particularly suitable as a riding costume.

    Did you know that apparently in many galleries and museums the white cards next to exhibits have to have be the same standard as the national reading age – which is about 12 in the UK. These were only ever intended as basic info. So far from this description I know that:

    • It’s made of finely woven plain-weave linen.
    • It has patterned twill silk for decoration.
    • It had fur lining.
    • The silk has stylised animals and beaded roundels which were common to Iranian and Central Asia at this time.
    • The kaftan used to be dark blue, yellow, red and white on a dark brown background.
    • It would have been suitable for riding in.

    But we need more!

    Linked to the page on the Met’s website there are three journal articles written about the Kaftan and it’s matching leggings. The first is an introduction, the second is a genealogy study and the last is the conservators report on the piece. This last one is where the gold-dust lies. These three journal articles can tell us huge amounts about the garment beyond what the white card does.

    Here are notes from the journal articles, with my own speculations:

    • Other pieces of identical silk have been found – meaning that this was not an extraordinarily unusual design. It would most likely not have been for someone extremely important (like royalty or ruling class) because they would most likely have used more unique fabrics for their garments.
    • The piece is most likely from Moshchevaya Balka, a burial complex that has had to contend with serious amounts of looting over the years during its excavation (which probably explains why this piece came on the art market in the mid-90s).
    • The climate of the Near East means that textiles and whole garments are almost never recovered. They almost always perish because the conditions aren’t conducive to the preservation of organic materials. This means that this is one example of only a handful ever found – you can’t make assumptions that ‘all people from this area wore this kind of garment’ without other supporting evidence. But it certainly is a garment that someone in this place, at this time wore.
    • Moshchevaya Balka was on historical trade routes that linked Central Asia, the Near East, southern Russia and the Black Sea. The garment could have been influenced by any of those places, or could have been worn by someone who was just passing through.
    • It was made for a horseman. This is a more substantial statement than ‘would have been alright for riding horses in’. Perhaps it could have been made for a trader who would have ridden between places? Or maybe a soldier?
    • We’re pretty sure they came from a burial site. People tend to be buried in their good clothes, so perhaps these were finery rather than everyday clothes?
    • The survival of the silk is described as ‘miraculous’, again highlighting the fact that not many examples exist – certainly not in this kind of condition.
    • The staining of the fabric is most likely due to the acidic material produced when the body breaks down. It wouldn’t have been some funky ancient tie-dye. Thankfully the fur lining seems to have protected much of the outer layer of fabric.
    • The alkaline chemicals produced by the decomposition of the body changed the colour of the fabric. The safflower red dye (a pretty bright pinky red) turned to beige, and the indigotin blue (similar to modern indigo) turned to a grey-brown. However the brown bits have kept a reasonably true colour since they are acid sensitive rather than alkaline sensitive. This doesn’t seem important, except it potentially helps us look at other examples of textiles. Now each time we come across drab, beige colours in ancient garments we can make educated guesses at what they might have looked like before they were put in the ground for a few centuries.
    • Cotton is noticeably absent from the finds in this region, indicating that this area might not have had access to it yet. Seems crazy to us today when cotton is cheap and in use everywhere, but it wasn’t always that way. If you’re trying to be authentic then cotton would not be the way forward. Linen and silk to stay authentic. Of course for LARP it’s generally about what looks cool, but you might want to stick close if you’re going for a particular look. (And this does make me want to research into what kinds of textiles would have been available in North Africa for the Carthage outfit).
    • The staining on other garments examined by the conservators that were suspected to also be from Moshchevaya Balka suggest that they could be from the same body. This gives us a lead on possible under-garments for the kaftan. Here it is:Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 14.41.43
    • That the conservators had several options when reattaching the fragments of materials onto backing cloth. They chose the style of garment that they felt was most likely, but still without a whole garment we don’t know if this was exactly how they would have been made.
    • The kaftan would most likely have reached mid-calf on the wearer. Perfect for a fighting garment for a bloodthirsty well-mannered Carthaginian.
    • Other representations in art of the steppe people suggest that this Kaftan could have been worn with a plain linen version underneath and a sheer but decorated kaftan over the top. When it was cold there could have also been a fur kaftan outer layer, along with accessories like belts and mitts. And boots. I love boots. But apparently layering was cool way back when and we weren’t the first to invent it.
    • The triangular side pieces on the front cause the side seams to push to the back, consequently narrowing it in at the waist and essentially making it a fitted garment. This causes the sleeves to look like ‘wings’ on the back, but they give huge amounts of movement in the upper body – suitable for a rider.8dd5806e12af5e205cc022ceb8f5fe4d
    • The sleeves had narrow wrists, probably to retain heat. Which is good for a Carthaginian in modern England.
    • There are two long slits in the Kaftan below the hip line to enable movement in the lower body. While standing they would reveal the leggings a little, but while sitting on a horse or crouching they would reveal all of the decorated legging. This needs fixing and turning coolthentic rather than authentic – the Carthaginian will be wearing leather trousers under it. But I have a plan.
    • It used a triple button and loop fastening – picture in my camera phone pictures above.
    • The fact that the fabric was found to be cut from a pre-woven bolt, cut with immense skill and then sewn together finely indicates that this region was above average in it’s textile culture. Perhaps it would be erroneous to take this as an example of garments from the wider area at this time.
    • The linen making up the majority of the garment was white – as can be seen on the back shot above.
    • The large, decorative borders of fabric have been used in a previous garment. This could indicate either some sentimentality, or perhaps a thrifty owner who had the clothes remade into a newer and more suitable or fashionable style. It’s therefore unlikely that this would have been owned by someone very high status.
    • Collar and cuffs are unknown. They could possibly have been in existence, they could possibly have been made from the same fur as the lining.
    • The warp of the linen travels vertically downwards on all pieces when the kaftan is laid out flat with the arms outstretched. Including the lower arms. This may not have been an effective use of materials, which indicates some wealth.
    • There’s no seam along the top of the wrist to shoulder line. The fabric was cut on a fold here.
    • The seams were mostly flat felled seams, stitched towards the centre units.
    • And then of course we get the really precious part of the journal article for making a replicaish. An actual diagram of the pieces that made up the reconstruction on show in the museum:Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 15.17.53
    • It was likely to have been constructed by piecing together the top half of the garment and then following that by attaching the bottom half at the waistline..
    • There are notes about how the front panel was put together. It was slit up the front and a neckline cut out, then extra panels were attached (2 and 3 in the diagram above) to make it double breasted.
    • The side pieces – 4 and 5 above – are the aforementioned gores that push the side seams to the back. Take note here – the length of the side seam on the back part of piece 1 must be the same as the length of the front of piece 1 including pieces 4/5. That means the front of the garment could be shorter than the back – this requires a calculator and some Pythagoras. Presumably this is made up for by the fact that 10/11 are likely to be longer than piece 12, but it will look strange to modern eyes as we would expect the waist seam to fall consistently all around the body rather than being lower at the back.
    • The sleeves are two separate pieces which might give the opportunity to insert decorative fabric or embroidery or something. On the original it is most likely that the lower sleeve portions would have been pieced from various offcuts. Thankfully fabric isn’t that scarce now since it’s all made by machine and I won’t be doing this.
    • There are instructions for sewing on the lapel within the journal. Basically sew the piece to the outer edge of the garment, fold it back, turn the edge under and sew it to the centreish of the garment.
    • It’s unknown if there would have been a decorative neckline.
    • The two front panels extend around the body by 7cm due to the extra inserted panel. This indicates that this garment would have been reasonably close fitting rather than baggy. The ability to move comes from the extra space generated in the back due to the inserts and the splits in the side seams for leg movement.
    • The front panels were seamed to the back panels down to the hip line (might want to make it waist line if I make a version for myself).
    • One fastening inside on the right, one outside on the left and one on the breast on the left.
    • Because the fur lining didn’t extend to where the silk decoration was continued inside the kaftan, a layer of wool wadding was inserted here to maintain the thickness and drape. Worth considering if I make a thicker, lined version.
    • The dyes were poor quality in nature, perhaps indicating that the silk was at the cheaper end of the scale for what it was.
    • It also appears that the weavers were in a hurry (due to tension differences in the material) which again indicates that this could be a cheaper silk than average.
    • Female garments found in this area seem to take inspiration from Eastern Mediterranean culture, while male garments are often based on Eastern or Persian culture.
    • Here’s an example of how it would have been worn – especially around the neck area.Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 16.03.43

    So then I finished off by taking a quick look through the Vecellio book of costume (from the 16th Century and before) and there’s a remarkably similar garment in the Persian section, illustrating a soldier. Unfortunately Vecellio doesn’t make any comments about the kaftan, only the armour and the horses tack that he would wear. But it does reinforce the idea of kaftans as riding garments. I also really like the way that the front flap is fastened up to the belt. That might have to happen for fighting and stabbing.

    There are also similar garments in the Hungarian and African sections of the book, although they tend to not be asymmetrical closures like this one.

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    So what have we learnt…

    • That we have evidence for this kind of garment in the 9th-11th century, the 16th century and in relatively modern times. It’s entirely possible that it extended out way before the 9th century too, making it almost certainly suitable for Odyssey. While I’m adapting this for the Cartheginians it would also be really good for the Persians.
    • That it would have been made for someone who was a rider. Could be a trader or a soldier. The amount of movement makes it quite likely it was a soldier.
    • That it could potentially appear anywhere along the trade route from East to West, but it most likely was a garment that originated in the Near East.
    • It wasn’t an overly high cost garment. It was nicer than ‘basic’, but not extravagant.

    So there we have it. Time to make the pattern pieces!

  • Mythlore Costume – The last post. For now.

    Mythlore Costume – The last post. For now.

    I promise, this is absolutely the last one in the series for now. However hopefully Simon will pick another game next year that we can use to develop this costume.

    Photograph © Tom Garnett

    I want to thank Tom Garnett for sharing some gorgeous pictures from the event where he captured all my hard work. I want to thank Simon less for not wearing the whole thing and apparently not taking the armour I made for him out of the car. However, it was designed to work in layers of various kinds, and so I think it’s ok – as long as he wears it in the future sometime so that all my hard work becomes worth it.

    Also Adam, for seeing me through a day of costume making where there were sense of humour failures, serious regret and almost even tears as I battled to get it finished on time for the event.

    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett

    I’m surprised at how light the blue of the outer robes looked in the end. They looked far more grey in my flat, but I really like how it came together.

    I was particularly pleased with the tagelmust. Not anything particularly fancy, but I added a row of studs to the end of the fabric that echoed the design of the armour. Before he wears it again I plan to also trim the long edges with yellow binding so that there is a twisted effect when he wears it.

    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett

    You just have to love that striped effect around the legs, don’t you? Well I do. The back being cut into three and the high side splits really make it for me. I love the way that it flares as he walks.

    I’m also really pleased that we did the whole thing out of natural fibres. I know some people really like synthetic fabrics for this kind of costume. I mean, they are an easy way to get bright colours and cool patterns. But I’m pleased that early on we decided to stick entirely to natural fibres. I much prefer working with them and I like the look of natural fibres about a thousand times more than synthetics. I know there’s a time and a place for everything, but if I’m ripping traditional middle-eastern/Arabic/Bedouin to pieces and recreating it in a fantasy style for shits and giggles, the least I can do is remain authenticish to the materials. That’s a vague attempt at some respect as well as making it look cool. (Cultural appropriation really bothers me.)

    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett

    I should add at this point that yes, I’m willing to take on commissions. However I’m not cheap. Nor will I make something completely off the peg. Please don’t send me shitty emails telling me I’m more expensive than other LRP traders or I’m not worth as much as I think I am. I don’t really care about your opinions and if you don’t like my prices you can have something from someone else. Also, I only create kit for people I like, with a brief that I can fall in love with. Try me.

    After all was said and done though, this whole outfit cost about £130 in materials in total. That’s the robes, outer robes, armour and tagelmust. As well as a whole metric-fuckton of love for a friend. You can’t buy that shit.

    And just two more background shots…

    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett
    Photograph © Tom Garnett
  • Mythlore Costume – Finished!

    Mythlore Costume – Finished!

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    With a scant twenty-four hours before he’s due on the field at Mythlore I handed over the costume to Simon and it was at last gone from cluttering up my flat!

    So here’s the pictures of the final stuff. Please excuse the unwilling model.

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    The robes were… a sticking point. I started making them up in pale grey and blue and they looked horrible. Like this… (excuse second unwilling model).

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    I’m not kidding. They sat pinned to my mannequin for weeks without being sewn because I just couldn’t face it. Eventually it started to become critical so Simon and I decided that a short wallow in some Antique Grey Dye was the way forward.

    And hey presto, in 24 hours the magic happened and both the robes and the armour got finished and covered liberally in Fullers Earth!

    I also distressed the robes as much as I could without ripping and destroying them. You’ll spy seams that have been pulled through deliberately, and I wanted to simulate a slightly clumsy wearer by stretching the front of the loose weave linen robes *after* I’d sewn the more stable cotton bias tape around them (did I mention that I made somewhere around 24m of cotton bias tape by hand for these robes? I have mentioned my pain several times to Simon). Basically I put my foot on the bottom of the robes and yanked upwards on the collar to make it stretch around the feet where he’s fallen over it.

    The only bit I’m not quite happy with is the way that the back hangs. However that might be rectified in PtII – The Return of the Minoan Robes.

    Would I do things differently? Sure. There were many lessons learnt, especially on the armour. However I think it all turned out more or less ok.

    I’m kind of sad sending my first completed costume out into the world. I’m hoping it has fun at Mythlore this weekend and Mr Pennington doesn’t get them all slotted within thirty minutes so that they can go to the pub.

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    As a little added extra I wanted to show you these in a beautiful black and white. Some of you might know that I used to work full time as a product photographer and it’s really my passion when it comes to photography. Portraits and products (and a bit of architecture). I’d love to, one day, shoot products ahgain more regularly, but for clients who want something a little bit different.

     

  • Mythlore Costume – Fixing a belt

    Mythlore Costume – Fixing a belt

    Simon and I started sorting through his leather accessories to see what we could use with the costume I was making. He pulled out one belt declaring that this would would work really well… and unfortunately it was broken.

    See? Is broken.

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    No, I have no idea why M&S would make that bit in the buckle removable either, but apparently it fell out.

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    Doesn’t work very well as a belt without that middle bit.

    Anyway.

    The leather strap was still in good condition so I went on eBay, ordered a new 1¾” buckle for a couple of quid.

    All I had to do then was unpick the stitches…

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    And then I used to waxed linen thread that I had for bookbinding to sew it back up again. I think you should really sew it with a double needle in order to hide the ends, but I didn’t have two needles I could use and I didn’t really care too much since otherwise Simon was going to chuck it away.

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    Not too shabby, eh?

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