First Time Hand Sewing Challenge
Codex Manesse Plate
This is the Codex Manesse plate from which I will be attempting to recreate, entirely by hand, the garments that the woman is wearing.
Let the Cutting Begin!
After months of planning and research, I felt it was very important to mark the moment when I first cut into the fabric!
First Fitting
After hand sewing side seams and 4 gores the green kirtle is ready to try on!
Closer View of Front
I think I did a great job on the gores.
Really REALLY Close Up View of a Gore
Here's a good close up of the stitching on one of the gores.
Neck Facing Finished
I think it turned out well.
Sleeve Cuff
I added a cuff at the bottom of the sleeve in 100% silk in gold because this is what I see in the Codex Manesse illumination.
18 Eyelets Complete
Thanks to Estela and Cristiana I was able to sew the eyelets in 100% linen thread instead of polyester.
Gathering of Hem
Estela gave me a wonderful tip on easing in the fullness of the hem...gathering!
Hem Pressed Down
And with the slight gathering technique the hem pressed down beautifully.
Finished Kirtle Front View
On April 1st after 4 months of hand sewing the green kirtle is complete!
Now onto the red surcoat. Don't forget, if you want a more in depth description and view of this hand sewing project, check out the blog: http://first-timehandsewingchallenge.blogspot.com/
The Surcoat Revisited and Revisited!
I thought it would be fun to show the evolution of the surcoat design for this Codex Manesse re-creation. Yes! I went through numerous designs but as you can see from my smile in the last picture, I finally figured it out!
Neck Facing Begun for Surcoat
Here is a view of the progress of the neck facing for my red surcoat. I think the gold silk works perfectly!5 Pinning facing to outside gathered edge of neck.JPG 2010-04-08
Showing finished edges of shoulder seam
I think the inside seams of the shoulder seams were finished rather nicely so here's a closeup!
Finished Neck Facing
Here is a view of the finished neck facing for the surcoat. As usual, for a more in depth update of the progress of this first time hand sewing project, check out the blog!
Finished Outfit
Ta Da! It's finished! A completely hand sewn outfit recreated from a favourite Codex Manesse illumination! I'm so proud of myself!
Finished Outfit Closeup
Here is a closeup of the finished outfit. I'm hoping to wear it at a future SCA event, to show it off in context. Perhaps I'll even have accessories to go with it! And for a more detailed description of the whole project, as I've always said...check out the First-time Hand Sewing blog!
A Toga For Spurius
A photo of the toga's shape and size in full view.
Shape and Sizing: My research on authentic dimensions for a toga turned up many different but very similar descriptions.
Another website: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/radical_romans/male/male.htm (See purple highlighted are in reference printout) also refers to the toga size depending on your height.
A written reference: English Costume From the Second Century BC, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations, (See purple highlighted area in reference photocopy), also mentions the shape being in the form of a semi-circle, with size being approximately 18 feet long and 5 ½ feet wide at the greatest width…the word “approximately” leading one to consider that different sizes could be for different heights.
The most comprehensive information I have was found in the written reference: Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume. Each reference in this book mentions the toga shape being a segment of a circle but the sizes in each reference are somewhat different. Sizes mentioned are as follows: 16 feet long + 6 feet wide at the centre, 18.5 feet long + 7 feet wide at the centre, 21 feet long + 6 feet wide at the centre, and finally 24 feet long + 4.5 feet wide at the centre. (All references highlighted in purple on reference photocopies.)
Sizing and Shape Info continued on next photo...
To wear the toga we begin by folding it into 8 inch folds.
Sizing and Shap Continued:
Conclusion:
For my own purposes, since there are so many different sizes mentioned and also since there are 3 different references regarding sizing corresponding to height, I decided to size Spurius’s toga as closely related to his height as possible for the best fit possible. Therefore I wanted to make the toga 3 times his height long and 1 times his height at the widest point. The shape of the toga would be the semi-circle.
Spurius’s height measures 5 feet, 10 inches…or 70 inches. Therefore the toga should be 210 inches long and 70 inches in width at the widest point of the semi-circle. The length was no problem. The width, however, was restricted to the width of the fabric I could find. The widest width of fabric found was 60 inches, or 5 feet. Since there were many different size togas mentioned, with 5 feet being within the range of sizes found, I decided the toga would be 5 feet at its widest point!
For shaping the toga, I laid out the 210 inches of fabric on the floor, marked the centre and then traced a semi-circular shape from end to centre point and continuing to the opposite end…a rather daunting task for the knees!
The folding continues for draping.
Colour and Border:
Again, there are many different references to borders on togas.
My first reference comes from the website:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/radical_romans/male/male.htm (See yellow highlighted area on reference printout) where it mentions that average men’s togas were always white with a purple border added for the Senatorial class. The only mention about actual width of the band itself is in the area on information about the tunic, which mentions that 2.5 cm wide purple stripes would be used for Equestrian (noble) class and 7cm wide purple stripes for Senators.
A written reference: English Costume From the Second Century BC, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations (See yellow highlighted area in reference photocopy) mentions that plain togas in natural colours were for ordinary citizens. Senators, knights and other noblemen wore white togas with purple bands of various widths. And finally emperors, generals and governors would wear togas in purple with gold embroidery.
Finally, in the written reference: Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume (See yellow highlighted area in reference photocopy), it is mentioned that the toga would be decorated in earlier times around the curved edge and in later times along the straight edge, with one specific mention of an eight inch ornamental band.
Colour and Border Information continued on next photo...
The Folding Is Complete
Colour and Border Information Continued:
Conclusion:
For Spurius’s toga, I decided to go with a later period style for someone above the class of an ordinary citizen, such as a Senator, since he has his AOA and is also the Aedile of expetata quod ivnctio Canton of Seashire (Chatelaine). In this case, I believe his toga would be white with a purple band along the straight edge. The band would not, however, be too wide, as I believe the wider the band, the higher the class.
I had wanted to use a band size mentioned such as the 2.5 cm, because it was not too wide. Again, when purchasing materials for the band I was restricted in what was available to me. Much of the purple border trim I found was meant for modern day crafting, and included wire within the ribbon. I considered purchasing satin material and cutting it to size but I wanted the band to be continuous, with no seaming visible…to purchase pieces of satin long enough for this purpose would have cost entirely too much. In the end I was lucky enough to find some beautiful purple border trim with just enough on the roll for me. Its width was approximately 3.5cm. I decided it was not too wide so it would suit my purposes well.
The Draping Begins
Fabric:
The written reference: English Costume From the Second Century BC, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations (See green highlighted area in reference photocopy) mentions that wool would be the usual material but later the toga would be made of silk.
Wool is also mentioned in the written reference: Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume (See green highlighted area in reference photocopy).
Conclusion:
For my purposes, Spurius would not be comfortable wearing a toga of wool for the feel on his skin as well as the weight of all the fabric. Silk, I believe would be reserved for a higher class and would also be rather expensive. As a result, I decided to choose a crisp white 100% cotton fabric.
The Draping Continues
Draping:
Methods of draping, I found, were as far and wide as the various sizes and styles of togas. In the written reference: English Costume From the Second Century BC, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations (See orange highlighted area in reference photocopy) it mentions that various methods of draping prevailed.
The most comprehensive information on draping was found in the written reference: Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume (See orange highlighted area in reference photocopy). A quick view of 3 styles are shown in Figs. 98, 99 and 100, which show views of early, middle and late draping and style. Although there are descriptions of methods of draping for quite a few styles of togas in this reference, the one I have chosen to use is the only one highlighted in orange since each description is so intricate and rather confusing! Here it is mentioned that the wearing of the toga was going out of fashion as ordinary Roman dress by the 2nd Century A.D. but it was retained as ceremonial dress as late at the 5th Century A.D., worn by Roman consuls. The style is shown in Figs. 103a and 103b, as worn by the Consul Flavius Felix in A.D. 428.
Conclusion:
The toga style chosen for Spurius to wear is shown in Fig. 100 and again more closely in Figs. 103a and 103b worn by the Consul Flavius Felix in A.D. 428. I have chosen this style because it is mentioned as being worn for ceremonial purposes. I have also chosen this style because it seems to be a fairly easy style to wear with minimal danger of the garment unraveling while in use.
Here are some photos of the process of folding and draping. I believe the end result is good. The only slight modification to the final look comes in the back of the figure. Because I made the length of the toga to fit Spurius according to his height, the length is about 3 feet shorter than the length of the toga mentioned in the figure used. The result being that we decided not to have so much fabric draping at the back in order for us to have enough fabric to finish the draping at the front.
More Draping...
The draping was a rather complicated process...
Even More Draping!
...but we persisted!
The Finished Look
And eventually it turned out well!
A View of the Tunica's Full Dimensions
Tunica:
The website: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/radical_romans/male/male.htm (Red highlighted area in printout) shows the shape of the tunic and mentions that the length of the tunic would increase with class. The purple stripes for decoration are also mentioned here, with the Equestrian (noble) class wearing a 2.5 cm purple stripe.
In the written reference English Costume From the Second Century BC, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations (Red highlighted area in reference photocopy), it mentions the tunica. It would be made of wool or linen. Upper classes wore white. Purple stripes decorated the white tunica from shoulder to hem and indicated rank earlier on, but later were simply for decorative purposes. It also mentions that the longer tunica was meant for nobility on ceremonial occasions and for older men.
In the written reference Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume (See red highlighted area in reference photocopy), it is mentioned that a loin-cloth was warn in earlier times with the tunic or tunica being used later. Figs. 131-134 show drawings to scale of tunics found in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A tunica is seen on the figure of the toga style chosen for Spurius to wear in Fig. 103a.
Conclusion:
Since one can see a tunica being worn under the toga of the figure in the reference for draping I chose to make a tunica for Spurius to wear. I chose a longer length, as is seen in figure drawing of the toga draping style chosen. For sizing, I chose to use one of the scale drawings mentioned, Fig. 132, as this would give me as authentic a size as possible. I also chose to use the same purple border trim to decorate the tunica. The fabric is the same as the toga, 100% cotton, for comfort and availability.
A View of the Tunica While Wearing a Belt
Garment Construction: Considering I was most concerned with the dimensions of the toga and tunica, I constructed the outfit mainly by machine sewing. I did hand sew the hem of the tunica, however, for a nicer look.
Bibliography:
Websites:
1) How to Make a Toga, web address: http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-a-toga
2) Roman Male Costume, web address: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/radical_romans/male/male.htmBOOKS:
Books:
1) English Costume From the Second Century BC to 1960 by Doreen Yarwood, c1966, Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations, pages 21 and 23.
2) Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume by Mary G. Houston, c1947, pages 87-96 and page 118.
Before and After House Outfit
Brown Kirtle Before
Here is a "before" shot of the brown kirtle I had made for my house outfit. Made out of cotton with a commercial pattern, the style of the dress was incorrect for my period (14th Century), having "princess" seams. I also found later that it didn't fit very well as it was too loose.
Brown Kirtle After
Here is an "after" shot of my brown kirtle for my house outfit. Made using wool fabric with a Reconstructiong History Pattern for a 14th Century Kirtle, I was much happier with the results. The dress fit much better, hugging my figure, and it was also in the correct style for the 14th Century.
House Outfit Surcoat Before
Here is a "before" shot of the surcoat I made for my house outfit. Although period (14th Century), I found it rather boxy because of the weight of the fabric.
House Surcoat After
Here is an "after" shot of my house surcoat. I changed the shape of the original piece simply by trimming the fabric from the armholes and hemming it. I find the more pronounced opening to the armholes enhance my shape better and works better with the heavy fabric while still retaining a 14th Century style. I think the whole outfit looks rather smashing!