Finished Roman (almost)

Here's the completed Roman. Both the orange tunica and the linen tunica recta underneath are completely hand-sewn. I still need to hem the palla (which is wool gauze from Dharma Trading, and it's to die for!), and I may re-hem the tunica. She's a little bit long. Which is annoying because this is the second time I've hemmed it. But, third time is the charm, right? Anyway, it's 95% done, and I'm pleased as could be with it. I'll wear it to 12th Night in January. 

I was shooting for 4th century CE, but because I omitted clavii, I've probably landed solidly 2nd. I'm not mad about that, it just makes the necklace a little anachronistic. 

The Ring that Fought Back

So this was supposed to be a which quick and easy project. One of my first projects was a bezel set ring. Most of my projects prior to this year have been bezel set rings. But this one...shows that I'm out of practice. It took me about six tries to get the bezel the right size and soldered correctly. It attached to the backplate just fine. But then it took me three tries to get the hoop attached. Now, granted, I haven't tried this style of connection before, but man, it seemed like it was going to be easier than it was. After all that, I partially crushed the bezel at some point, so it looks a little gnarly on one side. I don't have progress pics of this one because of all the headaches. It's lapis set in silver. It's not based on any particular source, but it's plausibly medieval.

And the ugly side...

It also came out a bit bigger than I was shooting for, but that's my fault for not measuring the bezel properly. It fits my thumb, though. 

Roman Bracelet

This is just a sweet little pearl and silver bracelet that I've made for an auction. It's definitely Roman inspired, though the nearest inspiration for it is (supposedly) amethyst. The photos look awfully red for amethyst. But it's just silver links, the same fashion as the Byzantine necklace. This is quite a common linking method throughout Rome and the early Byzantine empire. This is, however, the tiniest and most delicate hook and eye closure I've ever made. 

I'm still planning to get out in the shop and solder something this month. It probably won't be Roman. I'm thinking I'll make a cabochon ring, since I need practice setting cabs. There's a Roman bracelet that's a bangle set with cabs all the way around it that I'm dying to make. I'll probably vary my production method a bit from what I think is original, but I'm excited to make an attempt. We'll see. Maybe December.

Roman not-jewelry

I've been making a ton of Roman jewelry, but don't have anything to wear it with. So I'm working on fixing that. I bought three silk saris, and have a ton of lightweight linen on hand. The first sari I'm working with is my last favorite, having a pattern on it. In working with all borrowed research here, so I've been told both that the pattern is correct, and also that it's not. I think it may be correct for a certain era of Greek, but I'm shooting for 4th century Roman. I'm not too futzed about it, as this is basically a test run. A hopefully wearable test run. 

As I said, I'm working with borrowed research. Dulcia's Roman Closet and Romana Sum have been very helpful resources online, and Duchess Livia, OL, An Tir, has been a great real life resource. I'm also just using my own sewing instincts, which may or may not be correct. Actually, they're almost assuredly not "correct" because the Romans were working with woven to size fabric. Nice selvage edges. I'm working with cut fabric, which means I've done a tiny rolled hem on all the edges. I'm also working with relatively narrow fabric, so no tubes available. 

Nothing is done yet, but I find this photo very satisfying. You can see the rolled hem as well as the actual seam stitching, which is whip stitch. Also, yes, this is the posture in which I usually sew. The blog is not called "Sits Like a Lady."