Contrast Facings (for a Neckline)

Contrast facings--a different colored piece of fabric at the neckline, sometimes other locations--are really popular in the SCA and can be documented to a couple of different periods. I don't know exactly how they were attached in the Middle Ages, but I know a modern method and that's what I'm going to share. The really nice part about a facing is that it does two things: it provides a decorative aspect to your clothing, but it also finishes the raw edge of your neckline! I highly suspect that at least some of the facings in the Middle Ages were attached in a similar manner to what I'm going to show, just without the sewing machine.  But let's get started!

I really like to start with a neckline pattern, because you want the facing to match the neck hole cut into your garment exactly. However, I couldn't find my V-neck pattern, so I used my round neck pattern and modified it on the garment. I traced my regular round neck pattern, and then used a straight edge to make a V. If I had never done a V neck before, I really would have taken the time to check this out on a scrap first, to make sure my V wasn't too deep, and was laying right. But I've done this before, recently, and I wasn't too worried about it. I cut that out and joined my shoulder seams. But I didn't do any other sewing to the dress, yet.

Once my neckline was set on my dress, I laid it flat over my facing fabric, and traced it onto the facing fabric. (Again, if this was my first time, I'd have made a pattern and a mock-up.)  I traced the pattern, and then used a seam gauge to measure off my facing distance, plus seam allowances, to get my facing piece. I used a straight edge to finish the point of the V. Also, be better than me. Iron your fabric. I ironed, but after I did this step.

Here's where we get really "modern" with what we're doing. I am almost positive this isn't a period technique, but it's a great way to get a nice facing. Stitch a line of straight stitches around the outside edge, along the line of your hem allowance. Mine's at 1/2". For what it's worth, if I wanted to take an educated guess at doing this in a period way, I'd use a substantially smaller hem allowance, and do all of this by hand. But because I like being exact, I'd still probably baste in this line.

Next, line up your facing with your neckline, on the inside/wrong side of the garment. You still ideally have the bare minimum of your tunic sewn, so you can lay everything flat. Pin the pieces together, and stitch at the neck.

Once the pieces are stitched together, you want to make several cuts. First, if you have a V neck like I do, snip straight down the center of your V, just to your stitching line. Don't cut your stitches. Stop 1-2 mm away. Then you want to cut notches out of all your curved edges. About 1-1.5" apart from each other. You also want to take little notches out of your outside curves. You don't have to get nearly as close to that basting line of stitches on the outer edge.

Flip your facing to the right side of the tunic. Use your fingers to smooth out the seam and make everything lay flat. Those notches you cut will help it all lay flat. I use pins as I go to hold everything down flat. The below picture shows that step completed.

You can also see the next step in the above photo. You also want to cut off the tip of the V. This would also be true for the outside corners of a square. Turn under your raw edge, using that line of basting stitches as a guide. For the record, that stitching line is completely optional, but it can really help this step!

Here you can see everything laid flat and pinned. All that's left is to stitch down that outer edge! I like to use a tiny hand-sewn whip stitch. It really disappears and makes for a clean finish.  And then you're done! Just finish the rest of the garment.

You can use facings for literally any shape of neckline. They're great for finishing sharp points and corners! You can also vary the outside shape. I have a V-neck in this garment, but I could have made the outer edge of my facing square! Or a fancy oakleaf shape. Be creative and look at medieval manuscripts for inspiration. You might be surprised at how often facings show up!

On Sleeves and Gussets

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a historian, I'm a hobbyist. That said, I've spent a lot of time looking at the development of clothing between the 10th-11th centuries and the 14th-15th centuries (both of those periods have rather transitional aspects as the centuries turn, due to political reasons, and its those transitional periods I'm using as markers, more or less) focused in western Europe. The clothing ranges from the rather simple to the rather complex. For the most part, though, it can be seen as relatively simple from a construction standpoint.

However, if you're new to sewing, if you're new to reenactment, certain aspects of historical patterns can be intimidating. Sleeves are one of them. Fitted sleeves with the deep armscye (the seam that joins the sleeve to the body, shoulder to armpit) that you see in the 14th and 15th century European clothing is not exactly beginner-friendly. And a shaped armscye became popular sooner than some people may think. The gown of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia is a great example! http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/elizabeth.htm If you click that link and look at the line drawing of it, can you see how the sleeve is made in two pieces, and not the neat little trapezoid/square that I drew in my dress diagram? I gather that that vertical seam is because of fabric widths. Imagine those two pieces sewn together to make the complete sleeve. It has what looks like an integrated gusset! Or something that provides a similar function.  And you can see the seam in the body of the dress where it fits. The seam looks like it's at the side-back. Not the true side, but still close to the underarm.

What I'm getting at here is that you could plausibly integrate your gusset into your sleeve, if cutting it and inserting it as a separate piece is intimidating.  Without changing anything about your dimensions from the previous pattern, you'd just trace the gusset onto the edges of the sleeve, as it would be if it was sewn on. That means it's a triangle. This is what the piece would look like, more or less.

It's your sleeve, with half your gusset (divided diagonally) attached to the shoulder side top and bottom edges. And with this, you're actually one step closer to getting a shaped sleeve! This is an oversimplification of the pattern, but it functions, it's comfortable, and you may find it easier to sew.

A Postscript: I want to stress that gussets, as separate pieces, are a medieval practice. Even when you get into the deeply shaped armscye seams of the 14th and 15th centuries, there are still often gussets, sometimes multiple ones, and some of them make creative use of bias to optimize movement and stretch. They're definitely something worth trying and learning about. This method is meant to make the simple act of sewing easier and more accessible. I definitely hope it helps someone!

A Basic Medieval Dress (or Tunic)

My favorite dress for doing medieval reenactment is a relatively easy one. It uses rectangular construction, which means that all the pieces are rectangles or triangles, with no (or very minimal) shaping. This method of patterning was popular all throughout history, and can even be seen in Civil War era clothing! It's very fabric conservative, with little waste. The straight lines also make it easy to sew!

This website is a FANTASTIC resource for historical sewing: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/cloth/bockhome.html  The basis for the dress I'm sharing today is the "Nockert Type 1" garment under his "Kyrtles/Cotes/Tunics/Gowns" section. The most famous of which may be the Bocksten Man Tunic. But wait! Is it a man's garment? It's one for everybody! I make mine to be ankle or instep-length, and rather closely fitted (with no shaping, it's magic!). But you can make it shorter and looser fitting based on your own comfort, or for a man.

So let's get started. This pattern is going to yield a rather fitted ladies' dress. I'll include a couple tips on making it looser, or for a man.  This is what a finished dress can look like. (Please note, this is not me trying to recreate any particular period--this is me throwing a dress on in the front yard to take some example photos.)

A = Upper bust measurement divided by 2

B = Shoulder to instep (or however long you want your tunic/dress)

C = Shoulder to wrist (or however long you want your sleeves)

D = Flexed bicep plus about 1"

E = (Optional) Shoulder to the fullest part of your arm/just above your elbow

F = (Optional) Remainder of your arm/sleeve length

G = Circumference of your hand at the widest point, usually across your knuckles

H = Natural waist (thinnest part of your waist) to instep (or desired length)

I = This dimension can vary a lot. It should be at least 10-12". For the green dress above, it was about 30". For a nicely full lady's dress, I usually shoot for 20-24".

Notes about dimensions:

* The measurement for A depends on your bust being larger than your waist. If your waist is larger, use that divided by 2 instead. If you want the dress a little looser, use your full bust measurement, rather than your upper bust measurement. If you want it VERY loose, add 2-4" on top of your full bust measurement. This will most likely make the shoulders a little bunchy, be warned.

* Add seam allowance to all dimensions

*Add hem allowance to the length of your sleeve, and the overall length of the garment

* The gussets (the little square pieces that go at the armpit) should be about 5-6" if you're making the dress fitted. This gives you the extra room required if you're using your upper bust measurement for A. If you're using your full bust measurement for A, you can use more like a 4" gusset.

*Vanity note: I gained about 20 lbs between sewing that green dress and those pictures. So it's a bit tighter than it started out life as. If I made one with my new measurements, I would add about 2" to my A measurement.  It's always a good idea to make a test garment out of inexpensive fabric to see how it looks on. That way you know if you want to make any tweaks to any of the measurements.

Notes about Construction:

(I'm going to post a follow up soon that has a bit of a sew-along for one of these, but until then, here are some basic instructions.)

* Cut two of the large rectangular panels. That's what I refer to as "body panels". Don't cut the slits in until you're ready to insert the triangular godets.

* Cut two sleeves.

* Cut two gussets.

* The triangular pieces that set into the skirt are called "godets" (sometimes referred to as "gores"). I usually piece two of these, and cut two whole. You want four total. Front, back, and each side. The little diagram I included is a very fabric-conservative method of cutting. You don't have to do that, it's just a suggestion.

* The godets are drawn (rather unhelpfully, sorry) as true triangles. That's how I cut them out. I make them approximately 2" longer than they really need to be. You actually want to cut the very tip off so that you have a very tall trapezoid with a very tiny top edge. That top edge should be equal to approximately twice your seam allowance. Add hem allowance, but also seam allowance, for the top insertion point.

*Also on cutting the godets: it's a really good idea to round the edges of them. If you cut them the way I suggest, the sides of the triangles will be longer than they should be. You want those sides to be the same length as the dimension "H". Marking that point on either side can help you cut the bottom edge in a gentle arc. It should look like a slice of pie. Like this.

* Inserting the godets in the front and back, in slits, is mildly tricky, but not too hard. I'll definitely cover it in the sew-along when I post it. But as an alternative, you can also cut your body panels in two pieces (add seam allowance) and have a front and back seam. I find it easier to set godets into seams than into slits. But really, try doing it! It's not that hard, I promise!

* If you want to decorate (embroider, stamp, etc.) your garment, I suggest stamping after you cut the pieces out, before sewing them together. For the most part, I recommend embroidering before you cut the pieces out at all. Trace the cutting lines on with chalk or washable marker, and then use chalk to mark your seam allowance line, so you know where the edges of your embroidery should be.

Construction Steps:

Step 1: Cut your neckline out of your body panels.

Step 2: Sew your shoulder seams.

Step 3: Somewhat optional, but this is a really good time to go ahead and finish your shoulder seams, if you're going to, and finish your neckline. You can do this later if you want, but now while it's flat is really nice.

Step 4: Fold your sleeve in half lengthwise. Match the center point of the shoulder side to the shoulder seam of your body panels. Stitch the two together. Repeat on the other side.

Step 5: Attach one edge of a gusset to the one side of the sleeve, where it meets the body panel. You want to notch the gusset at the corner so that it snugs into the body panel. (The notches equal my seam allowance.)

Step 6: Stitch the adjacent edge to the body panel. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 on the other side.

Step 7: Now fold the garment in half, wrong side out, along the shoulder seams. It should be quasi-recognizable as clothing now. Insert the other two edges of the gusset. I like to start with the sleeve again, and then finish with the body panel.

Step 8: Sew the rest of your sleeve seam.

Step 9: (This is predicated on your side godets being in two pieces, if they're a solid piece, this will be a little different for you.) Stitch the bias edge of your godet to the edge of your body panel.

               * Quick note: "straight grain" means in line with or perpendicular to the 

                  weave of the fabric. "Bias" means on an angle to the weave of the fabric.

                  When you cut the triangles in two pieces, the line where they'll join to each 

                  other is on the straight grain, and the angled line where they join to the body

                  is on the bias. *

Step 10: Repeat the half godet insertion at all body panel edges. So the sides of your dress are still completely open. Sew your side seam. I like to do this in two parts, first joining the godets together, and then sewing the little remainder in the side. I sew them separately so that I can more easily flat fell the seams later. If you're not doing that, go ahead and sew it all in one go.

Step 11: You're almost done! You can try the dress on at this point! It may still be a bit tight at the hips if you're like me and have big hips.  That's okay! The front and back godets give you more room. Cut a slit in the very center of your front panel. It should be the length of your finished godet (it should be shorter than the actual piece you're inserting, remember that seam allowance?).

              * Additional note: these don't have to be at the same height as the side godets,

                 but they can be. This is personal preference. If you have a bit of a tummy,

                 you may want them to be a little higher. You may alternately want them slightly

                 lower. This is one reason why making a test garment is a good idea. *

Insert the godets into the slit. There are some really fantastic Youtube videos on how to do this, and I'll cover it in photos in the future. I find it helpful to stitch the very top in by hand, even if I'm machine sewing the dress.

Step 12: Hem the sleeves and bottom edge. Finish the neck if you didn't before.

Step 13: Optional: Finish the seams, if you haven't as you went! But otherwise, you're done! Congratulations!

There will absolutely, definitely be a followup post to this one with a photo sew-along as I put one of these together.  Please note: I flat fell all my seams, after I put the garment together completely. So my sewing is modified a bit to make that easier to do. But hey! Flat felling all the seams makes them stronger, and so that they won't fray in the wash! It's a really good idea. If you don't flat fell, you should still finish your seams in some fashion, so they don't fray. There are other methods of hand finishing. Alternately, you can serge the pieces before sewing them together. If you don't have a serger, you can also use a wide zig-zag stitch over the raw edge. It works just as well as a serged edge, though it doesn't look quite as nice.

Finally, would you like to make this for a man? It looks good on them, too!

Use their chest measurement for A, and add 4-6" of ease (extra room so that they can have the looser fit they usually want). Make it the length they're happy with. You can use 4-5" gussets, depending on how much ease you add. The less ease, the larger the gusset you want. The more ease, the smaller the gusset can be.

On average, the overall bottom width for a shorter tunic doesn't need to be the same as for a longer one, so you can make dimension I smaller. 6-8" isn't unreasonably small for a knee length tunic.

You can also omit the front and back godets, as long as the side godets are wide enough to allow movement (10-12" ought to do). If you omit the front and back godets, you can still put slits in the front and back, just hem them and leave them slits! Alternately, you can put front and back godets and leave side slits! Or no slits. The choices are pretty open! Experiment! Look at period artwork to find examples of slits in different locations. You can also get an idea of how wide a hem was in period by looking at examples in artwork. Some periods were more fabric conservative than others.

You can really have a lot of fun with this pattern, and you can style it in a bunch of different ways. I use it to do 10th century, 13th, and 14th! It's all about the neckline, sleeve width, length, and accessories. Have fun with it!

Check out this post for an alternate method of cutting sleeves!

Sew-Along Part 1

Sew-Along Part 2

Sew-Along Part 3

Two Threads, No Knots!

I learned this method from someone who does cross-stitch, where using two strands of thread is more common. Except for the finest veils and thinnest silks and linens, I use this method when I'm hand-sewing. Using two strands of thread isn't a bad thing, and omitting classic knots is worth it to me. I dislike knots. So I'm not saying that this is the best method, I'm not saying it's what anyone else should do. But it's what I do, and it's why, when I'm hand-sewing something, you'll see a double strand on my needle.

Step one: Cut a length of thread approximately twice as long as you want. On average, when hand sewing a long seam, your thread should be ~20" long at a time, more or less. That's so that you're reducing the movements of your arms (to pull the thread through), which is more efficient and kinder to your shoulders.

Step 2: Fold the thread in half, so the two ends touch and there's a loop at the other end, in the middle of the thread.

Step 3: Insert your needle into the loop and pull it taut. This just helps make it a small point.

Step 4: Use your fingers to keep the loop pinched down to a point, and then thread the loop through the eye of the needle. I find this occasionally easier to do than to thread an end, and I can do it with even tiny needles with itty bitty eyes.

Step 5: Take a small stitch in your fabric. Pull just until the last inch or so of the loop is visible. Pass the needle through the loop so that the thread catches it, and it can't pull all the way through. (I'm whip stitching a hem in the example photo.)

Step 6: Sew! You just started your thread with no knot!

Step 7: When you get to the end of your thread or stitching line, take another small stitch, in place. Don't pull this stitch tight. Instead, pass the needle through the loop of thread that you've made twice.

Step 8: Pull the stitch tight. You might want to repeat these two steps one more time. It's your call. If I can bury my thread end (I'll explain in the next step) I don't usually do this more than once. If I'm stitching a seam, I'll use this locking stitch twice.

Step 9 (Optional): If you're sewing a hem, facing, or finishing a seam, odds are you have the opportunity to bury your thread end, which is a neat, secure way of finishing off. After doing the lock stitch described in steps 7-8, with your needle still threaded, insert your needle very near your lock stitch. Run the needle between the layers of fabric, and come up 1/2"-1" away. If you don't have layers of fabric, you won't be able to do this.

Step 10: Pull the thread taut, and snip it right next to the fabric. The cut end should ease inside your layers of fabric.

And That's it! Hand sewing with no knots!

Flat Felled Seams

It seems very fitting for my first tutorial to be on the seam finish method I use most often in the SCA. Flat felled seams! I use this seam finish on linen, almost exclusively. It's a seam finish that can be documented throughout history as being used for linen. Given that I live where the climate is generally hot, that's the fabric I use for most of my clothes, regardless of whether it's 100% accurate or not. I like not dying of heat. But here's a fun fact: flat felled seams are also used in modern sewing! Your jeans most likely have flat felled seams. That's because it's a remarkably strong finish that encloses all the raw edges of fabric, so you have no fraying, and reinforces your main seam stitching. And if you're sewing yourself, you don't need a serger! This seam finish works best on straight or very, very slightly curved seams.  I hand-sew this finish, but it can be done with a machine.

Step 1. I do this part with a sewing machine, usually. Sew the seam with a 1/2"-3/4" seam allowance, as you normally would. I've pressed the seam open in the picture, which is best practice. (That means I don't always do it, sometimes I finger press as I go, but when I'm being *good*, I press the seams open.)

Step 2.  Trim one side of the seam allowance down by half.

Step 3. Fold the longer, un-cut seam allowance over the cut seam allowance, so your seam allowance is all being pressed to one side.

Step 4. Fold the longer, un-cut seam allowance in half, enclosing the shorter seam allowance and all cut edges inside the fold. (Yes, the color of the material changed, the photos are from two different garments. Sorry about that!)

Step 5. Pin this fold in place (optional, but it can help you keep everything sorted). You can see the look of the finished piece now. Everything lays nice and flat and pretty.

Step 6. Stitch this fold down. I like to use a small whip stitch right on the very edge, but you can also edge-stitch with your machine, using a medium straight stitch. (Edge-stitching is when you stitch on the very edge of a fold so you don't have any flappy bits sticking up past your stitches.)

And that's it! It takes a while to do all the seams in a garment, but once you're finished, the inside will be as pretty as the outside. I'll try to update this post with a photo of the outside of the garment, but it will vary by your stitching. If you use a machine, you'll see that line of straight stitches set away from your seam line. With the little whip stitch, you barely see the stitches at all.  There are tons of tutorials for this seam finish all over the internet, but it's the foundation for a lot of what I'm going to put here in the near future. I hope it helps someone!

Foundations

Hi! My name is Jennifer, and I sew. Let me say this first: I am not a professional seamstress! I'm self-taught. I began sewing, in earnest, in 2007 after finishing college. I wanted a creative outlet. And I've always been fascinated by fashion. I read articles, tutorials, pattern information, and tons of sewing blogs. Over the last decade, I've sewn clothing, bags, toys, costumes, and lots of variations on those items. I've made costumes for Renaissance festivals, community theater, belly dance, and just for fun. I've made casual clothes, I've made work clothes. I haven't really delved into formal clothing, yet. And in the last couple of years, I've gotten involved in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and started researching medieval methods and materials for sewing.

This blog is going to heavily feature my SCA research, projects, class handouts, and tutorials. But I expect that it will also feature any other sewing project or technique I happen to document. My hope is that I can help other people who are newer to sewing, or drafting, or hand-sewing. I find hand-sewing to be terribly relaxing and energizing at the same time. It can really test your creativity (and sometimes patience). It can also be a nice, brainless activity to relax with. It's all about what you take on.

Let me talk for just a few minutes about the basics of sewing, as I see them. You have fabric. This can be colored, patterned, or plain. It can be shiny or matte. It can be sheer or plush or stiff or crinkled. But at the end of the day, it's fabric. Everything I post about will be intended for woven fabrics, rather than knits. Woven fabrics tend to not stretch, while knit fabrics tend to stretch. There are other differences, but let's keep it simple for now. If I post something for stretch fabrics, I'll say that in the post, if not the title. Then you have thread. Most sewing thread is some variation on polyester, cotton, or silk. Occasionally linen. But unless otherwise specified, I'm using an all-purpose weight of cotton thread. I don't like to use buttonhole, quilting, or other heavy weight thread for normal sewing. NEVER use machine embroidery thread for any kind of structural sewing. That's weaker than all-purpose weight thread, and meant for surface decoration only. I will specify when I'm using machine vs. hand stitching when it's important, or when both are good options. But for the most part, I use a fine-ish sharp needle.

When sewing, you have your seams, which is the line of stitching that joins two pieces of fabric together. Your seam allowance is the little short fabric ends that go to the inside of a garment. You always want to finish your seam allowance with woven fabrics because they can fray. There are several methods of doing this, the most basic one is to use a wide zig-zag stitch on the very edge of the fabric, near where it was cut. That will stop the fraying much like a serger will, and you don't need a separate machine to do it. I'll talk about other seam finishes in the future. Hems are the edges of fabric, like the bottom of a shirt or dress, or the cuff of a sleeve. Hem allowance is the extra bit of fabric you have to turn up to finish, or to sew a facing onto. I'll get into facings soon. But basically, your garment's raw edges all need to be finished in some way. The simplest is to turn the edge up, and then turn it up again, enfolding the raw edge in a fold, and stitch down the edge of the fold. That's a simple turned hem.

Anyway, I think that covers the absolute most fundamental basics.

Please feel free to e-mail me questions or requests at eliza.blackbun@gmail.com. Or if you'd just like to chat!

Let me also please introduce you to the Little Gray Cat, who must always lay on whatever I would like to use. Most especially sewing supplies.

This is Dorian, performing cat yoga on top of a pattern.