Baronial Archery Champion Cloak

Cold weather is here in South Australia, and I have been thinking about warm clothing options for winter months. As I was considering options, I came across pictures of this cloak I made several years ago and forgot to post about.

The cloak is made of heavy wool, and the style is inspired by this extant piece:

Cape of Garzia Medici -held at the Pitti Palace. See more info here:The clothes of Cosimo I, Eleonora di Toledo and don Garzia - Auris Lothol (auris-lothol.info)

(A big thank you to Salome for this reference!)

The cloak was created for the Baronial Archery Champion of my local SCA group to wear. The plan is for every Archery Champion's heraldry to be displayed on the cloak in chronological order of winning the Championship.

The wool is fulled and slightly felted, and so doesn't fray, which meant that it did not need to be lined.

There are currently two other Champion cloaks in use in my group; red for the Heavy Champion and blue for the A&S Champion.

The neck is bound with yellow twill tape which also serves as ties. All the sewing was done by hand, and the little arrows were embroidered.

Embroidered Heraldic Patches

 I recently finished the second of two heraldic patches for a Championship cloak. I wasn't super pleased with how this one turned out, but it was my third try, so it was time to quit and accept it for how it worked out. The embroidery is done in silk thread in split and chain stitch.

 

The seahorse was done in cotton floss in split stitch.

Green Linen Tie-On Sleeves In The Italian Style

 Are you getting bored with sleeves yet?!

I recently finished another pair, this time in a pretty green linen.

They are constructed in the same way as the rest. I cut out my favourite roomy sleeve pattern in the lining and fashion fabrics and edged them with zigzag stitch on the  machine. The seams were sewn on machine with straight stitch and opened out and stitched down. 

I sewed the green linen fashion fabric and lining together at the sleeve head (wrong sides out), and clipped the curves to reduce bulk before turning the right way out. 

I hand stitched around the top of the sleeve to stop the lining rolling out. 

I sewed the wrist hem by hand and then whipped the lining in with another row of stitching. This seems like extra work,  but if the lining ever stretches, it means I can re-hem it without affecting the hem on the green fashion fabric.

I worked eyelets around the top of the sleeve for tying on and then put my trusty 'L' on the inside of the left sleeve.

Khaki Tie-On Sleeves in the Italian Style

 Another pair of sleeves finished!

These are made out of a cotton fabric remnant that I found in an op (thrift) shop.

They are constructed in the same way as all the others; the lining and fashion fabrics were cut out using my favourite sleeve pattern and edged with zigzag stitch. The seams were sewn on machine with straight stitch and opened out and stitched down. Then the fashion fabric and lining were sewn together at the sleeve head (wrong sides out), curves clipped and then turned right way out. The top of the sleeve was top stitched by hand to stop the lining rolling out. The wrist hem was sewn by hand and the lining whipped into place. Eyelets were worked by hand at the top of the sleeve and an 'L' was sewn into the left sleeve to make lacing the sleeves on in a hurry easier.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

'Baronial Beautification' Group Project

I'm currently involved in our Barony's efforts to prepare items for a future royal visit. Lots of projects are planned to improve our infrastructure and increase the pageantry at the event. 

I haven't been well enough to attend weekly meetings, but the project manager (Sir Eva), is very empathetic and likes to give everyone a chance to be a part of these sort of projects if they would like to. So I had the opportunity to work on some sewing for the project at home.

It felt good to be able to contribute to a group project, and nice to have a change from the UFO pile. Who would have thought that 'sewing homework' would be such a breath of fresh air?!

Red-Gilt Tie On Sleeve in the Italian Renaissance Style

I finished another pair of sleeves this week, and boy! are they pretty. The fabric was purchased from etsy several years ago. A miscellaneous fibre content includes gilt threads. They were sold as silk brocade but I would be very surprised if they actually contain silk.

I'm very pleased with these sleeves. Eyelets are still very hard on my hands but I am getting faster at working them.

I made these sleeves to the same pattern and in the same way as the others I have blogged about recently. The lining is purple broadcloth.

Putting a small running stitch along the inside of the top edge to stop the lining rolling out with wear.

Hemming the sleeves. I sewed down the fashion fabric hem with tiny stitches, and then hemmed the lining separately.

Working the eyelets. (I've added an L for Left to save time getting ready before events.)

The finished product. The pictures fail to capture the richness of the fabric.

Red Tie-On Sleeves in the Italian Style

I finished another pair of sleeves this week. The majority of the sewing had been completed and it was just -you guessed it - eyelets needing to be done. On a positive note; I am getting faster at eyelets now, and hating them slightly less. (Good thing too, as no doubt have hundreds in my future!)

These sleeves were constructed in the same way as the others listed previously. I'm not sure what the fabric content is but they certainly have some metallic threads in them. They have a bit of a shine as the light moves over them. They are not a bright red, but are brighter in real life than the brown-red shade that they look like in the final pictures.

Whip stitching the lining wrist hem into place.

My trusty 'helper'

Pale Blue Tie-on Sleeves in the Italian Style

Another pair of sleeves complete and out of the UFO pile! This pair is made from a light blue brocade type fabric that I found in a remnant bin at a thrift store and is based on the Italian tie-on style.

The camera has was washed the colour out a bit:

The sleeves were created in the same way as outlined in my previous post. 

As usual, the eyelets were what was holding me up.

I've embroidered an 'L' on the left sleeve because I always seem to be in a rush when it is time for events, and nothing wastes more time or adds more stress than struggling into a big dress only to find out you laced your sleeves on wrong - and then have to struggle back out of it, unlace them and then re-lace them on the correct sleeves. Ask me how I know, haha.

Italian Tie-On Sleeves Made From A Thrifted Green Sari Skirt

I finished a pair of sleeves that was sitting in my UnFinished Objects pile.

This pair has not been waiting to be finished as long as some others in the pile. (I only started them in 2021.) I picked up a pretty skirt made out of sari fabric at an op shop and thought it would made a nice pair of sleeves. The skirt was child size so there was some careful unpicking and placing to be done. 

I used my trusty pattern which makes a roomy and comfortable sleeve. Placement was key to try and get best use from the fabric and make sure the motifs were all going in the same direction.

Luckily, I have a great helper!

Edges were zigzag stitched on the machine and the seams ironed open and tacked down. Linings were given the same treatment.

The sleeve and lining was sewn wrong side out then I clipped the corners and turned the right sides out.

I whip stitched around the top of the sleeve head to stop the lining pulling to the outside over time as a bit of pressure is put on the sleeve head from the lacing.

I turned the hem under at the wrist and secured it with tiny stab stitches.

Then I folded the lining hem under and hand sewed it in place.

Finally, I added five eyelet holes at the top of each sleeve so it can be tied into place.

The finished sleeves. I am pleased with how these turned out. I only *just* had enough fabric to get sleeves out of the skirt. The gilt thread in the motif makes the sleeves look quite opulent. I don't expect that they will be the most durable sleeves ever, but they sure are pretty.