I had a very nice, relaxing weekend. Spent most of Saturday goofing around with my fiance. We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day, but we slept in, had a meal and then walked around the lake for an hour or so at dusk. I spent the evening working on my gomlek while he worked on his armor. We were up until about 4 am watching Kingdom of Heaven and Hidalgo, neither of which have period garb, but it was more satisfying to watch that while working than, say, Shaun of the Dead (though it is my second favorite movie).
I spent most of Sunday oversleeping, then finishing the seams on my gomlek and putting off cutting the neck hole. I have a good template so I think now it's just laziness. Kyna drove up from Namron in the evening and we spent a lot of time talking about event season, how I need to stop dallying around and enter something in A&S competitions, and plans for next weekend.
I was invited to participate in Namron's "float" in our local Mardi Gras parade. The theme is something like a timeline of costume, so the new goal is to have everything done by Saturday. This is not so far out of my reach, I just need to budget my time wisely. I doubt I'll have the frogging on my kaftan by then, but I'm not too worried about it. In fact, I have my navy kaftan, so I could leave out working on that altogether, but it would be nice to have the new green one.
Garb Status:
(Almost) finished with gomlek. Just have to cut/finish the neck hole and trim/hem the sleeves and bottom edge. I'm estimating I will have it completely finished by Tuesday.
Progressing on kaftan. Putting on gores Monday unless I decide to put that project away until after the parade.
Washed chirka fabric, ready to cut Monday night. I can get away with not wearing this piece for the parade, but I would rather have it.
Washing entari fabric in Monday. Need to buy yellow lining fabric asap.
I can put off hemming the veil as long as I put some fray stop on the edges.
I need to take a look at my shoes and fix the buckle-thingies. Look for an article on accessories in the very near future!
Showing posts with label entari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entari. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Caftan, Part I
I went ahead and put the gomlek to the side for tonight and started working on my caftan. Don't worry, I will get back to the gomlek tomorrow (it's almost finished!!), but I couldn't wait to start working on my green striped caftan.
Caftan Overview:
The caftan is
basically a slightly larger version of the entari, worn as an overcoat. According to Neefa bint Durr, caftans were usually made of silks or brocades and lined with cotton in a contrasting color with silk facings (unless it was a summer caftan in which case it would not be lined, but would still have the facing). Winter caftan were often lined with fur.
Caftans could be made with or without a standing collar or were the same as an entari -- small and round or very slightly v-necked. They had large gores on both sides and in the front.
From the pictures of extant caftan I have seen, the sleeves were usually short, but some have detachable sleeves. The short sleeves often had a crescent-shaped cutout in front for ease of bending the arm (you can see this quite well in the picture above). In some cases it appears there was a gusset in the underarm, but I don't believe it was always done this way.
Closures consisted of long bands, known as "frogging," across the chest. In her article Making a 16th Century Turkish Coat, Neefa bint Durr states that buttonholes through the fabric were not used. She also says that the frogging was made with the same general colors of the fabric (but usually no more than three different colors), sometimes with geometric designs which were made by either fingerloop weaving or card/tablet weaving. Frogging went from the neck to waist, loops on left, buttons on right. (To see these closures in excellent detail, please visit the Sackler website, choose "View the Robes in Detail" and click on the fourth thumbnail from the bottom. Moving your cursor over the picture will allow you to explore an extant caftan!)
My Caftan:
About a year ago I acquired this beautiful green striped curtain fabric (on the right in the picture) at a sewing party. My friend Adena had it but didn't know what she would use it for, so I purchased the whole bolt from her for $15. I think I came away with 6 or 7 yards, so I feel like I got a great deal. Had I bought it from a store it would have been at least twice that.
The instant this fabric met my hands it whispered to me that it wanted to be a caftan. Always one to listen to my fabrics, I held off on cutting it until I really understood the process. I used the aforementioned article Making a 16th Century Turkish Coat by Neefa bint Durr to work out the measurements. (I would love to link you to her article, but you must be a member of SCA_Turkish_Personas_Moderated to view it. If you join, look in the Files section for Turkish Coats PDF.pdf.)
Now, according to many, many sources on the web, striped fabrics were favored for children's clothing and clothing for the poor because they were easily made and, therefore, cheap. Living in the harem my persona probably would not have worn stripes, but I must make a concession for this particular fabric as the mundane me loves stripes and wears them often.
I have cut the fabric with the stripes going vertically down the body piece, diagonally on the gores and horizontally on the sleeves. This may sound hideous, but it will all come together, I assure you. Due to the fact that coats were often cut without regard to pattern continuation, I'm not too worried about the stripe directions.
I don't think I will line the coat as the fabric is already going to be rather warm, but I will use a contrasting facing (if I can figure out just how to do that).
I will not be using a collar, but instead a slight v-shaped neckline.
My fingerloop braiding skills aren't good enough for making the frogging, so I will use either thin tablet woven bands or kumihimo braids. I will be doing thread covered wooden beads for the buttons.
Anyway, check back often as this project is about to kick into high gear!!
Other Links of Interest with Regard to Kaftans:
Hurayrah's Passably-Period Caftan (instructions begin on page 9)
Dick Osseman's website
Photo Credits:
- Orange/red caftan belonging to Selim I, circa 16th century: Topkapi Palace Museum
- Fabrics: Me
Caftan Overview:The caftan is
basically a slightly larger version of the entari, worn as an overcoat. According to Neefa bint Durr, caftans were usually made of silks or brocades and lined with cotton in a contrasting color with silk facings (unless it was a summer caftan in which case it would not be lined, but would still have the facing). Winter caftan were often lined with fur.Caftans could be made with or without a standing collar or were the same as an entari -- small and round or very slightly v-necked. They had large gores on both sides and in the front.
From the pictures of extant caftan I have seen, the sleeves were usually short, but some have detachable sleeves. The short sleeves often had a crescent-shaped cutout in front for ease of bending the arm (you can see this quite well in the picture above). In some cases it appears there was a gusset in the underarm, but I don't believe it was always done this way.
Closures consisted of long bands, known as "frogging," across the chest. In her article Making a 16th Century Turkish Coat, Neefa bint Durr states that buttonholes through the fabric were not used. She also says that the frogging was made with the same general colors of the fabric (but usually no more than three different colors), sometimes with geometric designs which were made by either fingerloop weaving or card/tablet weaving. Frogging went from the neck to waist, loops on left, buttons on right. (To see these closures in excellent detail, please visit the Sackler website, choose "View the Robes in Detail" and click on the fourth thumbnail from the bottom. Moving your cursor over the picture will allow you to explore an extant caftan!)
My Caftan:About a year ago I acquired this beautiful green striped curtain fabric (on the right in the picture) at a sewing party. My friend Adena had it but didn't know what she would use it for, so I purchased the whole bolt from her for $15. I think I came away with 6 or 7 yards, so I feel like I got a great deal. Had I bought it from a store it would have been at least twice that.
The instant this fabric met my hands it whispered to me that it wanted to be a caftan. Always one to listen to my fabrics, I held off on cutting it until I really understood the process. I used the aforementioned article Making a 16th Century Turkish Coat by Neefa bint Durr to work out the measurements. (I would love to link you to her article, but you must be a member of SCA_Turkish_Personas_Moderated to view it. If you join, look in the Files section for Turkish Coats PDF.pdf.)
Now, according to many, many sources on the web, striped fabrics were favored for children's clothing and clothing for the poor because they were easily made and, therefore, cheap. Living in the harem my persona probably would not have worn stripes, but I must make a concession for this particular fabric as the mundane me loves stripes and wears them often.
I have cut the fabric with the stripes going vertically down the body piece, diagonally on the gores and horizontally on the sleeves. This may sound hideous, but it will all come together, I assure you. Due to the fact that coats were often cut without regard to pattern continuation, I'm not too worried about the stripe directions.
I don't think I will line the coat as the fabric is already going to be rather warm, but I will use a contrasting facing (if I can figure out just how to do that).
I will not be using a collar, but instead a slight v-shaped neckline.
My fingerloop braiding skills aren't good enough for making the frogging, so I will use either thin tablet woven bands or kumihimo braids. I will be doing thread covered wooden beads for the buttons.
Anyway, check back often as this project is about to kick into high gear!!
Other Links of Interest with Regard to Kaftans:
Hurayrah's Passably-Period Caftan (instructions begin on page 9)
Dick Osseman's website
Photo Credits:
- Orange/red caftan belonging to Selim I, circa 16th century: Topkapi Palace Museum
- Fabrics: Me
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The 2009 Project List
I noticed the other day that my Project List was getting rather long and needed a more permanent home than a string of Post-It notes stuck to the computer desk. So I decided to take some of that pent up "Snow Day" energy and arrange it in a (slightly) more organized manner here.
Gomlek
I have a sheer burgundy gomlek waiting to be hemmed and a sheer white gomlek cut out and waiting to be pieced together. Shouldn't take me more than an hour for both, but I've been letting small weaving projects get in the way. And I'm debating whether or not to hand sew the white gomlek now that I have discovered an innate flair for hand stitching. Perhaps it would be more efficient for now to machine stitch the hidden seams and hand stitch the hems and neckline. I could always take it apart and hand sew the hidden seams later if it bothers me that much.
Kataginu
Though this should be the first item on my list and it looks like a simple enough project, the kataginu is one of the most annoying pieces I have encountered in making Japanese garb for my fiance. I know it sounds terribly whiny, but I absolutely hate doing the collar on these things and the shoulder pieces never look right to me, despite his insistence that they are perfect. I do owe him this piece, though, since I already finished a pair of matching red cotton hakama back in December.
Entari
This is probably the most important item on my project list. I have a gomlek that can pass for now, I have salwar that fit well enough, but if I had to go to an event tomorrow, I would have only ghawazee coats to wear over them. Just the thought makes me cringe and then break out into a cold sweat. Ever since I started pursuing a more accurate wardrobe, the very sight of a ghawazee coat disgusts me. Therefore, of all the projects I have ahead of me, this one is the most dire. (The only reason the gomlek is #1 is because the pieces are cut and waiting on me and that is a project I can throw together in an hour... unless I'm handsewing.)
But I do need to make a mock-up for this first as my last mock-up was a complete disaster.
Salwar
After tinkering with the pattern a bit, I need to make a new pair of salwar in a softer fabric with smaller leg gores. The last pair I made were in some kind of wool blend that was rather scratchy and there was a ludicrous amount of fabric between my legs. This leads me to believe that I either miscalculated my measurements (which I am almost sure I did not) or that the pattern is specifically designed to be fiddled with until you get a cut you like. For those of you who might steer me toward an answer to this musing, the pattern in question is that of Master Rashid.
Veil
As mentioned above, I am getting pretty interested in hand sewing and I blame it all on this silly veil. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about having a veil and having it completely hand sewn, but, I seem to be having trouble with the hand-rolled hem. I just can't get the hang of it. I have picked my way through online tutorials, but it still looks weird to me. Maybe I should wait until PFAN next week and ask Annabell to give me a lesson.
Chirka
Through sheer serendipity, I came into possession of a lovely pale peachy-pink woven-looking fabric in a large enough amount to make a chirka. Though the chirka follows almost the exact same construction as an entari, it is my assumption that a chirka should be even more fitted (since it is the support layer, much like a corset) and therefore deserves its own mock-up session.
Kaftan
The construction is almost exactly the same as the entari, only a bit bigger, so this project shouldn't be a problem after I am finished with the former.
Frogging
Maybe it's the marching band geek in me, but I absolutely love the look of frogging down the front of a kaftan!! And now that I know how to fingerloop braid, I should be ready to try it soon (I want to practice my fingerlooping a bit more first).
Buttons
I found a tutorial online about how to make thread-covered beads to use as buttons. Not that I think this is a difficult project, I'm just not ready to sit down and make them until my frogging is done.
Japanese Garb
Ashikaga is going to need at least one more pair of kimono / hakama / kataginu before Gulf Wars. Now if I can just get him off his rear to pick out the fabric, I could get started.
More Ottoman Garb
I could always use more garb for myself -- even more so since Gulf Wars is a week-long event! I don't want to resort to wearing ghawazee coats just to get by!
Ashikaga's Namu Sash
I started on this last year and ran out of time to finish it, thus it needs my attention once more.
All Ottoman garb must be completed by 30th Year because I have been asked to help run a Middle Eastern snack bar at the hafla Saturday night and I want to look awesome!
I'm sure there are things I left out, but these are undoubtedly the most important. Hopefully some of these will find their way onto the blog in the form of pictures and tutorials. haha
Projects to Finish Before Company of Wolves
(February 27 - March 1)
(February 27 - March 1)
Gomlek
I have a sheer burgundy gomlek waiting to be hemmed and a sheer white gomlek cut out and waiting to be pieced together. Shouldn't take me more than an hour for both, but I've been letting small weaving projects get in the way. And I'm debating whether or not to hand sew the white gomlek now that I have discovered an innate flair for hand stitching. Perhaps it would be more efficient for now to machine stitch the hidden seams and hand stitch the hems and neckline. I could always take it apart and hand sew the hidden seams later if it bothers me that much.
Kataginu
Though this should be the first item on my list and it looks like a simple enough project, the kataginu is one of the most annoying pieces I have encountered in making Japanese garb for my fiance. I know it sounds terribly whiny, but I absolutely hate doing the collar on these things and the shoulder pieces never look right to me, despite his insistence that they are perfect. I do owe him this piece, though, since I already finished a pair of matching red cotton hakama back in December.
Entari
This is probably the most important item on my project list. I have a gomlek that can pass for now, I have salwar that fit well enough, but if I had to go to an event tomorrow, I would have only ghawazee coats to wear over them. Just the thought makes me cringe and then break out into a cold sweat. Ever since I started pursuing a more accurate wardrobe, the very sight of a ghawazee coat disgusts me. Therefore, of all the projects I have ahead of me, this one is the most dire. (The only reason the gomlek is #1 is because the pieces are cut and waiting on me and that is a project I can throw together in an hour... unless I'm handsewing.)
But I do need to make a mock-up for this first as my last mock-up was a complete disaster.
Salwar
After tinkering with the pattern a bit, I need to make a new pair of salwar in a softer fabric with smaller leg gores. The last pair I made were in some kind of wool blend that was rather scratchy and there was a ludicrous amount of fabric between my legs. This leads me to believe that I either miscalculated my measurements (which I am almost sure I did not) or that the pattern is specifically designed to be fiddled with until you get a cut you like. For those of you who might steer me toward an answer to this musing, the pattern in question is that of Master Rashid.
Veil
As mentioned above, I am getting pretty interested in hand sewing and I blame it all on this silly veil. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about having a veil and having it completely hand sewn, but, I seem to be having trouble with the hand-rolled hem. I just can't get the hang of it. I have picked my way through online tutorials, but it still looks weird to me. Maybe I should wait until PFAN next week and ask Annabell to give me a lesson.
Chirka
Through sheer serendipity, I came into possession of a lovely pale peachy-pink woven-looking fabric in a large enough amount to make a chirka. Though the chirka follows almost the exact same construction as an entari, it is my assumption that a chirka should be even more fitted (since it is the support layer, much like a corset) and therefore deserves its own mock-up session.
Projects to Finish Before Gulf Wars
(March 15-22)
(March 15-22)
Kaftan
The construction is almost exactly the same as the entari, only a bit bigger, so this project shouldn't be a problem after I am finished with the former.
Frogging
Maybe it's the marching band geek in me, but I absolutely love the look of frogging down the front of a kaftan!! And now that I know how to fingerloop braid, I should be ready to try it soon (I want to practice my fingerlooping a bit more first).
Buttons
I found a tutorial online about how to make thread-covered beads to use as buttons. Not that I think this is a difficult project, I'm just not ready to sit down and make them until my frogging is done.
Japanese Garb
Ashikaga is going to need at least one more pair of kimono / hakama / kataginu before Gulf Wars. Now if I can just get him off his rear to pick out the fabric, I could get started.
More Ottoman Garb
I could always use more garb for myself -- even more so since Gulf Wars is a week-long event! I don't want to resort to wearing ghawazee coats just to get by!
Projects to Finish Before Medieval Fair
(April 3-5)
Something for HRM Gunthar
I would like to make something, whether it be food or largess, for his Majesty Gunthar since he was the first SCA royal I ever met and Medieval Fair will likely be the last time I see him before the end of his reign.(April 3-5)
Something for HRM Gunthar
Ashikaga's Namu Sash
I started on this last year and ran out of time to finish it, thus it needs my attention once more.
Projects to Finish Before Ansteorra's 30th Year Celebration
(July 9-15)
My Kit(July 9-15)
All Ottoman garb must be completed by 30th Year because I have been asked to help run a Middle Eastern snack bar at the hafla Saturday night and I want to look awesome!
I'm sure there are things I left out, but these are undoubtedly the most important. Hopefully some of these will find their way onto the blog in the form of pictures and tutorials. haha
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