Empire - User contributions [en]

Costume

2017-09-12T12:54:49Z

Clive: Reverted edits by Matt (talk) to last revision by Rosemary

==Overview==
We would like Empire to be an aspirational game, one where every participant strives to have the best possible kit. Kit is more than just costume, it includes the props, set dressing and everything else that players bring into the in-character area at an event. The more effort every individual puts in to their kit, the better the game becomes for everybody. But kit is expensive to make and transport to events so it can become demoralizing to make this effort if people feel other players are not trying equally hard. To get the best possible game we need everyone who participates to agree to try their best.

But all aspirational games are at risk of appearing elitist, the assumption is that participants' costume will be judged against some unknown standard, which can be intensely intimidating to new players. We want Empire to be an accessible game that anyone interested in live roleplaying can feel confident about attending. We want the game to be inclusive, to be inviting and welcoming towards everyone interested in taking part.

An aspirational hobby is one where every participant aims for the best standards they can achieve - an inclusive hobby is one where those involved accept the different standards that others can achieve. What we want for Empire is for every player to agree to try their best - but for no player to ever feel embarrassed that their best effort is not good enough.

==Costume==
*'''Basic in-character costume that does not include trainers, jeans or t-shirts'''
{{CaptionedImage|file=BrassCoastLisa3.jpg|align=right|width=250|caption=Costume by [http://www.facebook.com/houseofwax.nl Lisa-Marie Vermeulen]}}
All participants must wear appropriate costume while in the in-character area during time-in. Any basic costume is acceptable provided it is very broadly medieval in style and does not include trainers, jeans or t-shirts. T-shirts are acceptable if worn under costume and are not visible.

These costume requirements are ''not'' intended to be aspirational; they are designed to allow players to attend the event with absolute confidence that their costume is good enough to play the game. Most of our players want to create fantastic kit, but the purpose of these simple rules is to make clear that these are the minimum standards that players can demand of each other. It is important to encourage everybody to make the best effort they can, but it is not appropriate to make other players feel unwelcome because their kit only meets these basic requirements.

==Nudity and Sexual Performance==
* '''Nudity and sexual performances are prohibited at events'''
Public nudity, of the kind that would not be permissible on a beach on which children are playing, is not acceptable at Empire. Clothing and costume should ensure that genitalia and nipples (if female) are completely covered. The only exception to this is for those who are breast-feeding, which is perfectly acceptable at Empire.

Performance roleplaying that is focussed on sexual displays are not acceptable at events. This means that anything involving nudity, striptease, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_dance erotic dance], burlesque or similar is not permitted.

==Tents==
*'''Dome tents and party tents may not be pitched in the in-character area'''
*'''Tents made entirely from nylon, polyester or similary reflective materials may not be pitched in the in-character area'''
Our events feature separate in-character and out-of-character camping areas, so players with modern tents are welcome to bring them to the event and use them in the out-of-character field. But modern dome tents and party tents may not be pitched in the in-character area. Some fabrics that are part plastic or impregnated with plastic are fine; materials like polyhemp are positively ideal for guy ropes at Empire. But tents that are obviously synthetic, such as those made of nylon or any material that is sufficiently plastic that it becomes glossy and highly reflective cannot be used in the in-character area.

The standards are much more demanding for tents in the in-character area because modern tents are very disruptive to the immersion of the event. No player who is interested in attending Empire should feel they have to have a in-character tent to play the game. Period tents are expensive and we recommend that players focus on improving their kit in preference to getting a suitable in-character tent if resources are limited. The field will be filled with scores of in-character tents as well as the sets and structures that Profound Decisions build on the site.

==Continual Improvement==
*'''Players commit to get the best kit they can given their skills and resources'''
*'''Participants commit to continual improvement of their kit between events'''
{{CaptionedImage|file=Idiom15.jpg|align=right|width=250|caption=Armour by [[Idiom Productions]]}}
Every individual has different amounts of time, experience and resources available to them. Some players have enough disposable income to buy the costume they want to wear, some have the skills and experience to make their own, while others have been LRPing long enough to own many excellent pieces of kit already. Many of us are not that fortunate, our budget and skills are limited, and we may not have exactly the right costume for the game.

The best way to build a game that looks amazing but is welcoming to all is to focus on improvement over time. No costume is perfect - every costume from the simplest home-made tunic to the most expensive tailored outfit can be improved. You can add accessories to improve the overall look or replace parts of the kit with better items. Our kit includes everything we have with us in the in-character area - every element matters so the more we can eliminate even the smallest out-of-character items from our costume and our camps then the more immersive the field becomes.

By committing to continually re-examining your kit between events then you can ensure that the kit you start with improves over time. Just as with creating your kit in the first place, the time and money you can spare to improve your kit has to be your own choice, not something that anyone else can dictate.

The wiki lists scores of links for [[traders]] who sell good quality kit and pages of [[costume advice]] to help players improve their kit, including a [[Improvement Suggestions|page of suggestions]] on how to develop your kit on different levels of budget.

==Criticism==
* '''Few players want to have other participants judging their appearance'''
* '''Participants should not criticize other player's kit'''
Many of us are self-conscious about our appearance; few people want to feel they are being judged on their appearance by others. One of the hardest challenges in live roleplaying is communicating the idea that kit and costume are important - that every element is important and that the organizers expect every participant to try their best - without putting players off by appearing elitist. The level of effort made by players is important because it sets the costume standards for the event which affects everyone's enjoyment. But if you are being asked to make an effort with your kit then it can be difficult to imagine that you won't be judged on the basis of how good your kit is.

Because of this our code of conduct asks all Empire participants to avoid criticizing other player's kit. Although we encourage everyone to get the best costume they can, we don't judge how successful they are. We respect the efforts made by our players and require everyone who plays the game to do likewise. It is fine to give advice to our friends on how to improve costume if they ask for it; but criticism from strangers - in person or even worse on-line - is never welcome. It does not matter if a piece of kit is not the right period, or the right style, because you should assume that the player in question <i>has followed our guidelines and made the best effort they can</i>.

If you have a legitimate concern that another participant's costume does not meet our minimum costume standards or is strongly inappropriate for the setting then you should inform Profound Decisions or a member of our crew if you are at an event. We will judge if our guidelines have been contravened and what action is required. If someone is violating the rules regarding nudity or sexual performance, then please ask them to stop immediately or report the matter to a member of our crew.

==Summary==
We are striving to make Empire an amazing game. We want to see incredible in-character camps and buildings populated with characters with beautiful costume. We want players to be able to wander through the site without seeing modern items that jar with the setting. The only way that can happen is if everyone involved with the game, the organizers, the crew, the traders and the players make it happen. The only way to play in an awesome game is for everyone who participates to make an awesome effort to make the game special. But the best way to achieve that is through encouragement to nurture enthusiasm, it won't happen through elitism or criticism. To ensure that Empire remains inclusive and open to everyone who wants to play we've made these rules to help players who have made their best effort with the kit feel confident that they are welcome to play the game.

{{Conduct_Further_Reading}}

Current Imperial titles

2017-04-10T17:00:21Z

Clive:

==Overview==
This page lists the names of all Imperial citizens who currently hold an Imperial title. Previous title holders are listed historically below.

==380 YE==

===Autumn Equinox===
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{{:380YE Autumn Equinox Imperial titles}}
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===Summer Solstice===
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{{:380YE Summer Solstice Imperial titles}}
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===Spring Equinox===
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{{:380YE Spring Equinox Imperial titles}}
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==379 YE==
===Winter Solstice===
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{{:379YE Winter Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Autumn Equinox===
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{{:379YE Autumn Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Summer Solstice===
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{{:379YE Summer Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Spring Equinox===
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{{:379YE Spring Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

==378 YE==
===Winter Solstice===
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{{:378YE Winter Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Autumn Equinox===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:378YE Autumn Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Summer Solstice===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:378YE Summer Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Spring Equinox===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:378YE Spring Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

==377 YE==
===Winter Solstice===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:377YE Winter Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Autumn Equinox===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:377YE Autumn Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Summer Solstice===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:377YE Summer Solstice Imperial titles}}
</div>

===Spring Equinox===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:377YE Spring Equinox Imperial titles}}
</div>

==376 YE==
===Winter Solstice===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
{{:376YE_Winter_Solstice_Imperial_titles}}
</div>

__NOTOC__

[[Category:Imperial Titles]]

Highguard costumes

2017-04-01T15:48:29Z

Clive:

{{stub}}
''Note: The tone and style of this page may need editing. All costume advice pages should be written in third person voice, using verbs that make clear that this page is advice, not direction.''

==Look and feel==
The Highborn look is generally practical and restrained. Its beauty is in both the small touches – the geometric trim on the robes, the exquisite jewellery. Colours are deliberately stark and contrasting, and outfits in black and white are commonplace. Many members of a chapter choose to adopt similar garb, with the symbol of their chapter displayed prominently on the chest, shoulders, or at the breast. This is particularly true for Highborn warriors who show their solidarity and loyalty with their fellows by marching into battle decked in identical garb. Of all the nations of the Empire, the Highborn are the most inclined to uniformity, a visible display of their inner commitment to their shared faith and destiny.

Rather than displaying impractical frivolity in the cut of their garments, Highborn show their taste and wealth in jewellery, and the decoration of cloth. Jewelled and embellished trims at the hems of garments are popular, as is the intricate braiding of hair and heavy, elaborate jewellery.

Highguard is one of the nations with the least historical inspiration. It draws its influence heavily from classic fantasy such as Lord of the Rings, with a real emphasis on the Numenorian and Gondorian styles brought to life in the Peter Jackson trilogy. The look is strong and stark, and what makes it relatively easy to create a strong and distinctive look is the colour scheme - almost any western European medieval look in black, white and a touch of jewel toned colour will look excellent.

==Similar nations==
===Dawn===
Highguard probably has most in common with Dawnish costume - the love of rich, lavish fabrics, elegant in cut but with elaborate trim and jewellery is a feature they share. However, Dawnish costume should be a vivid pageant of colour; by contrast, Highguard clothing should be high contrast, mostly in black and white, with a hint of jewel-toned colour. Veils and cowls help to keep the look distinct.

===Marches===
Monks in the marches will wear similar robes to those in Highguard. Sticking to black or white, and adding geometric trim around your robes, possibly with the addition of a mitre-like hat for high status priest looks very Highborn.

==Research==
An excellent source of information on making fantasy costumes inspired by Lord of the Rings is [http://www.alleycatscratch.com Alley Cat Scratch]. It covers everything from garment patterns, metalwork and sourcing trim. Re-enactment sources referenced on the Marches, Dawn and Wintermark pages are all good for inspiration - the colour palette, more than the shape of the garment, gives the uniform look to the nation.

'''Books'''
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Medieval-Tailors-Assistant-1200-1500/dp/0896762394/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341860986&sr=8-2 The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant, Sarah Thursfield] – Pretty much the bible for medieval costumes. Covers the layers from underwear to outerwear for the periods 1200-1500, plus headwear and accessories. Goes into detail about how to make the garments, which fabrics to use etc. A really excellent book.

'''Historical Costume Research'''
Google searches on [http://images.google.com/images?q=medieval+reenactment Medieval re-enactment], [http://images.google.com/images?q=wars+of+the+roses+reenactment Wars of the roses] and [http://images.google.com/images?q=13th+century+reenactment 13th], [http://images.google.com/images?q=14th+century+reenactment 14th] or [http://images.google.com/images?q=15th+century+reenactment 15th] Century re-enactment will all provide helpful inspiration.

'''Reenactment groups'''
Some links to reenactment groups' costuming guides - a helpful source of inspiration and information.
*[http://www.saint-sebastian.org.uk/kit.htm Company of Saint Sebastian]
*[http://www.bucks-retinue.org.uk/content/view/15/29/ Buckingham’s Retinue]
*[http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/cms/?q=en%2FCostume_Guide Company of Saynt George]
*[http://www.medieval-siege-society.co.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=4Sz04pZNx4M%3D&tabid=130 The Medieval Siege Society]
*[http://www.sthubertsrangers.org St Hubert's Rangers]

==In detail==
===High status characters ===
A rather severe look - black velvet or brocade works beautifully in contrast with silver fasteners or buttons. For any gender, a close fitting gown looks suitably Highborn, referencing without overtly stating their faithfulness.
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A gown is a reasonably close fitting robe, usually buttoning down the front, with long close fitting sleeves to the wrist. It persists to this day as the cassock and in the clothes of choirsters and some very traditional public school uniforms, all of which means both patterns and off-the-peg versions are fairly readily available.
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It's a very adaptable look - a fantasy treatment could take the basic silhouette and standing collar, and shorten the overall length, either with full length or half length sleeves, as worn by Boromir, Uther Pendragon and Jamie Lannister for a "warrior's coat". It looks good worn open over chainmail. A close-fitting variant of this is the cotehardie which usually has lots of closely spaced buttons down the front and the sleeves - try googling "cotehardie". It can be a tough look to pull off, but well worth it!

Patterns:
*[http://butterick.mccall.com/b6844-products-3815.php?page_id=874 Butterick 6844]
*[http://www.simplicity.com/p-2235-men-teen-costumes.aspx Simplicity 2235]
*[http://sewing.patternreview.com/patterns/4697 Simplicity 4697 (unfortunately out of print but you might get it on ebay)]
*[http://www.simplicity.com/p-2089-men-costumes.aspx Simplicity 2089(this one would need a little adapting - closed sleeves rather than open, but would do a nice over-robe like Boromir's if you make a sleevless version)]
*[http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4745-products-7030.php?page_id=493 McCall 4745] This is actually a civil war uniform, but if you make up the blue version with an asymmetric closure it's very close to Jamie Lannister's coat above. Warning - the pattern runs a little large, so unless you're planning on wearing it over mail consider going down a size.
* [http://store.reconstructinghistory.com/rh022-14th-century-mans-cotehardie.html Reconstructing history man's cotehardie]
* [http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4490-products-413.php?page_id=493 McCall's kirtle pattern]
* [http://store.reconstructinghistory.com/historic-patterns/medieval.html#ty;pagination_contents;/historic-patterns/medieval-page-3.html Historical patterns]
* [http://www.habithat.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/8586 Child dress pattern]
* [http://www.neheleniapatterns.com/english/englishsite.html Female tunic and bliaut pattern]

For a high-necked gown on a woman, you could also use [http://www.simplicity.com/p-2201-costumes.aspx Simplicity 4940] making both the body of the gown and the yoke in matching black velvet. You then have the option to highlight the join with embroidery or sewing on links from a chain necklace, or you could just let it become invisible for a very elegant severe look.
{{CaptionedImage|file=HighWoman.jpg|width=250}}
This look could be achieved reasonably inexpensively with about 5m of cotton sheeting or cotton muslin (<£10) and a metre of wool or velvet for the over-bodice. Use [http://www.simplicity.com/p-2201-costumes.aspx Simplicity 4940] for a version with full sleeves, or make a narrow sleeved gown and use the over-bodice, but back lace with eyelets it rather than using a zip. For trim, [http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GRANDBAZAAR24/JACQUARD-RIBBON-/_i.html?_fsub=2 this ebay seller] usually has a lovely selection of silver, gold and coloured jacquard trims reasonably inexpensively. For heavy beaded and jewelled trim at very reasonable prices I use [http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Heritage-Trading/Sewing-Trims-/_i.html?_fsub=2&_sid=47896792&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 this] eBay shop. About 2m of silver and black trim would do a great jewelled belt; they also sell shaped pieces designed to go on the necklines of dresses.
[http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Human/Eowyn/Shield.htm Here] is an exhaustive breakdown of the inspiration dress.
{{CaptionedImage|file=HighFuneral.jpg|title=Film: Lord of the Rings|width=267}}
You could also use [http://www.simplicity.com/p-2201-costumes.aspx Simplicity 4940] for this dress, making the body in cotton velvet and the yoke in a metallic brocade.
[http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Human/Eowyn/Funeral.htm Here] is this dress in detail, with lots more images and suggestions on how to get the look.

===Priests===
<i>Highborn priests usually dress in white or dark robes with decoration in a stark colour to
stand out.</i>

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Priests who choose not to dress like Templars (below) might draw inspiration from the images above. Based on the Eastern Orthodox tradition, these priests have layered robes with decorated over-garments, perhaps with a mitre-type hat or a padded roll on their head. A how-to for a basic robe, tabard and hood is linked below. Over the top, you could make a "stole", which is essentially a long scarf worn around the neck and falling past the waist - trimmed with an ornate ribbon trim this would look very dramatic. Try searching for ecclesiastical trim on ebay - there is a huge variety available relatively cheaply. You could also make a tabard or circular cape and trim it in matching colours.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestment A guide to ecclesiastical vestments]

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An alternative look, ideally suited to the Keepers of the Dead, is a more monk-like costume. This is made up of similar layers - an ankle-length robe, with or without a simple over-tabard and with a hood or cowl. The robe can be worn loose or belted with a cord or narrow braid of cloth for convenience and ease of movement. Coarse, heavy fabrics such as linen, silk noil and wool work well for this look, in dark grey or black. To make it slightly more fancy (and avoid confusion with the marches) you could trim the edges with a contrasting geometric trim (perhaps a greek key or swirl) such as those available from [http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GRANDBAZAAR24/JACQUARD-RIBBON-/_i.html?_fsub=2 this ebay seller] or similar.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestment A guide to ecclesiastical vestments]<br>
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/carthage The carthaginian costume guide covers how to make an under-robe, over-robe, Dalmatic-type poncho and braided belt. Add some ecclesiastical trim (and leave off the headdress!) and you've got a great priest outfit!]<br>
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/really-simple-costume-1 How to make a tabard]<br>
[http://www.virtue.to/articles/women_roll_hats.html How to make a padded roll hat]<br>
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/hood How to make a hood]
<br>

===Templars===
<i>Most Highborn warriors cover their armour with a long flowing surcoat. The ideal surcoat is black or white with a design in a stark contrasting colour. The Crusader knights exemplify this tradition in real history, although an original design for a chapter’s emblem is ideal if possible.</i>

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The key to the uniform Templar look is a surcote or tabard in their chapter colours with a design on it. While lightweight fabrics such as polycotton are cheap and easy to work with, if your budget allows, consider using a heavier cotton, linen or silk, with or without lining, as these materials drape better, look better and wear better. That said, a unit in matching surcotes, even lightweight ones, looks fabulous, so don't worry too much about your materials.

If you have fabric left over, consider making a circular or semicircular cloak to match, perhaps with your chapter symbol on the breast or on the back.

[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/really-simple-costume-1 How to make a simple tabard]<br>
[http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/How_To_-_Make_a_Surcote How to make a surcote - only slightly more difficult than a tabard, and much easier to wear. Also covers how to use Fusible Webbing to add a heraldic device to your garment]<br>
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/no-excuses Tutorial 3 on this link covers how to make a tunic and cape - by increasing the diameter of the cape you can make it a full or calf-length one]<br>

===The Unconquered===
<i>Most avoid the distinctive high contrast clothing favoured by most Highborn in favour of something more concealing and many wear lighter armour or forego armour altogether.</i>
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The base layer for the Unconquered is a knee-length tunic, either without armour or with lighter armour worn over it. A palette of neutral forest colours helps them scout and remain unseen when in the field, so choosing browns, greens and greys is in keeping with this. Less elaborate than many other Highguard costume, there is still a role for contrasting trim, particularly if the character is wearing their "special occasions" clothes. Adding a fur or fake fur mantle might add to the look - a cheap and cruelty-free way of adding fur trim to your costume is to get old fur coats from charity shops and cut them down - sometimes they also have 1940s style capelets which need very little alteration to be used as a shoulder piece.

[http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/How_To_-_Make_a_T_-_Tunic How to make a tunic]
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/leather-scale-armour How to make leather scale armour the easy way!]
[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/hardened-leather-armour Body moulded hardened leather armour]

===General items===
====Cowl====
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At its simplest, a cowl is a cylinder of fabric that sits around your shoulders and over your head. Choosing a soft, drapey fabric like muslin will help it sit properly. A 1 yard piece of muslin or silk habutai that's 45 inches wide, seamed down its length and hemmed at either raw end will make a very full, drapy cowl. For the "monk" or "Keeper of the Dead" look above, use a yard of fabric that matches the rest of your robes.

====Veil====
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Again best made using a very soft, drapy fabric like muslin, a veil is a circular, oval or rectangular piece of fabric to sit on your head. The Freeborn use veils to cover the lower half of their face; the Highborn look is far more concealing and drapes over the entire head, usually held in place by a circlet, crown or ribbon band. Don't skimp on the fabric - muslin is very cheap and a 2 or 3m length will give a sumptuous look to your veil. Consider edging it in lightweight trim for a finished look, or round the corners and turn a narrow hem.
If you wear it just by putting it on your head then holding it on with a circlet, over time the veil will shift and ride up, leading to the dread "muffin head" look. For comfort and style, you might want to consider pinning it to a ribbon tied around your head, or utilising the methods in [http://www.virtue.to/articles/veils.html this tutorial], though bear in mind that for the SCA they wear the veil in a more historical fashion to cover the hair, rather than to sit over the face.

To uncover your face while wearing a veil the Highborn way, flip it back over the crown or band holding it in place, like a bride's veil, without taking it off your head. It's then ready to flip forward and cover your face again whenever you want.

====Cloak====
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A cloak is a near-essential part of your costume, and a great opportunity to give your kit a finishing touch and keep you cosy. For light fabrics such as muslin, you can make a gathered-neck cloak with a drawstring for ease of construction- with heavy wools and velvet, a semicircular or circular mantle works best to reduce bulk at the neck and drapes beautifully. For a priest's mantle, a semi-circle or 3/4 circle cloak works best.
*[http://garbindex.com/cloak/patterns.html List of cloak patterns]
*[http://www.reddawn.net/costume/cloaks.htm Cloak patterns and help]

==Jewellery==
<i>The Highborn are a people with a manifest destiny, to unite the human nations and lead
them to a virtuous future. Their jewellery reflects their heritage, it is refined, elegant and
regal. Gold or silver worn on the brow suggests authority.</i>

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Any refined and elegant jewellery works in Highguard, best in matching sets to tone with the costume. Particular emphasis is on crowns and circlets. Lord of the Rings replica jewellery is an expensive but very beautiful way of getting the look, but there are numerous "inspired by" items, often on ebay, and several excellent tutorials on how to make your own out of wire, clay and beads.

*[http://www.noblecollection.com/index.cfm?fa=products.product&id=NN9441&catid=17 Official LOTR merchandise]
*[http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/makingem/Tips/MakingCirclets.htm How to make crowns]

==Armour==
Plate armour:
*http://www.whiteroseapparel.com/
*http://www.getdressedforbattle.co.uk/

Leather plate and lorica:
*[https://www.facebook.com/TotallyLeathered Totally Leathered] [[Totally Leathered]] provides custom tooled leatherwork & bespoke armour.
*[[Idiom Productions]] Costume and Props Workshop creates custom hand-tooled leather armour, clothing and LRP weapons
*[http://www.darkbladeuk.co.uk/EMPIRE-LARP/Highguard/c-1-114-119/ Darkblade] has suitable lorica for the unconquered.

Chain mail supplies and finished items:
*http://www.theringlord.com
*http://www.armchair-armoury.co.uk/chainmail.htm

Lightweight polyurethane replicas:
*http://www.nortonarmouries.com/

Make your own:
*[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/hardened-leather-armour Here's a tutorial on how to make moulded leather armour]
*[http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/wonderflex-armour And here's one on how to make plate out of wonderflex]

==Shops==
*[https://www.facebook.com/themidgardseamstress The Midgard Seamstress] Custom made UK LARP and Re-enactment costumes
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angrave-Designs/368641524223 Angrave Designs] Custom costume production and embroidery
*[https://www.facebook.com/groups/customcostumecompany/ Custom Costume Company] Bespoke designs for re-enactors and roleplayers

[[Category:Costume]]
[[Category:Highguard]]
[[Category:Nations]]

Inevitable Collapse into Ruin

2014-04-18T15:34:57Z

Clive:

==Rules==
{{Season|Winter|40}}
===Performing the Ritual===
{{Casting time|10}} The ritual targets a single mage [[Magic overview#Implements|implement]] which must be present during the ritual.

===Effects===

The power of the ritual is stored in the target [[Magic overview#Implements|implement]]. Any of the [[Magic overview#Contributors|contributors]] can touch that implement to a battlefield fortification to seriously damage or destroy it.

The power of the ritual can be invoked only once.

{{Ten Minute Power}}

==Description==

This battlefield ritual deals with similar forces to [[Ravenous Tongue of Entropy]], but on a much larger scale. it locates and exploits weaknesses in a fortification. Beams warp and split, mortar crumbles, hawsers fray and snap and the entire edifice groans under the attack of magic that speeds decay and aging.

It often takes a short time for the full power of the ritual to manifest, which can make it a particularly dangerous ritual for the [[Magic overview#Contributors|contributor]] charged with delivering the final stage and touching the target fortification. Some foolish [[Groups#Covens|covens]] have tried to perform the ritual while physically touching the fortification, while protected by heavily armoured warriors with powerful shields, but all it takes is a single arrow-shot from the defenders and the ritual collapses. It is much more common to see one or more well-defended ritualists fight their way through to the fortification with the charged implement, relying on the fact that at least one of them will make it into position - and then either hold against the defenders, or retreat while the magic does it's work.

This ritual targets the weakest parts of a defensive structure. While it may not collapse or destroy an entire wall, it is likely that the ritual will create multiple breaches, tear down a gatehouse, collapse a row of mantlets or the like.

==Common Elements==
When performing this ritual, a coven often invokes symbols of slow destruction - wind and rain - and forces of neglect, incompetence and misfortune that can combine to bring even the strongest structure into ruins. The [[Eternals|Eternal]] [[Kaele]] may be invoked, and it is also common to use pieces from a ruined structure to help grant the ritual power.

The implement charged with this spell is a key element in the ritual, and the role it plays in the performance is very important. Some [[Groups#Covens|covens]] may create a special staff or rod, often constructed from the wood of a collapsed building or rotted tree, specifically for use with the ritual, which is then discarded after the battle. The implement may be passed between the ritualists, or placed at the centre of the ritual as a focus for the magic of the [[Groups#Covens|coven]].

The runes [[Yoorn]] and [[Mawrig]] are often evoked with this ritual, and some [[Wintermark]] ritualists complete their casting by carving or painting them onto the structure they wish to destroy. The constellation of [[The Key]] is sometimes evoked, as is [[The Wanderer]].



[[Category:Winter Ritual]]
[[Category:Rituals]]
[[Category:IC Text Required]]
[[Category:Warfare]]

User:Rafferty

2013-03-25T11:07:44Z

Clive:

Look see, it's editable ...

This is Andy Raff's page for doing things with links and the like. He can't believe he didn't think of it earlier.

I suggest you move along, there's nothing to see here :)
[[Empress Aenea]]
[[Ceremonies overview]]
[[Imperial wain]]

[[Template:Season Duration]]<br>
[[Template:Day Duration]]<br>
[[Template:Year Duration]]<br>
[[Template:Ten Minute Power]]<br>
[[Template:Coven Bond]]<br>
[[Template:Ritual Substitution]]<br>
[[Template:Magnitude Reduction]]<br>
[[Template:Curse]]
[[Template:Regio]]<br>
[[Template:Area Aura]]<br>
[[Template:Warding an Area]]<br>
<br><br>((Magic overview#Contributors|contributors)) <br><br>
[[Pauper's Key]], [[Lodestone Shears]], [[Escharotic Cauldron]], [[Dragonbone Symbol]], [[Censer of Benediction]], [[Silent Bell]], [[Righteous Aspergil]], [[Shackles of Insight]], [[Mirror of the Virtuous]], [[Icon of the Hearth]], [[Icon of the Forge]], [[Icon of the Pilgrim]], [[Icon of the Justicar]], [[Icon of the High Tower]], [[Icon of Judgement]], [[Icon of the Witness]], [[Splendid Vestment]], [[Cowl of Judgement]], [[Labyrinthine Vestments]], [[Wayfarer's Robe]], [[Inquisitor's Cassock]], [[Keeper's Habit]], [[Templar's Cuculla]], [[Troubadour's Tunic]], [[Missionary Dalmatic]], [[Simar of Certainty]], [[Dragonbone Tunic]], [[Alabaster Cerement]], [[Dragonbone Reliquary]], [[Almery of Purity]], [[Wayfarer's Pyx]], [[Song of the Noonday Sun]], [[Inspiring Refrain]], [[Rhythm of Deep Resonance]], [[Whisper of Conviction]], [[Echoes of Glory]], [[Chorus of the Righteous]], [[Chant of Long Years]]

[[Twilight Orb]], [[Radiant Orb]], [[Amberglass Orb]], [[Burnished Orb]], [[Vitriolic Orb]], [[Greensteel Orb]], [[Dragonbone Orb]], [[Orator's Chalice]], [[Cartographer's Eye]], [[Web of Celestial Attunement]], [[The Green World]], [[The Fields of Glory]], [[The Iron Labyrinth]], [[The Barren Land]], [[The Empty Horizon]], [[The Flickering Flame]], [[The Eternal Gambit]], [[The Fountain of Thorns]], [[The Mountainous Oak]], [[The Spider's Web]], [[The Drowned Threshold]], [[The Key and the Gate]], [[The Vagabond Wyrm]], [[The Syphon of Stars]]

[[Blessing of New Spring]], [[The Hands of Sacred Life]], [[Hearthfire Circle]], [[Midwife's Recourse]], [[Turns The Circle]], [[Fan the Flame of New Life]], [[Charge of the Rushing Wind]], [[Churning Cauldron of Bravash]], [[Call Down Lightning's Wrath]], [[Spring Tides]], [[Rot's Rightful Claim]], [[Vitality of Rushing Water]], [[Rampant Growth]], [[Touch of Vile Humours]], [[Rising Roots that Rend Stone]], [[Foam and Spittle of the Furious Sea]], [[Forge the Wooden Fastness]], [[Thunderous Deluge]], [[Fetid Breath of Teeming Plague]], [[Rivers of Life]], [[Turgid Waters Sweep All Aside]], [[Thunderous Tread of the Trees]], [[Blood of the Hydra]], [[Fountain of Life]], [[Hands of the Healer]], [[Blood and Salt]], [[The Forest Remains]], [[Irrepressible Monkey Spirit]], [[Skin of Bark, Blood of Amber]], [[Fire in the Blood]], [[Chirurgeon's Healing Touch]], [[Hallow of the Green World]]

[[Renewed Strength of the New Day]], [[Tenacity of Jotra]], [[Unbreakable Spirit, Unbreakable Blades]], [[Strong Ox, Golden Sun]], [[Strength of the Bull]], [[The Swan's Cruel Wing]], [[Cunning Puissance of the Leaping Hare]], [[The Hammer of Thunder]], [[The Vigour of Youth]], [[Stout Resolve of the Unyielding]], [[Crimson Ward of Summer Stars]], [[The Sound of Drums]], [[Chasuble of Majesty]], [[Glorious Crown of Enchantment]], [[Splendid Panoply of Knighthood]], [[Challenge the Iron Duke]], [[Champions Shining Resolve]], [[Mantle of Lordly Might]], [[Raise the Standard of War]], [[Devastating Maul of Inga Tarn]], [[Unbreakable Behemoth's Strength]], [[Thundering Roar of the Lion-bound Horn]], [[Unfailing Walls of Verys]], [[Delve Deep, Beneath the Mountain]]

[[Black Iron Blade]], [[Fallow Fields and Dried Meat]], [[An Echo of Life Remains]], [[Hunger of the Draughir]], [[Words of Ending]], [[Mark the Flesh Incorruptible]], [[Tribute to the Thrice-Cursed Court]], [[Pallid Flesh of the Dead King]], [[Wisdom of the Balanced Blade]], [[Withering Touch of Frost]], [[Traitor's Fate]], [[Ruthless Vigilance, Healthy Crop]], [[Pakaanan's Iron Shutters]], [[Crumbling Flesh and Withering Limbs]], [[Hungry Grasp of Despair]], [[Freezing Brand of Irremais]], [[Coil of the Black Leech]], [[Ravenous Tongue of Entropy]], [[Circle of Trust]], [[Unyielding Constitution]], [[Hold Back Frozen Hunger]], [[There Is No Welcome Here]], [[Ward of the Black Waste]], [[Gnawing, Endless Hunger]], [[Last Breath Echoes]], [[Fight Tooth and Nail]], [[Clarion Call of Ivory and Dust]], [[Sorins Rite of Agony]], [[Whispers through the Black Gate]], [[Dreamscape of the Endless Hunt]], [[Naeve's Twisting Blight]], [[Inevitable Collapse into Ruin]], [[Howling Despite of the Yawning Maw]], [[Curse of Decrepitude]], [[Behold the Ultimate Fate]], [[Icy Maw Devours the Spark of Essence]], [[The Grave's Treacherous Edge]], [[Winter's Ghosts]], [[Quickening Cold Meat]], [[Wither the Seed]], [[Devastating Scythe of Anguish and Loss]], [[Wind of Mundane Silence]], [[Draw Up Ragarna's Deep Wisdom]]

[[Piercing Light of Revelation]], [[Ascetic Star of Atun]], [[Horizon's Razor Edge]], [[Illuminate the Higher Mind]], [[Distillation of Diverse Parts]], [[The Celestial Library]], [[The Solace of Chimes]], [[Bright Lantern of Ophis]], [[Reading the Weave]], [[Sign of Aesh]], [[Cold Water from the Mountain]], [[Crystal Clarity of the Rational Soul]], [[Revelation of the Jewel's Sparkling Heart]], [[Ascendance of the Highest Mind]], [[Spider Folds the Net]], [[Clear Lens of the Eternal River]], [[Thought Becomes Action]], [[Sular's Promise]], [[Kimus' Glaring Eye]], [[Eyes of the Sun and Moon]], [[The Eye of the High Places]], [[Ensnaring Bond of Transient Stasis]], [[Swim Leviathan's Depth]], [[Sular's Trailblazing Light]], [[Standing at the Threshold]], [[Carve the Crystal Guardian]], [[All the World in a Grain of Sand]], [[Crystaline Focus of Aesh]], [[Transcendent Mastery]], [[Alignment of Mind and Blade]], [[Revelatory Light of the Empyrean Spheres]], [[Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths]], [[Bind the Byzantine Bureaucracy]], [[Clarity of the Master Strategist]]

[[Missive for Sadogua]], [[Freedom of the Soul]], [[Masque of the Blinded Weaver]], [[Signs and Portents]], [[Secrets for the Shadow Courier]], [[Secrets of Skillful Artifice]], [[Secrets of the Empty Heart]], [[Thief's Arcane Gambit]], [[Incantation's Mystic Mask]], [[Cast Off The Chain of Memory]], [[The Eight-spoked Wheel]], [[Riddle hides the Reward]], [[Verdant Bountry of the Twilight Bayou]], [[The Retrograde Wheel]], [[Drawing the Penumbral Veil]], [[The Twilight Masquerade]], [[The Ebb and Flow of Battle]], [[Whispering Shadow Courtiers]], [[Unfettered Anarchy]], [[Conclave of Trees and Shadow]], [[Sift the Dreamscape's Sands]], [[Dripping Echoes of the Fen]], [[Vale of Shadows]], [[Align the Celestial Net]], [[Transmogrification of the Soul's Echo]], [[Plague of Nightmares]], [[Distill the Serpent's Stone]], [[Wondrous Forests of Night]], [[Shroud of Mist and Shadow]], [[Wyr Steals the Way]], [[Shadows and Moss]], [[Miasmatic Mindstorm]], [[Embrace the Living Flame]], [[Still Waters, Running Deep]], [[+3 hero points]], [[Shadowed Glass of Sung]], [[The Chamber of Delights]]

[[Words of Ending]]

==Dealing with Curses==

{|
|'''Curse'''
|'''Removal'''
|-
|[[All the World in a Grain of Sand]] (Mag 30?)
|[[Transmogrification of the Soul's Echo]] (Mag 60)
|-
|[[Unfettered Anarchy]] (Mag 10)
|[[Transmogrification of the Soul's Echo]] (Mag 60)
|-
|[[Curse of Gangrenous Flesh]] (Mag 50)
|[[Distill the Serpent's Stone]] (Mag 70)
|-
|[[Curse of Decrepitude]] (Mag 50)
|[[Distill the Serpent's Stone]] (Mag 70)
|-
|[[Gnawing, Endless Hunger]] (Mag 20)
|"powerful rituals that remove hunger"
|-
|[[Dreamscape of the Endless Hunt]] (Mag 30)
|"powerful rituals that remove fear"
|-
|[[Wither the Seed]] (Mag 150)
|"a powerful ritual to restore fertility of around mag 200"
|-
|[[Like Water Through Your Fingers]] (Mag 30)
|"a powerful ritual to correct the vagaries of fate and chance"

|}

{|
|'''Removal'''
|'''Effects'''
|-
|[[Transmogrification of the Soul's Echo]] (Mag 60)?)
|[[All the World in a Grain of Sand]] (Mag 30?), [[Unfettered Anarchy]] (Mag 10)
|-
|[[Distill the Serpent's Stone]] (Mag 70)
|[[Curse of Decrepitude]] (Mag 50), [[Curse of Gangrenous Flesh]] (Mag 50)
|}

[[Unseen Encasement]], [[Mundane beasts]] [[Legendary beasts]]
http://empire.crew.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire-wiki/Category:IC_Text_Required

[[Matt's Scratchpad]]

[[Astronomancy]]
[[Dramaturgy]]

==Use This on Disjunction Spell==
You may disenchant a magical item including enchanted items and artefacts. The item ceases to be magical and becomes a mundane item. You should destroy the item ribbon after casting the spell. It is helpful to let a referee know if you use this spell on an item of note.

<ic>Even through the haze of an evening's drinking, Eadric could tell something was wrong. The space within his tent was filled with shadows; nonetheless, his eyes warned him that there were just too many of them, and their shapes not right.

The broad space under the canvas served the thane as his personal quarters, but also the army as its command tent. His hand immediately fumbled for his blade-grip, thinking that perhaps assassins had come for him, or spies come to steal the maps and orders.

As he stepped forwards and blinked, his eyes gaining a fraction more sight in the gloom, he saw something that frightened him far more. A hooded figure wrapped in dark silks stood over the spot where the Owl's Gaze was laid. Magic sparked and danced around the figure's fingers as it chanted spells of unmaking over the enchanted shield.

Eadric gathered his breath to bellow a challenge, only to have it knocked out of him; something slammed into his stomach, then hooked his legs and sent him tumbling to the well-trodden earth of the tent's floor. Even as he tried to twist aside, something else tapped his arm. Cold ice flared there and rushed through his limbs, leaving them leaden and unmoving.

“Curse your witchcraft,” he spat, lying there like a trussed animal.

Several more silk-swaddled figures loomed over him. He prepared for the end, but no blades descended. Instead, a whispered voice drifted down at him.

“Thane Eadric himself. You need not fear for your life, not yet. We are here for the Owl's Gaze alone.”

And that threat, more than any fear for his own safety, was what brought tears to the Thane's eyes. “You cannot!” he said, cursing his cold-gripped limbs as he lay there helpless. “The Gaze is the heirloom of my hall, the undying symbol of our victory! Without it, my men... You, your tongue is Urizen. Traitors! How dare you do this?”

One of the figures muttered a fresh chant and then, just as the frost-chill began to creep back from his limbs, a wand darted down and bound him in the enchantment again.

“The Net of Heavens warns us that your skein must not prevail, my good Thane. For the greater good, there is another thread in the tapestry that must be brought to greatness. And, Thane, your skein is so bound up with that shield that, without it, the wider world will see your weakness.”

Over by the Owl's Gaze, the spell-song ceased, and Eadric groaned in dismay as he felt his bond to the shield break.

“And so it is done. No more will the men of your hall see you stride through the thickest fighting, your shield still shining bright despite the worst of the foe's weapons. No more will you raise up your father's father's shield before battle to show the eternal strength of your line to your soldiers. No more will their spirits swell to know that, no matter how dark grows the night, the Owl's Gaze will see them through it.”

The figures disappeared from sight as they swept from the tent like the midnigh

Mantle of the Mountebank
==Description==
Sometimes called a ''shimmering doublet'' or a ''prismatic coat'', the mantle of the mountebank is usually a gorgeous, richly-coloured piece of clothing shot through with threads of moonsilver (weltsilver and mithril threads) and sungold (orichalcum and gold threads). Like the [[Volhov's Robe]], these magical garments have been in use for thousands of years in one form or another, since before magicians discovered how to form a coven bond.

Despite their name, they are used all over the Empire by magicians who have made a habit of mastering low-magnitude rituals that they can perform without recourse to either a [[Groups#Covens|coven]] or a [[regio]]. Whether offering swift medical aid with [[The Hands of Sacred Life]] or alchemical transmutations with [[The Eight-spoked Wheel]], a ritualist with a mantle of the mountebank can perform their rituals quickly and efficiently when time is of the essence, or when there is a chance they will need to perform multiple rituals in a short period of time.

The mantle has a slightly dubious reputation, especially in the [[The League|League]] where [[Troupe|troupes]] of magicians stage elaborate rituals in front of audiences. It cannot be denied that some magicians who have made use of this garment have a reputation for being a little ... ''furtive''. Mischief is easier to engage in the faster it can be performed, and while the magical robe is simply too useful to have been declared illegal, some magistrates look askance at anyone who is not clearly a solid law-abiding citizen who is found in possession of one.

While the mantle of the mountebank is useful, the restriction that it cannot be used when performing a ritual with a coven, or when accessing the power of a regio, means that it is also occasionally seen by other magicians as the sign of a 'dabbler' who prefers to perform small-scale, personal magic rather than wield the full power that ritual lore has to offer. More than one mountebank has opined that such detractors are simply jealous.

==Rules==
* '''Form:''' Robes.
* '''Effect:''' When you are performing a solo ritual without drawing on a coven bond and without using a regio, you can perform that ritual in one minute rather than two.
* '''Materials:''' Crafting a mountebank's mantle requires five measures of [[Materials#Iridescent Gloaming|iridescent gloaming]], three measures of [[Materials#Ambergelt|ambergelt]], three ingots of [[Materials#Weltsilver|weltsilver]] and three ingots of [[Materials#Orichalcum|orichalcum]]. It takes one month to make one of these items.

<ic>IC text assigned to Harry</ic>

User:Clive

2013-01-28T21:56:32Z

Clive:

Editing fixed ...

User:Clive

2013-01-28T21:47:01Z

Clive:

Tests prove inconclusive.

User:Clive

2013-01-28T21:45:53Z

Clive: Created page with "This is Clive's profile page."

This is Clive's profile page.

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-25T10:01:34Z

Clive: Replaced content with "-"

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-24T20:20:21Z

Clive:

Maintenance over.

Go to town ...

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-24T20:19:53Z

Clive: Replaced content with "-"

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-24T19:28:05Z

Clive:

Maintenance window starts at 21:00 BST. Anybody with unsaved work at that point risks losing it. Don't be that person ...

Clive

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-24T15:04:42Z

Clive:

I will be moving the wiki back to the normal server this evening. There will be notice nearer the time, please keep an eye out for it.

Clive

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:25:03Z

Clive: /* Optional extra step */

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:22:58Z

Clive: /* Optional extra step */

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_pattern.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:22:24Z

Clive: /* Optional extra step */

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_sides.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:21:53Z

Clive: /* What else can I do with this pattern? */

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_gores.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_sides.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:21:07Z

Clive: /* What else can I do with this pattern? */

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_gores.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_sides.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

File:Bliault gores 2.jpg

2012-07-20T10:20:39Z

Clive:

File:Bliault tapered sleeve.jpg

2012-07-20T10:20:07Z

Clive:

File:Bliault sleeves attached.jpg

2012-07-20T10:19:59Z

Clive:

File:Bliault sleeves.jpg

2012-07-20T10:19:34Z

Clive:

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:19:02Z

Clive:

===How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)===

[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

===You will need===
* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
* A tape measure
*A pen
* An iron

====Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)====

First - take a look at this picture:
[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

====Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?====

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

====Ok. But why do I need an iron?====

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

[[File:open-seam.jpg]]

You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

====Cutting out the pieces====
*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
[File:bliault_cutting_layout.jpg]]

====Putting it together====
The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg|frame]]
Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg|frame]]

====Optional extra step====
If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

''After'' you've sewn the gussets on, but ''before'' you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point ''on both sides of the folded cloth''. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
[[File:bliault_gores.jpg]]

Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
[[File:bliault_sides.jpg]]

Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
[[File:bliault.jpg]]

===What else can I do with this pattern?===
* Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
* You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
* You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:
[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

====Hungry for more?====
Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

====Want something simpler?====
It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page [http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome here]

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]
__NOTOC__

File:Open-seam.jpg

2012-07-20T10:03:40Z

Clive:

File:Bliault pattern 2.jpg

2012-07-20T10:03:21Z

Clive:

File:Bliault cutting layout.jpg

2012-07-20T10:02:30Z

Clive:

File:Bliault pattern 1.jpg

2012-07-20T10:02:08Z

Clive:

How to - Make a simple tunic

2012-07-20T10:01:40Z

Clive:

<b>How to make a bliault (12th Century Tunic)</b>

<br>[[File:bliault.jpg|448px]]

<br>Every outfit needs a foundation, and here's a tunic that's a great place to start. Even though we're not re-enactors, it's basically historically accurate, and has several nice practical features. All you need to be able to do is thread a sewing machine and sew a straight line - you could even do this with handsewing, though it might take a while. The measurements supplied are for a garment which will fit up to a relatively large man (44in chest) but as it's an unfitted garment it will work on people a lot smaller - just shorten the arms.

<br>TIP: If you'd like a more personalised fit, measure across your shoulders from one edge to the other, add an inch and use this for the width of your front and back pieces (you might want to check that it is larger than half of your chest measurement +3 inches - otherwise use the larger of the two measurements). For the arm length, measure from the edge of your shoulder to the bone at your wrist, and add an inch. Always err on the side of largeness - you can always trim it down.

<b>You will need - </b>
<br>* 2.5m of fabric which is 60 inches wide. We suggest linen, as it's comfortable, cool in summer and warm in winter, reasonably cheap and looks fantastic.
<br>* Thread in a matching or darker colour. (TIP: if you think you might dye the garment later, get cotton or silk thread. Normal sewing thread won't dye and you'll end up with visible stitching. Coats cotton thread is very good. Guterman quilting cotton thread is too coarse.)
<br>* A tape measure
<br>*A pen
<br>* An iron

<br><b>Total cost - about £13. You should be able to get linen for £3-6 per metre (try ebay). Shown with a charity shop belt (£2.75)</b>

<br>First - take a look at this picture:
<br>[[File:bliault_pattern_1.jpg]]

<br>This is basically what your bliault looks like, laid flat, from the front. Looks like a T shirt, right? The body is a big rectangle, as are the sleeves. The little blue bits under the arms are triangles of fabric called gussets, which act to give you a little bit of room under your arms for comfort and movement, and take the stress off the seams at that point. The red triangles are called gores - they're sewn on to the straight piece to give leg room.

<br>This is how it looks before you sew up the side seams:
<br>[[File:bliault_pattern_2.jpg]]

<br><b>Looks fiddly! Why can't I just cut that shape in one piece?</b><br>

The answer is that there's no reason why not. In fact, you can find specific instructions on just how to do that here:
<br>http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

<br>The trouble with the one piece construction method is that you waste a lot of fabric, and if you're big you'll find the sleeves too short. Historically, loom width was far less than the width of modern fabric, so they invented ingenious solutions like pieceing the garment to save money when fabric was expensive and labour was cheap. But try it this way - the underarms are more comfortable and hard wearing, and you'll save fabric and money.

<br><b>Ok. But why do I need an iron?</b>

You'll get a much better result if you press your seams at every step. Once you've sewn a seam, put it on the ironing board and press it open - it will look like this:

<br>[[File:open-seam.jpg]]
<br>You can sew several seams then press them open, but a good rule is don't sew across a seam until you've pressed it. Feel free to ignore this bit if it's too complex or you can't be bothered, but I guarantee it'll improve your final result.

<br><b>Cutting out the pieces</b>
<br>*The Fronts (white): Cut two pieces measuring 25inches by 42 inches
<br>*The Sleeves (yellow): Cut two pieces measuring about 18 inches by 25 inches
<br>*The gussets (blue): cut four pieces which are right angled triangles with the two short sides measuring 6 inches (in essence, cut two 6x6 squares then cut them in half along the hypotenuse, like a posh sandwich)
<br>*The gores (red): cut four right angled triangles, about 24 inches long by 14 inches wide.

<br>Here is a possible cutting layout for 60 inch wide fabric - if you do it this way you should get your garment cut out of 2.1m of fabric, but it's always best to have a bit spare for cockups.
<br>[[File:blialut_cutting_layout.jpg]]

<br><b>Putting it together</b>
<br>The best place to start is sewing the front to the back along one of the short edges. Cut the neckhole by cutting a shallow scoop shape, like in the diagram, about 8 inches across and about 2 inches deep - start small, you can always enlarge it later.
<br>Now, fold the sleeves in half along the SHORT edge, and mark the centre point on both. Sew your gussets on to the sides of your sleeves - they should look like this:
<br>[[File:bliault_sleeves.jpg]]
<br>Match the mark you made to the shoulder seam on each side, and sew the sleeves to the body pieces (front and back). It should look like this:
<br>[[File:bliault_sleeves_attached.jpg]]

<br><b>Optional extra step</b>
<br> If you omit this step, you'll have a perfectly wearable garment, but it will have quite wide sleeves. That's fine if that's the look you're going for, or if you're planning on tucking them into vambraces. If you want a neater look, you'll need to taper the sleeves. This is dead easy.

<br><i>After</i> you've sewn the gussets on, but <i>before</i>you sew the sleeves onto the body, lay your sleeves out flat. The edge without the gussets is the end that's going to be at your wrist. Fold the sleeve in half down its length, and measure out five inches from the folded edge at the wrist, then mark that point <i>on both sides of the folded cloth</i>. When you unfold it, you'll have two marks which are ten inches apart, centred on the mid point. Draw one line from each of these points to connect to where the gusset meets the sleeve at the other end, then trim off the excess cloth. This sounds clunky - the picture shows it much better:

[[File:bliault_tapered_sleeve.jpg]]

<br>So you see you've now got a nicely tapered cuff. If you want the wrist to be tighter or baggier, just increase or decrease the width of the fabric at the cuff end.

<br>Now sew in the gores. TIP: start from the bottom edge and sew up. Now if you lay it flat, we're back to this picture:
<br>[[File:bliault_gores.jpg]]

<br>Now all you do is fold it in half along the line in the drawing, and sew along the dotted lines, like so:
<br>[[File:bliault_sides.jpg]]

<br>Hem the cuff and the lower edge - you can do this by hand or by machine, either is fine.

<br>To finish the neckline, you can turn the raw edge inside and hem it by hand. Check your head goes through the hole before you start!Or, to make it neater, use bias tape. You can read a short article on how to do that here (Part A - how to make a nice curved neckline on your garment).
<br>http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/home/bias-tape

<br>And there it is! Done! You've made your very own historically accurate tunic. Belt it, add your trousers and you're good to go.
<br>[[File:bliault.jpg]]

<br><B>What else can I do with this pattern?</b>
<br>Try making it longer, for a robe or dress. Make the sleeves elbow length for a different look.
<br>You can make it in different colours and materials for different nations - black or white for Highguard, bright heraldic colours for Dawn, a nice muted natural brown for the Marches.
<br>You can make the skirts much wider by making wider gores. However, if you do, you should change the shape of the gores from right angled triangles to isocelese triangles, otherwise the sides of your bliault will be much longer than the front and back. The pictures shows how:

<br>[[File:bliault_gores_2.jpg]]

<b>Hungry for more?</b> Why not learn [[How to make a surcote]]?

<b>Want something simpler? </b>
<br>It doesn't get easier than the one piece tunic on the Roman kit making page here:

http://tutorials.abbott.me.uk/odyssey/rome

[[Category:The Empire]]
[[Category:Costume]]

File:Bliault.jpg

2012-07-20T09:50:02Z

Clive:

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-17T12:54:32Z

Clive: Replaced content with "-"

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-16T22:35:22Z

Clive:

==Maintenance over==
The wiki is now on the server that'll be staying in the office during the event, so knock yourselves out ...

Clive

MediaWiki:Sitenotice

2012-07-16T21:52:19Z

Clive: Created page with "==Maintenance again== Sorry for the short notice, but I need to move the forums and wiki onto a server that's going to stay in the office so you can all work during the event...."

==Maintenance again==
Sorry for the short notice, but I need to move the forums and wiki onto a server that's going to stay in the office so you can all work during the event. Save what you're doing and go to bed/work off line. It will go down soon, without warning, and may be down for a while.

Clive

MediaWiki:Loginreqpagetext

2012-07-16T20:46:39Z

Clive: Created page with "The Empire wiki is not yet available for public access. The release schedule can be found http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire/ReleaseSchedules here."

The Empire wiki is not yet available for public access. The release schedule can be found [[http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire/ReleaseSchedules here]].