Updated 5 July 2005
Innyard Photos
Innyard Hawks
Heart of the Forest Renaissance Faire (July 9 - August 14, 2005)
tbird's favorite places to buy fabric
- For linen: fabrics-store.com Apparently the premier source of linen for costuming and historical recreations. Linen ranges from $5 to $8 a yard and is the most historically accurate material to use for shirts and chemises.
- Linda at Class Act Fabrics specializes in fabric for historical costuming. Extremely knowledgeable and friendly - fast service and reasonable prices on wool.
- Ephraim at A1 Fabric: highly rated E-Bay seller also hosts an e-commerce site. Lots of different fabrics, another great place to check for wool. Pieces for sale on E-Bay are sizeable and usually a dollar or two less per yard than on his storefront, although all his prices are reasonable.
- The Fabric Club: seems to be a mill end sort of place. Stock changes frequently, prices are amazing, fast shipping. This is where I got the much-admired $2/yard "Innyard Green" wool.
- Fashion Fabric Club occasionally has interesting approvable linen. And a great supply of wool in a variety of weights and colors - although priced a little higher than the sources listed above.
- That well-stocked room at June's house...
A meagre list of pattern references
- The Innyard jerkin pattern is from AlterYears - it's the Easy Peasant/Jerkin pattern. Takes about an hour and a half including cutting, and it's far more flattering than a rectangular vest.
- My "standard" chemise pattern is the blouse from Simplicity 8715 (small sizes)/5293 (larger sizes), although I omit the extra ribbons on the sleeve. Big advantage is that this cut lies very smoothly under a bodice, and tends to avoid poofiness at the shoulder.
- I'm also working with the 15th century chemise pattern from Kass McGann's Reconstructing History Web site. Note: pattern works well except that the underarm gusset, a 10" square, is much too shallow for me. I'm going to try it again with a 15" square and see if that's more comfortable. The biggest advantage of all the patterns in Kass' "Easy Garb" section is that they are very fabric-conservative, as well as being completely historically documented. I've bought a couple of her patterns but haven't made them up yet. I am counting the minutes until the Elizabethan comfort pattern arrives.
- Margo Anderson is the reigning queen of California Elizabethan wardrobe. Her extensively documented patterns are pricey - $105 for the three patterns to build a complete Elizabethan gentlewoman's wardrobe -- but the folks who use them completely love them. She's a great instructor, too - highly recommended!
- I just found this great index of soft doll patterns - I have a feeling I'm going to be making a lot of mice in garb before next year!
Miscellaneous photos
Comments, additions, corrections to tbird
