I was invited to join a group with Dvorianka Zoya Dragomirova, THL Agnella Iacopi, Lord Arne Burdenson, Baroness Anastasie DeLamoure, and Baron Salvadore de la Torres. Zoya did an amazing job wrangling a bunch of strangers and coordinating us to recreate this grave find:
She ended up creating a lined silk hat with these amazing wire-woven-but-also-twisted bobbles that some day I'll need to figure out how to make! Agnella made the two tunics and jumped on the second injection of chaos. The silk scraps that she chose she was able to include in a very nice chest placard. Anastasie and Arne also came in clutch on Saturday to help with finishing details, and Salvadore luceted the strap for the bag and his belt, in addition to making a wonderful model. And lastly, I made pants!
The Haithabu pants I recreated were mostly based on the description from this blog post by Project Broad Axe and this chart I had to screencap from Viking History on YouTube (they claimed it was on their website, but the link was broken):
So, the main measurements I needed were bellybutton to top of crack (length of pieces 2+3), waist to ankle (height of piece 1), widest circumference between thighs and waist (length of 4), and circumference of calves (length of 5). After that, some simple math so that 4 nests into 1 and you're solid. [Future Magda made another pair of pants and will explain these measurements in detail in the next post].
I spent 20 hours hand sewing, but I think it was very well worth it. The colors, the fit, the drape, it all came together so nicely. I loved getting to experience this competition, and I was blown away that we won, by one point! It was a tough battle with very formidable opponents. I'm hoping next year to be able to be a judge. Or participate again, who knows :P
I find it hilarious that I even packed both of my emotional support sewing machines, plugged one in, and never used them.
