If you remember this post from January 2024, I finally finished the stupid belt! Mind you, I finished the weaving part at some undetermined point before I moved that July (and again this March), took it to Every Single SCA Event with the intention of cutting it off, and didn't manage to actually do that until this past July 5th at Blades and Brews 2.
I started by ordering some hand recycled paper, 5.5 x 11", and folded it in half, using the edge of a credit card to get a good crease in it. I used six signatures with four papers each.
Pro tip: the reticulated mat really helped me figure out what "half" was since all the papers were wonky, and all in a few different directions.
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.
Cheese, also, is my love language, and I got several goudas in Sint Maarten on my cruise. Garlic, green pesto, red pesto, black pepper, red pepper, limoncello, and coffee. So freaking good.
I also pickled eggs like the madwoman I am. I started pickling six of the recipes before I left, but had to make the soy brined ones the week before so that they didn't disintegrate. I was in such a fugue state last week that I didn't realize I was hardboiling two dozen instead of just one, needing the second dozen eggs for all the cookies >.> So back to the store I went. Caleb sent me this recipe for hard boiled egg chocolate chip cookies last week that I definitely need to try some day!
Next, I made a banner (imagine it with scowling eyes and solid yellow fleur de lis). I made a point of bringing my sewing machine so that I could hem it once I'd gotten the stand from Patrick, so of course I packed the wrong pedal. Technically I packed exactly the pedal I was intending to pack, but grabbed the wrong machine instead. In the end, Steph and AJ came in clutch and helped me baste it on to the pole.
My biggest source of anxiety was adding the pleated collar to the partlet (and then beading it, but that was the easy part). I started to pleat on the boat but was doing the folds too small and had to redo them once I was stateside again. I think it took me about ten hours to do the two or so yards? I used my hair straightener with great success last Sunday. It then took about two hours to roll the hem, and maybe an hour to tack it on on both sides of the pleats. There was a very lovely laurel chain that I started to add, but it was too busy and we removed it Friday night. Last change was to barely wet the inside blade of the pleats so they wouldn't be so scratchy up against the neck.
Was it my best work? Not really, but I completed all of the tasks at hand and nobody will criticize my work as strongly as I do. I wasn't expecting to have my mother stay at my house for three days after our cruise, crucial time I had originally scheduled for crafting all of this. Alas. In the end, I am happy with what I was able to achieve, and that I didn't have a breakdown until Sunday at 2am was also a great accomplishment.
