A Tunic Question

[Cheyenne]

I usually make plain tunics in one piece, I think the sources are variable, there are examples of weaving in one piece, but the 2 piece method is probably more numerous due to their cost of finishing a neck salvedge (a number of different stitches can be used for this, but the most effective tends to be a tabby woven 2 over/2 under or 4 over/ 4 under if the material or spacing between the warp is wider apart. Looms in Northern & Eastern Europe tended to be larger than those in the east (see K. Barska weighted Loom from Ozarow Mazoweicki, Poland) and the clothing should reflect that. I found that with modern wool that was suitable for roman tunics, having a shoulder seam didn't actually 'sit' right on the body - it would 'bunch' and the fabric would not fold correctly on the shoulder. Tunics with clavii, I make in two pieces and the clavii meet at the shoulder in one continuous line, the shoulder seam is backstitched also to prevent some of the bunching, but it doesn't eradicate it totally. Tabby woven modern melton in 300-550g per m weight can be edge finished using a salvedge after cutting and it doesn't fray - but producing a hand woven salvedge would take quite a bit of time.

Or for those everyday working tunics, melton is knapped enough to not even have to hem the fabric.

For the finer fabric I am having made by a hand weaver - the loom is 60 inches wide, but that is loomstate and the spacing between the warps is as such, that once I have washed the fabric with lanolin soap to 42'c (any hotter and the fibres burst, lanolin soak will make the wool less itchy as its British native breed wool) the width of the fabric will shink down to around 45-50inches - perfect for a rather voluminous tunic and the salvedge represents the finished edges of the garment - and I would then add a tabby woven edge to the drop hem.

Hey presto - more authentic... its easy to try at home. And if anyone wants some help developing a tabby salvedge - please get in touch

(see Pritchard, JP Wilde, Maik, Fluck etc..etc for more details on looms)