Slinger

[M. Demetrius]

I've ordered a dozen times from them, and have had no trouble. They're reputable, in my book.

[Phoenician]

Okay. Thanks to everyone for all of the help I have gotten so far.

Edit: Okay, I seem to be a bit confused as to what fabric on the site would be what thickness. For example, looking at this and this (here I just picked two different 100% wools that were the closest to white I could find, I don't necessarily plan to get those colors. They do represent the main kinds of wool I have been looking at), I cannot figure out what kind of thickness to expect from either.
Not being experienced with fabric at all; I do not want to on the one hand end up with something far too thin, or on the other far too thick. The same thing applies to the linen on the site.

[M. Demetrius]

Probably either one would be about the right weight for a tunic. If it's "jacket weight", it's generally good enough. You still ought to get with whomever you plan to associate and make sure they agree on the fabric color. You'll notice the diagonal "stripes" in the gabardine selection. That's a function of the way the fabric is woven, basically the same weave as denim blue jeans. They were able to weave cloth that way in the early years. I am not totally sure exactly when the 4 heddle loom came into use (needful for herringbone, gabardine and other twills), but if your chosen era is anywhere near the first century, you're good with it.

Flannel, on the other hand, is softer, but tends to thicken up on first washing and become much less "drapey". That is, it is much stiffer, and will not make the nice curved wrinkles you see in the sculptures. It is pretty dense and warm, (outside of your group's veto) so better for cooler weather. Flannel is woven, but has some of the characteristics of felt. It would make a better sagum/paenula than a tunic if it's very thick. Chances are it will not be a first choice for a first tunic.

[Matthew Amt]

Best wool I ever found was so thin you could pretty much read through it. It DID sort of require an undertunic (ahem!), but great stuff otherwise! Makes a great toga, too. On the other hand, it is not hard to get wool which is too *heavy*. (By the way, never make summer clothing as a winter project!) So go for the lighter option, I'd say.

Matthew

[Mark Headlee]

I've a tunic from the material, which is a very, very close copy to a sample of an original find:

http://virtuallegionary.blogspot.com/ (second blog entry down is the original fabric sample)

https://www.naturtuche.de/product_info. ... -Wool.html (an undyed state, smooth and no itching..)

[Phoenician]

Probably either one would be about the right weight for a tunic. If it's "jacket weight", it's generally good enough. You still ought to get with whomever you plan to associate and make sure they agree on the fabric color. You'll notice the diagonal "stripes" in the gabardine selection. That's a function of the way the fabric is woven, basically the same weave as denim blue jeans. They were able to weave cloth that way in the early years. I am not totally sure exactly when the 4 heddle loom came into use (needful for herringbone, gabardine and other twills), but if your chosen era is anywhere near the first century, you're good with it.

Flannel, on the other hand, is softer, but tends to thicken up on first washing and become much less "drapey". That is, it is much stiffer, and will not make the nice curved wrinkles you see in the sculptures. It is pretty dense and warm, (outside of your group's veto) so better for cooler weather. Flannel is woven, but has some of the characteristics of felt. It would make a better sagum/paenula than a tunic if it's very thick. Chances are it will not be a first choice for a first tunic.

Flannel sounds as if it would be great for the North Carolinian late winter/early spring, but once summer came around it would be terrible, heh.

As for herringbone, the main examples of 100% wool herringbone I have found on that site is this and this. No idea if either of them are suitable for tunics. There are a few other colors, but they all seem similar to either of those two otherwise.

About checking with a group, the main thing is I am only 16 and do not have a huge amount of free time, so I most likely would not be able to join a group for a couple of years, and it seems like perhaps by then I could end up choosing a group completely different from what I might look at now. Plus by then I would most likely have grown and would have to make new tunics anyway, so I would be able to choose the "group approved" colors at that point.
I could easily be wrong about that so I could use some advice.

[M. Demetrius]

Based on what you said below, you should be good to go with either tunic fabric. I'd basically suggest that you contact either Legion VI in South Carolina or Legion V in Tennessee, as those are groups close to your area. I think both of those use red tunic cloth. Legion XX is in Massachusetts wears white, and there is a branch of Legion IX in North Carolina somewhere, and their color is red. So there are at least 4 groups in your general geographic area. If you can manage it, it would be very beneficial to attend a meeting or outing with some other Romans. They'd be glad to give you hands on experience, and would also give you some pointers that may help you get to the impression you want to make more quickly than you could do on your own...and AFAIK, just about every unit is glad to get a new recruit.

As a slinger, you'd be an auxilia anyhow, so perhaps the color would not be as important. The gabardine would be good, or any lightweight linen of not-too-bright of a color. Many auxilia kept some of the trappings of their native culture, so you could wear a dyed tunic and not be out of place, even if you're the only one. Small, round shield would be ok, too, so you could learn the drill the other groups use and be more of a fit. Not too hard to make a shield. For most folks, only the boss needs to be purchased. The rest is basic woodshop work.

[Phoenician]

Thank you for all of the information. I will have to look those groups up.

I actually have been looking up ways to make a small caetra type shield. I figured the only part I would need to buy online would be the boss, but I am not sure what kind of wood to use or what kind of general design.

I am not sure which fabrics exactly you were referring to when you said I would be good to go with either fabric. Flannel and gabardine, the two herringbones I posted, something else? I seem to come up with a new question twice a day, hah.

[M. Demetrius]

The herringbone wool and the flanel was what I was referring to. There are members all those legions on this forum, but whether they see this post is not so sure. Anyway, on Matt Amt's Legion XX site there is a list which includes those groups and more. Most of the email address and contact info is still correct.

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/groups.html

Check twice, order fabric once.

[M. Demetrius]

http://www.fabrics-store.com/first.php? ... 1&printed=

Heavy linen is on sale here, until Sunday, Oct 10. Forgive the plug for the supplier, but at least it's appropriate to the thread.

[Phoenician]

Have you ordered there before? It actually looks like it might be a better source as linen would perhaps be better for my location, plus it is cheaper than the other source. The main reason I was thinking light wool was because it was cheaper than linen at FFC due to a sale of theirs.
Which of those linen weights would be suitable for a tunic? It seems most of the colors available are in the "middle" weight.

[M. Demetrius]

I guess middle would be better than heavy. I've ordered probably 100 or more yards of fabric from them over the last three or four years. Never had a problem.

[Matthew Amt]

Middle weight is fine. It's a great place to shop, because you can order swatches directly through the site, if you need a closer look at weight or color.

Matthew

[Phoenician]

I got vineyard for the tunic, natural for an under tunic, and I got some more fabric for a chiton.

[M. Demetrius]

Good for you! How much did that all set you back?