Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Slinger
#31
About 70 USD. I would have ordered less, but shipping was about 12 bucks so if I ordered all of that separately I would have been spending about $36 on shipping alone.

Now I just need to learn how to sew.
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#32
Got my fabric today. Blue for a chiton, the other two colors I mentioned, three yards each. I could use some tips about pre-washing it, and I also need sewing supplies but I am not sure exactly what to get or where to get it.

I made some hemp belts from the same material I made my slings with, but I am not sure if they are accurate. I made them pretty much the same way that those jute belts on SOTW looked to be made.
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#33
I'd suggest washing them in hot, separately, in case they fade. Then dry them in the dryer. If they are going to shrink, that will doyou the trick, and it's better if they shrink before you sew the garments.

After that first hot wash, they will probably not fade any more. And after that wash, I'd wash them in warm or cold. If you sew a zigzag stitch over the cut edges, or blanket stitch by hand, they won't unravel and make knots/frays. Otherwise, you'll lose an inch or so to tangly gnarls. That's not usually a problem, but just pointing it out ahead of time.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
Reply
#34
Right, for linen you want to zig-zag the cut ends, then beat the heck out of it in the washer and dryer. Hot wash, cold rinse. Iron well on the hottest setting, with steam, before you start measuring and cutting. If you zig-zag or whip stitch the cut edges of whatever garment you make (before assembly, usually), you can machine-wash it after sweating in it. But cold wash and rinse will do it, no need to be more abusive!

For wool you need to be a little more gentle. It shouldn't ravel much so no real need to zig-zag the cut ends. Cold wash and rinse on the Gentle cycle, and hang dry. Iron with steam before cutting and sewing. When the finished garment needs washing, just squish it gently in a bucket of cool soapy water, let it soak for a while, rinse it out, and hang dry.

Oh, ignore the "Dry Clean Only" label on any fabric you buy! If you dry-clean anything historical, you won't go to heaven when you die. Just sayin...

A woven hemp belt sounds fine to me!

For sewing equipment, you'll need an iron--I can tell you that working with un-ironed linen is miserable! If you don't have access to a sewing machine, needle, thread, scissors, pins, maybe a little chunk of wax for waxing the thread. Not much else! Oh, a piece of tailor's chalk can be handy (though regular pencil will work), plus measuring implements. If you can get linen thread, excellent, but most folks won't abuse you for using regular sewing thread.

Happy sewing!

Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Reply
#35
Quote:For sewing equipment, you'll need an iron--I can tell you that working with un-ironed linen is miserable! If you don't have access to a sewing machine, needle, thread, scissors, pins, maybe a little chunk of wax for waxing the thread. Not much else! Oh, a piece of tailor's chalk can be handy (though regular pencil will work), plus measuring implements. If you can get linen thread, excellent, but most folks won't abuse you for using regular sewing thread.

Happy sewing!

Matthew

We have some kind of fabric "steamer", no idea if that would work or not, but as far as I know it is used for the same purpose as an iron.
I already have a few chunks of beeswax, but I am not sure what thickness thread to get. I already have some pins. Basically out of that I would only need the iron (possibly), thread, needle/s, scissors, and maybe some measuring tape better suited to working with fabric than the metallic tape roll I have.
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#36
A flexible measuring tape is really useful for lots of sewing and other "how big izzit" tasks. It works for measuring around things much better than the metal ones. They cost about the same as a spool of thread. You can find one everywhere they sell threads, too. You can use a cord to measure around something, then lay that against a steel tape, though. Not quite as convenient, but every bit as good for tunic measurement function.

The iron will make the garment fabric lay flat. A steamer will help relax wrinkles, but won't flatten the cloth. It's a bother to find out after having sewn a whole seam that one panel of cloth was flatter than the other, not to mention that it won't match measurements on the bottom end of the seam.... Then you get to rip out the seam and restitch. Hand sewing is sometimes tedious. Hand resewing is maddening and frustrating. A "steam and dry" iron will cost about ten bucks at WalMart or somewhere like that, maybe half that much at a second-hand store. The fuel to get you to the store will sometimes be more than the merchandise.

And for the record, I have sewn a couple of tunics using thread unravelled from the fabric. The color match is (duh) perfect, but the thread is not as strong as conventional thread. It's twisted differently, and you can't fix it. It's aggravating to be sewing along and have the thread break. Note: this method ONLY works with hand stitching.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
Reply
#37
I got an iron, a bunch of needles, a pair of scissors and measuring tape at Walmart. However the only non-poly thread I could find is size 50 machine quilting mercerized cotton thread. Is this sufficient?
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#38
Any modern thread that will go through the needle should be fine. What are you wasting time online for?? Get sewing!

Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Reply
#39
I think I have worked out how to do a blanket/whip stitch using a small piece of the material, but I am not sure about one thing; should detergent be used or not?

Also, what kind of stitches should I use for the seams, and how do I secure the armhole area from raveling? And should I keep the selvages when I am making the tunic, or cut them off? Right now I am sewing up the cut ends for pre-washing.
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#40
I used a capful of liquid "Woollite" when I preshrunk both my linen and my wool fabrics. It will get rid of the sizing in the fabric without being too harsh. It won't prevent bleeding of dyes, but my red stayed red.
Cheryl Boeckmann
Reply
#41
I just use regular laundry detergent, never had a problem with it. The wool may "felt up" some, but that's not a problem. And you want to get as much "loose" dye out of it as possible--don't worry, it won't make it fade perceptibly.

Leave the selvedges! If they aren't obviously modern-wierd in some way, you can use them either at the top or bottom of the garment, which saves hemming. (Or at top AND bottom if the width of the fabric equals the height you want!)

Stitching:

http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologi ... index.html

A simple running stitch is fine for most straight seams, and for folded hems (such as arm holes). Just fold the cut edge inward twice, as narrow as practical, iron, and sew.

A blanket stitch is a little more complex than a whip stitch, since it catches the previous stitch. Either can be used for edges, at least for wool, but I almost always go with a folded hem for linen. But doing the main seams with whip or blanket stitches doesn't generally work as well, I've found, but some very interesting things were done back then from time to time! For starters, though, stick with a straight running stitch.

With a running stitch, with most fabrics you can push the needle in and out 2 or 3 times (2 or 3 stitches) before grabbing it and pulling the thread through. Doubles or triples your speed. Try not to let your stitches get larger than about a quarter-inch or so. Double the thread if you want more strength--thread about 5 feet through the needle and simply knot the ends together. Make sure both strands are pulled equally tight! And don't pull so tight that the fabric starts to bunch up.

That help?

Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Reply
#42
I actually have that page bookmarked, I was using the blanket stitch for the cut edges. I did not plan on using that stitch for anything but preventing raveling on the cut edges while washing, but if it is not good enough for linen, I have not gotten very far, so I can start over with a hem instead.

Also, the reason I got whip stitches confused with blanket stitches is Wikipedia and some other websites listed them as the same, simply different terms for it. I have been catching every stitch on the last one.

The only thing odd about the selvages is that they have needle-sized holes zig-zagged through them. Otherwise they do not look exceptionally odd or modern.
My plan is to use the selvedge ends for the top and bottom, since they will most likely be about the right height even with shrinkage. My only question is, how exactly do I hem the arm holes (I do not plan to have sleeves, just arm holes, since from what I understand sleeves were uncommon especially in the BC era)? Should I cut as if I were going to have sleeves in order to leave just enough fabric to fold and hem? Would I hem the entire cut side?

Edit: By the way, I will be out of town from Oct 20-24.
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply
#43
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd29 ... lnotes.jpg
This photo shows three views of stitching on the same natural colored tunic. I still wear this one (it's about three years old), and have only had to repair one seam where the sewing thread broke. Grr. It's unfortunate that for illustration purposes the thread is the same color as the tunic, but then, the thread was unravelled from the tunic, and that's to be expected.

The "inside" and "outside seam are really the same seam, with the fabric turned over. The "hem" is the double-fold and stitched edge you may be looking for for your sleeves. This one is a sleeve as it turns out. PM if you can't figure out from the photo what's going on with the seams, and I'll see if I can help. :wink:
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)

Saepe veritas est dura.
Reply
#44
Hoo, a blanket stitch just to secure the cut edge for washing is bold! More than you'll need. If I weren't machine zig-zagging that, I'd just go with a whip stitch, it's much faster. Good practice, though!

There are no special shapes to cut for the arm holes, each piece of the tunic or chiton is a plain rectangle. Just do a folded hem around the hole itself. When you get down to the bottom where the seam starts, it might be necessary to make the folds for the hem smaller, so that both folds use a width of fabric equal to the seam allowance at that point. Basically, just fudge it! When it's done, you may be able to tell that the tunic is a half-inch narrower across the arm openings, if you measure carefully, but it certainly won't be noticeable.

In other words, when I sew up a tunic, I have a seam allowance of 3/8" to 1/2", meaning that's how far from the edge my line of stitching is. When I fold back the edge for a hem, I fold back about 1/4" or a hair more, then fold again, so the cut edge is completely hidden. Well, if my seam allowance got a little small and my hem got a little big, you can see that folding 3/8" twice is twice as much as a 3/8" seam allowance! So I'd have to fold more narrowly in the last couple inches above the seam, so that 2 turns of the hem equal the seam allowance. Then stitch it all flat. Sometimes I zig-zag the cut edges before I put the tunic together, sometimes I don't, but I never worry about getting complex and sewing down the seam allowance edges or anything like that. My methods run towards quick and dirty. Fudging at transition points comes very naturally to me, by now!

The ancients cheated, they simply wove each panel to the size they needed, and stuck them together. No hemming at all. Cheaters...

Vale,

Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
Reply
#45
Okay, I am back.

I believe I understand what you mean about the hems, but I do not know if I would want to do that for the entire length or just the arm holes. How well do cut edges that have been seamed and otherwise untouched hold up?
Dylan

I chose the name Phoenician because I have a large interest in Phoenician and Carthaginian history. I am interested in many other areas as well, however.
Reply


Forum Jump: