TUNICS FOR EVERYONE! Claire Knudsen-Latta

ABOUT ME

Historical costumer with nine-years’ experience.

BA in Linguistics, BA in History, and a Certificate of Medieval Studies

Active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism

Maybe slightly goofy

WHAT’S A TUNIC?

From Latin tunica, possibly related to Aramaic kittuna and Ancient Greek khitṓn.

A long-sleeved, loose garment worn by men and women.

Popular throughout the Medieval and maintained its popularity through the Early Modern Period (and later) as an inner-layer garment.

Constructed using what we call “rectangular construction”

Other terms you might see include “kirtle”, “gown”, or “sark”.

WHAT’S THIS RECTANGULAR CONSTRUCTION THING?

An easy to draft and easy to sew method of constructing simple garments.

All shapes are based on straight lines (except the neck opening).

Construction is simple because you’re not having to sew around complex curves.

Great for saving fabric because you’re not having to cut funny shapes.

Historically accurate!

Basic rectangular construction cutting diagram

VOCABULARY

Gore – triangular skirt insert. Make these bigger to make your skirt swish more.

Gusset – triangular under-arm insert.

Body Block – the main part of the garment.

Gore Slit – the slit you cut in the body block to insert the center gores.

MATERIALS

Inner Tunics

Cotton Midweight cottons are

good, homespuns tend to work very well.

Linen Lightweight linen is so

pleasant.

Linen Blend Linen/Rayon blends from

JoAnns will do the job.

Silk China silk or silk twill are

expensive, but warm.

Outer tunics

Linen Mid to heavy-weight

plainweaves, twill, and fancy twills

Wool Light- to mid-weight wool in

plainweave, twill, or fancy twill

Linen Blend

Silk Heavy silks, silk twill, and

silk brocade are *expensive* but so fancy.

AND NOW FOR MEASUREMENTS

Front Back

Neck -

Chest -

Waist -

Hips -

Arm length -

Upper arm circumference -

Hand -

Neck to waist

Neck to hem

Shoulder Point to Shoulder Point -

BOCKSTEN BOG-TYPE TUNIC Nockert Type 1

THE BOCKSTEN TYPE TUNIC

Found in a bog in Varberg Municipality, Sweden. (BOG BODIES!)

The find is generally dated to the 14th

century. Though some push this to the 15th century.

Bocksten man was found wearing a hood, shirt, cloak, and hose.

The tunic is made of wool.

MEASURING YOUR BODY BLOCK(YOU’LL ONLY WANT ONE OF THESE)

Neck to Hem (front) + Neck to Hem (back) + 2”

½ chest or waist,

whichever is larger

+ 2”

Neck to Hem -

Neck to Waist

+1”

Neck circumference

(I usually trace around

a t-shirt neck)

MEASURING YOUR BODY BLOCK (ALTERNATE)(YOU’LL WANT TWO OF THESE)

Neck to Hem (front) + Neck to Hem (back) + 2”

¼ chest or waist,

whichever is larger

+ 2”

½ Neck circumference

(I usually trace around

a t-shirt neck)

MEASURING YOUR SLEEVES (YOU’LL WANT 2, OR 6 IF YOU’RE DOC OCK)

Upper Arm Circumference + 4”

Hand Circumference + 2”

Arm Length

MEASURING YOUR GORES (YOU’LL WANT 2 OR 4 PAIRS)

Neck to Hem - Neck to Waist + 2”

10

” –

15

” (d

ep

end

ing f

abric)

MEASURING YOUR GUSSET (THE HARD PART)(YOU’LL NEED AS MANY PAIRS AS YOU HAVE SLEEVES)

Like 4” - 6”, ish

Wha

teve

r th

e o

ther

side w

as

ST. CLARE-TYPE TUNIC Nockert Type 5

THE ST. CLARE TUNIC

Believed to have belonged to St. Clare of Assisi (Patron Saint of Television and my name saint)

Garment dates to around 1250

Made of wool

Kept at the Basilica di Santa Chiara in Assisi, Italy.

MEASURING YOUR BODY BLOCK(YOU’LL ONLY NEED ONE OF THESE)

Neck to Hem (front) + Neck to Hem (back)

Shoulder to

Shoulder + 2”

Neck circumference

(I usually trace around

a t-shirt neck)

MEASURING YOUR GORE(YOU’LL ONLY NEED TWO PAIRS OF THESE)

(Total Body Block Length – Total Top of Sleeve Width)/2 + 1”

10” – 15”

(depending

fabric)

((Chest

Circumference –

(Shoulder to

Shoulder x

2))/4) + 2”

MEASURING YOUR SLEEVES (YOU’LL WANT 2 OF THESE)

Upper Arm Circumference + 4”

Hand Circumference + 2”

Arm Length

LAYING IT OUT The practical math exam

STEP 1: TREATMENT OF THE FABRIC

1. Wash your fabric (I wash mine on hot for the first round – if it’s going to be for me, it’s going to need to take a beating.)

a. If you’re going to dye your fabric, do it now. (You can also dye the finished garment, if that’s your preference.)

2. Iron your fabric. Ironing ensures that you’ll get a nice crisp cut.

STEP 2: LAYOUT

Tools: Chalk

Dry-Wall Ruler (7’ Ruler)

Yard Stick

1. Square off the corners of your fabric.

2. Measure out the body block from the top left corner.

3. Start fitting the sleeve, gore and gusset pieces in around the body block.

4. If you make a mistake, just brush the chalk off.

STEP 3: CUTTING

Tools: Scissors

Nerves of Steel

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Line up your scissors on a chalk line.

3. Cut, you fool! Cut!

OPTIONS

If you have a serger, you can serge the edges of each pieces to stabilize the edges and make sure they stay nice and clean.

I usually like to cut and finish my neck opening now, before there’s a lot more fabric to deal with.

A rolled hem is an excellent way to finish the neck opening. To do a rolled hem, fold approximately ¼” of the raw edge over and then over again so that it’s rolled up in a little spiral.

Then use a whip stitch to finish the hem. The whip stitch

PUTTING IT TOGETHER Introducing Power Tools

STEP 1: ATTACH TRIANGLE THINGS TO SLEEVES

Brocksten Man-type Tunic St. Clare-type Tunic

STEP 2: SET CENTER GORES (TRICKY)(BROCKSTEN MAN-TYPE TUNIC ONLY)

Sew two of the gores together along the middle length edge

Cut a small Y in the top of the gore slit

STEP 2: SET CENTER GORES (TRICKY)(BROCKSTEN MAN-TYPE TUNIC ONLY)

Pin the gore in place (right sides of fabric together)

Make sure a bit of fabric at the point of the gore extends beyond the opening of the gore slit.

Sew the gore in place with the machine, stopping about an inch from the top on both sides.

Use the whip stitch to finish the gore by hand on the right side of the fabric.

STEP 3: ATTACH OUTER GORES TO BODY BLOCK(BROCKSTEN MAN-TYPE TUNIC ONLY)

STEP 4: ATTACH THE SLEEVES TO THE BODY BLOCK(BOCKSTEN BOG-TYPE TUNIC)

STEP 4: ATTACH THE SLEEVES TO THE BODY BLOCK(ST. CLARE-TYPE TUNIC)

STEP 5: MAKING IT WEARABLE

1. Fold the tunic in half (hamburger-style!) and sew from the wrist to the hem on both sides.

2. Finish the wrist and hem with a rolled hem and whip stitch.

3. Alternatively you can use bias tape to finish the hem.

4. If you used the Alternate Bocksten-type body block, you can now bring the dress in at the center seam to create a more fitted tunic.

OTHER NOTES Whee!

SOME SEWING TIPS

Give yourself about ¼” to ½” seam allowance.

Use moderate, consistent pressure on the sewing machine pedal.

If you place your pins perpendicular to the direction of sewing (and you’re careful) you can sew over the pins.

Take your time and be patient. Be prepared to pick seams out the first few times, it’ll be okay.

No sewing after midnight!

HAND SEWING

Stitches for construction

Running Stitch

Back Stitch

Stitches for finishing

Whip Stitch

Blanket Stitch

Herringbone Stitch

Running Stitch Back Stitch

Herringbone Stitch Whip Stitch

Blanket Stitch

NECKLINE OPTIONS

I would just pick one at a time…

DECORATION

Trim, trim is good! Simple trim works very nice

Block printing Examples of block printed fabric show up in the

14th century in Italy and Germany and in the 10th

century in western Russia.

Contrasting fabric Simple blocks of contrasting fabric (match type

to type) can make a simple but elegant addition.

Embroidery Simple embroidered designs survive on a couple

of extant pieces. More complex designs survive on religious or ceremonial garments.

Beads and Pearls Early medieval ceremonial clothing and Russian

clothing from throughout the middle ages show use of pearls and precious stone beads.

LINKS AND SOURCES

T-Tunics the Period Way http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Tu

nics/TUNICS.HTML

Viking/Norse Underdress http://viking.snapshotstacy.com/underdress.html

Introduction to Garb http://www.virtue.to/articles/in_depth_garb.ht

ml

Introduction to SCA Clothing http://thehoodedhare.com/clothing_intro.htm

Fabrics-Store.com http://www.fabrics-store.com/

Gray Line Linen http://www.graylinelinen.com/

Shipping can be tricky.

Lacis (embroidery supplies) http://www.lacis.com/

Calontir Trim http://www.calontirtrim.com/

Gala Fabrics https://www.galafabrics.com/