[Regia-NA] sewing help

[Carolyn Priest-Dorman]

Vara wrote:

>No charlotte, no fancy tailoring yet

Curved armholes and shaped sleeve caps (what we would call "set-in sleeves" 
on this side of the pond) are found in a number of early tunics, including 
ones from 10th century Hedeby.

>material about 30inches wide at the time...wide enough for front and back.

I haven't seen any evidence that there was a standardized width for cloth 
in the period.  I'm also not aware of any congruence among the very small 
number of clothing finds from the period from which it is possible to 
deduce loom width.  Instead, all the evidence points toward weaving to the 
particular size required for a specific purpose or garment:  from 10cm or 
so wide for legwrappers to nearly two meters for blankets.  This is true 
even after the horizontal loom was firmly established as the dominant loom 
type by about the 12th century and the guild system was formalized.

Accordingly, I think it's better not to get hung up on the concept of loom 
width unless you're planning to weave your own garments.  ;>


Carolyn Priest-Dorman              Þóra Sharptooth
  http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/thora.html