Fabric, Fiber, & Fighting V Class List

DRAFT 14 November, 2007

Miscellaneous Topics

How To Document
Mistress Adriana of Hawkwood
Discussion of the elements of good documentation, with examples of good, bad and indifferent documentation.
1 hour
No limit
No fee

Tacketed Bookbinding
AElfswyth the Gyldenfeax
Tacketed bindings were used for such things as account books that would need to have sections added later. Tackets (twisted cords or strips of parchment) were used to bind as well as decorate books. Participants will each make a small tacketed book.
2 hours
Limit 10
Fee $2 for paper and materials

Where to Stick It: Let's Make a Viking Needle Case
Master Bedwyr Danwyn
This is a hands-on class where each student will make and take a simple brass Viking needle case.
1 hour
No limit
No fee

Introduction to Armoring
Gilchrist MacNaughton
A short demonstration and discussion on tools and basic techniques. If there is time some hands on.
2 hours
Limit 8
No fee

Spinning

Supported Spinning
Anne Grout
It is somewhat different in its process from drop spinning; it is probably the single most common type of spinning in world history, and continued to be used in Europe along with the spinning wheel, really till the Industrial Revolution. The reason it persisted was because you could spin a fine hard thread suitable for warp thread or for fine silk, etc., which you couldn't do on a spinning wheel until they invented the low drive ratio wheel. Even today it is more effective than a spinning wheel for fine threads with a lot of twist. You couldn't walk around with it spinning while you watched the sheep, as you could with a drop spindle, but it was a preferred method of the upper class women. I have seen a manuscript illumination which suggests that it was the preferred method of the Virgin Mary. Also it was probably the type of spindle that Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on.
Time: 1 hour
Fee: $20 for spindle, bowl and fiber, or $8 for fiber and bowl

Spinning with Raw Wool
Anne Grout
This class will focus on preparing locks of raw wool for spinning on a drop spindle (though you can also spin them on a wheel), with discussion of washing, picking and combing small amounts of wool, and the particular problems of spinning from locks of fleece as opposed to roving or batting. No class fee, but there will be spindles and wool available to buy, or bring your own. Bring a sturdy comb, if possible--it doesn't have to be a wool comb. A pet-grooming comb is fine.
1 hour
No fee
No limit

So, I'm Thinking About Getting a Fleece
Lady Brienna Llewellyn Lindsay
This course covers why and how to process a raw fleece for spinning. Including definitions. It includes demonstrations of some of the process.
1 hour
No limit
No fee

A Tactile Tour Through the Spinning Fibers
Fiadnata ó Gleann Àlainn
Have you finally gotten the mysteries of spinning wool conquered? Feeling like it's time to branch out to other fibers? Bring your spindles, and we'll play with all four of the Big Four spinning fibers, and maybe add in an exotic or two for good measure. Basic spindles will be available, if yours is full of the latest project. This class is intended for the intermediate spinner, not for someone with no experience drop spinning before.
1 hour (or more)
Limit 8
Fee $5 for fibers; some drop spindles available for $1

Embroidery

Blackwork Bookmarks for Beginners
Avitoria vidua
Complex embroidery for the very beginner. Don't let the apparent complexity of blackwork fool you! If you can count to two and have a little patience you can learn this beautiful art. We'll be making embroidered bookmarks while learning the basics. This class is intended for those gentles with little or no embroidery experience. Young adults and gentlemen are welcome! Please bring scissors.
1 hour
No limit
No fee

Decorative Embroidery for Garb
Mistress Euriol of Lothian
Stem stitch, chain stitch & Blackwork, Oh my! You have learned many of the basic stitches of embroidery, but now what? This class will be an overview of extant secular embroidered garments in order to determine the pratical application of decorative embroidery to garb.
1 hour
No limit
Fee $1 for CD-ROM

Lace Net Darning
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Hands on class in the technques of lace net darning (lacis/Opus filatorium/filet brodé/filet guipure) with information about the history of the stitches and materials used in and just out of period.
2 hours
Limit 8
Fee $6

Braiding

Beginning Fingerloop Braiding
Master Bedwyr Danwyn
1 hour
No limit
No fee

Accessorize your Documents with Tags and Seals (New and Improved)
Emmelyne de Marksbury
Learn a variety of durable, beautiful, period methods for affixing wax seals to documents. Discussion and examples, followed by some light hands-on to create a sampler. Appropriate for all levels and interests, from scribal to string.
1.5 hours
Limit 10
Fee: Donations welcome for handout and string

Seven-loop Braids for Flexible Fingers
Emmelyne de Marksbury
Feeling nimble-fingered and ready for more fingerloop braiding? We will learn five braids from Tollemache that are all based on the same core set of movements. Practice the amazing "airplane propeller" maneuver! Basic fingerloop skills are needed - taking loops reversed and unreversed, and exchanging loops between two fingers.
1 hour
Limit 6
Fee: Donations welcome for handout and string

Sprang
Lady Gullveig fra Njardar

Clothing

10th C. Clothing and Textiles in Britain
Baroness Cathryn of Chester
An overview of textile choices, colours, fabric patterns and appropriate social class choices to suit persona. Bring suggestions to share if desired.
1 hour
No limit
No fees

Cut, Construction, and Decoration of 10th C. Kit in Britain
Baroness Cathryn of Chester
Patterns, period construction techniques, and finishing details, focusing more on Viking and Saxon styles.
1 hour
No limit
No fees

Decoration through Deconstruction
Filipia Capriotti
1 hour
Limit 10
Fee $1 for materials and handouts

The Well-Dressed Mummy; or What to Wear to a Siege
Mistress Mathilde Eschenbach
In the early 1990’s, a group of mummified bodies were found in Lebanon, buried in a nearly inaccessible cave that was the refuge of nearby villagers during a late thirteenth century siege. The bodies were clothed in multiple layers of well-preserved clothing, some of it heavily embroidered. The class will discuss the background of the find, the textiles, and the embroideries.
1 hour
No limit
No fees

Weaving

Tablet Woven Edges
Juliana Delamere
Tablet woven braids have many uses, including being worked directly on fabric and leather to strengthen and bind seams. In this class we'll learn the technique of weaving a narrow band directly to raw fabric edges. (No previous weaving experience necessary!)
1 hour
Limit 10
Fee $2

Double Weave Tablet Weaving
Juliana Delamere
This is a hands-on class, with the focus on learning the set-up and techniques of double weave. We'll be learning a two-deck method for weaving designs.
2 hours
Limit 6
Fee $2

Classification of Textile Structures
Mistress Phiala O'Ceallaigh
Understanding the broad classification of textile structures provides a context for studying medieval textiles (and modern ones too). Braiding, weaving, knitting, netting - how do they all fit together?
1 hour
No fee
No limit

Constructing the Proper Medieval Purse
Mistress Rhiannon y Bwa
Medieval (and later!) purses weren't sewn together the way we might think. Most weren't 'bagged' and very few used casings. Come and learn how to make a purse the medieval way. We'll be chaining or weaving stitches down the sides and finishing the top raw edge in a popular pattern. Students will be working together on a few samples. This class is not 'make and take', however. Fingerloop braids were used as the purse strings, but that technique won't be taught in this class. We will be pointing out a few of the popular flb patterns used for purse strings, however - including one that matches the finish on the top of some purses. This work is mainly based on sweet bags I've photographed at the Metropolitan Museum and other extant purses from late in the SCA Period. If students bring large-eyed needles and scissors, it would be helpful.
1 hour
No fee

Demystifying "Snartemo" Tablet Weaving
Rosalind Ashworthe
We will be learning about the structure of the Snartemo technique, graph patterning and then weaving a sample. A solid understanding of basic TW techniques is needed. If you have an empty TW or inkle loom, you may bring it to class.
2 hours
Limit 5
Fee $1

Knitting

Medieval Egyptian Socks, Part 1
Lady Susanna Lockheart
The Islamic patterned knitted socks in The Textile Museum are among the oldest extant knitted textiles. As such, they provide insights into early knitting as well as the footwear of the culture. Part 1 will be an overview, discussing the history and general techniques.
1 hour
No limit
No fee

Medieval Egyptian Socks, Part 2
Lady Susanna Lockheart
The Islamic patterned knitted socks in The Textile Museum are among the oldest extant knitted textiles. As such, they provide insights into early knitting as well as the footwear of the culture. Part 2 will be a hands-on session aimed at practicing the techniques while producing an adaptation of the extant socks. While any are welcome to audit, the class itself must be limited to knitters who are comfortable working in the round on double-pointed needles. There will be colorwork! Some kits will be available for $5, including #7 double-pointed needles and 2 colors of cotton worsted-weight yarn. Those wishing to bring their own supplies are welcome to do so.
1 hour
No limit (see description)
No fee (see description)

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