I am Becky McMannis, I am twenty-three years old and I have a long history with Renaissance fairs. As a teenager my family was involved with a guild run by my godmother. We went to the occasional fair as herbalists and healers. My favorite part was always the clothing but we were never very careful about historical accuracy. Normally our garb would be made the night before and it was held together with safety pins. I've always wanted to create a more historically accurate wardrobe but until now my resources were not such that I could.
Recently I have been talking to my friend Scarlett about Renaissance fairs. We bonded over our mutual like of them but never really did much together because of scheduling and what have you. We've started talking more seriously about making a real wardrobe that is carefully planned out and researched. From there we have spun the idea to make a booth to sell period kitchen equipment. It is Scarlett's pet project and I have been contributing as much as I am able to do. We hope to have the business running by Spring.
Which brings me to the point of my blog. As I am creating a whole period wardrobe to wear in this business venture, I wanted to chronicle my adventures (and misadventures) in blog form. I hope to be able to be helpful with anyone attempting a similar project, although I can't promise that my ramblings will be of much use besides to point you in the direction of the sources I use and what NOT to do. I am looking to create a middle-class ensemble as we will be working as merchants. Middle-class seems to be a more attractive things to dress as for me. It's not plain and boring as peasant and can be dressed up but it also is not overbearing in fabrics as nobility. Although I would be lying if I didn't say there are a few noble outfits from portraits I wouldn't die to have.
Yesterday I got a lot accomplished for my clothes and the booth. Scarlett and I went to a flea market in search of things that could be used in our booth. We found a cast-iron pot and a small cast iron bowl and I purchased some beads to make a necklace for my wardrobe.
We also went to JoAnn's and go some sewing supplies and I purchased fabric and dye to make a red petticoat. Red petticoats were very popular at the time and evidence can be found in effigies and portraits. The red of the petticoat was assumed to promote health in the period and of course I wish to be healthy so why would I make it in any other color? The store did not have a red fabric I wanted to use so I decided to dye it. I bought a linen/cotton blend fabric to do so. I know the fabric is not entirely historically accurate but it is an underskirt and I need to use lighter fabrics as I have a health condition and can't become too overheated.
This is the untreated fabric after I washed and dried it to preshrink it:
Here are the beads I bought to make my necklace. It is coral (or at least looks enough like coral you can't tell it isn't) and coral was very popular to wear as a necklace and bracelets for women. Coral also promoted health and was seen a lot in portraits.
Here is the dyes I used. I used two packets of red and one brown. I wanted a warm red that wasn't too bright but more earthy. I decided this combination might create the look I wanted.
My sink was too small to use so I filled my tub to dye the fabric. It looked quite like a murder scene and the tub is still a bit pink now.
Lovely splash patterns creating that perfect Dexter look to my bathroom.
The fabric had to be stirred for fifteen minutes and then left to sit and stirred occasionally for forty-five.
We came upon a problem when first trying to fill the tub. My tub would not keep the stopper down for some reason. I switched it out with my other tub and it worked just fine then but for a moment I was worried that I wouldn't get to dye my fabric.
The gloves we were using to keep from dying our skin had a leak in the right glove and Scarlett ended up caught red-handed! It matched the sunburns we got that day while being out in the sun without thinking about sunscreen so it wasn't as though you could really tell.
Once the fabric set it was time to drain and rinse it. Only one problem! The stopper was SO GOOD that it would not move out of the drain so that the water could be let out. Which meant I had to do some improvising. My stopper is a type where when you press on it it will pop up and so since we couldn't do it with our hands I figured we must be able to use our feet. I carefully wrapped up my foot in two plastic bags and tried to unstop the drain.
Even with two bags, the dye leaked in and my left foot was dyed red to match Scarlett's red hand. Fabulous. But it got better, even using my foot the stopper wouldn't come up. This meant I had to engage the help of my husband. That man was able not only to reach in with his hand and unstop the tub like it was nothing but the dye didn't stick to his skin and you would never know he stuck his hand in red dye.
Once the fabric was in the washer we decided to do some finger-loop braiding for our ties to the coifs we are constructing. Instructions can be found here. It's fairly easy and relaxing to do, you just have to watch your tension.
And here is my finished fabric, washed and dried. I'm really in love with the color, it isn't as dark as I thought it would be but it has the right tones that I wanted so I am happy with it. Now I have to begin construction on my petticoat next.
It may not look like a lot but with shopping and dying fabric, it is very time consuming so I feel as though I made a good dent in my work yesterday. I hope to be working more and more and have a good amount to write about next time.
