looking for garb help

[Vaffel]

I've got a design in mind for a new set of garb but having never actually made any garb and just surviving off of purchases and hand-me-down stuff i am a little unsure of how much material i will need. I just need amount suggestions for a tunic and haks. With seperate color trim on both

[Agneezy]

some rambling thoughts about fabric choice:

people make garb out of trigger/poplin, cotton bottomweight, various synthetic fabrics, linen, wool, brocade, silk and probably many other things.

if you are interested in wool or other natural fabrics heres a great explanation of the basic important info: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=30969

when i'm in the fabric store and i dont have something specific in mind already i look around through the thicker fabrics and look for something that looks durable, is cheap, and is in the color i want.

when i go for trim i go over to the quilting section, they have all the fancy colors over there, and try to find the closest match to the color i want.

also, try to find bias tape, and see if they have it in any of the colors you want because its a huge time saver when it comes to hems, neck holes, and stuff like that.

when you see fabric you like check the tag on the bolt to check out what it is made from, i generally steer clear of something with polyester in it when it comes to a tunic, but when it comes to pants i dont mind so much.

you'd probably do well to use a heavier fabric (trigger, bottomweight, etc) for your hakama and a lighter fabric (linen, worsted wool, some kind of thinner cotton fabric, etc) for your tunic, that way your pants are durable enough for ground fighting and will last you a while, and the tunic will be light and breathe so you can keep cool on the field.

hope any of this helps

[Vaffel]

that helps a ton, thanks Agnarr

[Kevat]

I agree with the fabric choices mentioned. Linen is one of the best fabrics to use for tunics in the summer, though cotton is a decent alternative if you can't afford linen. Linen does tend to hold up better to wear and tear though, and is amazingly comfortable in summer and is a great layering fabric for winter wear. And as Agnarr said, try to stay away from polyester for tunics- you'll sweat like crazy!

Lightweight wool is also a decent choice. Most people don't ever consider wool for summer wear, but it's actually one of the best fabrics to wear in the summer. It's great for keeping you cool because it naturally pulls the sweat away from your skin. And again, it's great for all year use.

Just a quick note on whatever fabric you choose (especially natural fibers such as wool, linen, and cotton, or any fabric that contains even a small percentage of those fibers), you will want to prewash your fabric BEFORE you cut it up. Wash it on hot and dry it on high/hot. Natural fibers shrink when you wash them the first time, and it's best to get that shrinkage out of the way before you take the time to make yourself new garb. Nothing worse than washing your stuff for the first time and not be able to wear it again.

A lot of people think that linen is cost prohibitive, and it can be if you're buying it at your local fabric store (unless it's on sale or you have a coupon). Here are a couple of websites that have great linen all the time, and often have sales that make linen as inexpensive as cotton.

www.Fabrics-store.com -(lots of great colors and different weights. the 7.1oz and 8.0oz linens are GREAT for pants. Use this code: ilovelinen to get 7% off your total order)

www.fabric.com-(right now they have a special on many of their light and midweight linens. Many are $4.99, and if you use this code: BRTH11A, you get an extra 15% off your total order).

www.denverfabrics.com- they have all of their linen on sale for $8/yd, but you have to dig through to find what you're looking for.

I'm not sure type of trim you're looking for, but if you are looking for something really decorative, check out www.celtictrims.com. They have a huge selection!

[Alric]

For myself (5'7", 160lb, 40" chest) I can almost always get a long sleeved knee-length tunic from 2 yards of 60" wide fabric. I can get a thigh-length from 1.5yd. If you're bigger than me you'll have to use more fabric of course, and it might be a good idea to buy some extra in case you make a mistake since this is your first time sewing your own garb.

I always recommend people try making their first set of garb from a $1 bedsheet from Salvation Army. You can get nice enough fabric from a good sheet to make a solid tunic, but if you * up you haven't ruined any expensive fabric. With linen only $5/yd from fabric.com, however, investing in good fabric can be really cheap (fabric.com's medium weight linen is as good as any of the higher priced linens I've gotten anywhere else; their lightweight is nice, but makes a better undertunic than outwear, because it's a little light by itself; unless you want something really light and airy for summer wear, in which case it's perfect).

[Arrakis]

If you wanna do hakama, might as well do a kosode to go under it. Looks fly. Here's some resources.

http://www.wodefordhall.com/kosode.htm

There's an excellent Kosode pattern thing on there. Remember to cut the neck area out, by the by; I don't think it talks about that.

http://www.raito.com/clothing.htm is a good pattern for the same garment. Read both, win at life.

Hakama:
http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/gra ... akama1.PDF

Yoroi Hitatare:
http://sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/graphic ... tatare.PDF

Take the sleeves off of that one and you get a kataginu.

Here's me in my most recent Japanese garb, a Kataginu Kamishimo in nice wool tricot I got on sale online at Fabric Mart (this outfit includes kosode, kataginu, and hakama):





(clickable thumbnails)

[Davit]

Also, TALK TO THE LADIES AT THE FABRIC STORE. Not only have they probably dealt with someone who just like you, has no idea what they are doing, but you may find a lot of help because they like to make costumes/garb. I've met 3 or 4 ladies at different fabric stores who do SCA, Amptguard, etc. They know what they are talking about, or will tell you they don't.