Belegarth

I was planning on making ~3 loaner tunics for people who forget/don't have garb. I saw THIS excellent tutorial, but I am not ready to invest that much time into loaner garb. I think that something quick, dirty, and durable would be best. Any ideas?

Very basic - http://www.dagorhir.com/HowTo/DagorhirTunic.htm

YIS,
Rufus of Dragon Coast

Fitz's tunic is as simple as it gets. Just don't put in all the frills that he does in the tutorial. The only reason those are in there is to demonstrate how to make it fancy if you want it to be. Trust me, the Dag tunic is a lot more complex and time consuming.

Just use one color cloth for the whole thing. If the fabric is wide and long enough, don't bother making the main body of the tunic in four peices; make it one or two. Then all you have to do is sew up the sides, sew on the sleeves, and hem it so it doesn't fray to nothing in 2 practices.

You just sew from D up and sew A to A and B to B. Not exactly a tunic but super easy to sew.
A friend of mine sewed one with little to no sewing experience and it looks good.

I find the easiest garb to make is a simple tabard.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_369bYz0cioo/SeKdu ... GP5936.JPG
Here's a picture of one of the easiest ways to make it. This picture has two colors of fabric, but it really only needs one.

1. To make it is simple. Cut out a rectangle about as wide or a few inches wider than your shoulders. Make it long enough to go from around your knees, over your shoulder, and back down to knee-level.

2. You know have a very long skinny piece of fabric. cut a head hole in the center of it (I'd guess about 7 inch diameter, but you can make it bigger)

3. Now put it on with the long sides going down your front and your back. Belt it at the waist with a belt or rope.

You know have a basic tabard! good job! I'd recommend hemming it somehow, either by folding the edge over a little bit, or by putting a zig zag stich along the edge. You may also want to sew around the neckhole to reinforce it, otherwise it may stretch/rip.
If you want to go fancier, you can jazz it up by making it different colors (like the picture) or you can sew/embroider some design on the front. You could also trim the edges with ribbon or store bought embroidery or something. Have fun!

Really, you can have it one of two ways for tunics: you can save time, or you can save fabric. I can cut a knee-length tunic with long sleeves for my 6'1" frame out of two yards of 56"-wide linen, if I'm willing to sew a bunch of seams; I can also sew a similar tunic with two seams, three hems, and a basic neckline if I don't mind using closer to four yards.

I'm thrifty, so I mostly take the more sewing-intensive direction (which is how a medieval tailor would have done it, cloth being even more expensive back then, and labor cheaper), but if you can get cheap fabric (Goodwill bedsheets?) and don't care about waste, you can just chop out front and back and possibly sleeves (trapezoids) and toss the scrap, instead of using all of the pieces that Alric's tutorial calls for.

Arrakis wrote:Really, you can have it one of two ways for tunics: you can save time, or you can save fabric. I can cut a knee-length tunic with long sleeves for my 6'1" frame out of two yards of 56"-wide linen, if I'm willing to sew a bunch of seams; I can also sew a similar tunic with two seams, three hems, and a basic neckline if I don't mind using closer to four yards.

I'm thrifty, so I mostly take the more sewing-intensive direction (which is how a medieval tailor would have done it, cloth being even more expensive back then, and labor cheaper), but if you can get cheap fabric (Goodwill bedsheets?) and don't care about waste, you can just chop out front and back and possibly sleeves (trapezoids) and toss the scrap, instead of using all of the pieces that Alric's tutorial calls for.

Arrakis you took the words right out of my mouth.

I saw the t-tunic pattern posted above and would like to counter with this pattern: http://www.dagorhir.com/gear/content/ga ... _tunic.php

The Bocksten Tunic has a little more sewing but will last longer in the end then the t-tunic will. The t-tunic is very fitted and doesn't have many gussets or gores which and this in my experiences leads to more ripage and patch jobs then the Bocksten Tunic. The Bocksten Tunic has armpit gores and 4 body gussets that allow for better range of movement, which in belegarth is a good thing.

That is my .02 cents

I disagree with the idea of loaner garb. A new fighter can do these simple designs themselves, especially when the vets in the realm are helping them. This gives them the nudge new fighters need to learn at least the basic **** to be more self sufficient in the game. I think every fighter should at least know how to make a t-tunic and a sword cover by the end of their first year of fighting if not much sooner.

Agneezy, you've got the right idea that fighters worth their salt should be competent and capable, but loaner garb is a very good thing when it is for the truly new, not just the lazy an inept. Having everyone present in some sort of garb makes the game/sport/group look more organized and legit, rather than a cluster **** of weirdos playing grab * in jeans.

Part of the requirements of my Realm's "Senior Tabard" earners is to provide two sets of at least minimum garb for new folks to wear so they can look the part. I personally have chosen to purchase two pairs of black sweat pants, cut the elastic off the botoms, and made two cheap rectangle tunics to put over a new fighter's street clothes that he shows up in. If they get worn, I toss them in the wash, ba-da bing, done. I went the cheap route because I'm quite busy in life and my sewing skills are mediocre. I've got great ideas for garb in my head, but getting it done takes so much longer than I usually have time for.

That said, the loaner garb is not for folks who've been continuously coming for more than a month. Those people need to get their own garb or can only use single blue weapons at practice. I like having numbers, but I like having dedicated and capable members more.