[public] even more site updates!

[siobhan_sca]

This is what happens when the temp outside start to resemble "preheat to..." parts of my cookbooks ;-) I'm taprooted on the couch with NPR and the cat, running with pixels.... see what I mean??

Various updates / corrections (see the nav bar on the left) and a few new pages:
- a portal page for my stola research and projects, and two new "how to

Comments

[rufinia]

I have found that wool (I'm serious) works best for strophia. I have one in summer weight wool and one in wool flannel, and they stretch, breath, wick sweat away and move with me better than any of my linen strophia. (We won't even talk about the yuckiness that the early muslin experiments were)

[reasdream]

can you recomend a good source for summer weight wool?

[rufinia]

I got mine from Master John Maguire who has freaky fabric finding skills.

Fashion Fabrics Club has some that looks pretty good. You want the 100% wool. I dislike the linen strophia now because they don't wick sweat away, and pack into hard ridges that bruise my ribs.

http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_items.aspx?Query=Tropical%20Wool%20Fabric

[siobhan_sca]

How are you wrapping your mamillare? I haven't had the rib bruising problem. Hrm. Wondering if that's a function of wrap method? wrap width? shape diff btwn us? HMMM.

Perhaps a course in Comparative Roman Breastwraps is in order ;-)

[rufinia]

Dammit, somebody ate my response to this!

Start with the center seam at my sternum, wrap behind, and then back in front and tie under my boobs. Of all the ways I tried wrapping, this holds up the best, gets the best tension, and doesn't fall down at in opportune moments.

[siobhan_sca]

Hunh: exact opposite of how I make mine go. Not sure that chaos math isn't involved in here somewhere ;-) Heh.

Wanna compare measurements offline? Perhaps therein lies the clue. Or not ;-) [ edit: meaning I'm not sure I'll learn anything other than "hunh" again ;-) ]

[rufinia]

I tried tying them in the back, and they just didn;'stay up, not even if I got someone else to tie them. I also tried tucking the ends in and not tying (fail) and pinning (massive fail).

My boobs are generous, shall we say.

[siobhan_sca]

My cups runneth over as well.... Curiouser and curiouser ;-)

[siobhan_sca]

G Street's "discounts" (hah) table, when you're next out -- haven't looked with an eye for mamillare fabrics, but I'm sure something on the "skirt length cuts" table would do the trick.

Will you be coming up for Highland River Melees?

[reasdream]

No melees for me, I'm headed south to the Pas.

Next time I get up north I will so hit up G Street. :D

[siobhan_sca]

Keen! Let me know when that is; I'm <1 mile from the Seven Corners G Street :-) ... and have never been to "the mothership" in Rockville? Gaithersburg? if you're up for a field trip!

[siobhan_sca]

Yes, "we shall speak of the muslin no more!" ;-) I recall you saying that was ... troublesome ;-)

Wouldn't surprise me to find wool on the body in our period :-) I haven't tried it yet as I have been pretty happy with my linen approach, and have a couple of friends with wool sensitivities that I've been trying to cajole into the band of boobage....

As I can document **COLOR** for the mamillare, methinks a bit of my red stola wool will be on the short list :-) Thanks for the reminder!

Oh, and how did you finish the edges? Rolled? Flat fold? Enquiring minds, etc etc etc

[rufinia]

I didn't. The wool ones I tore to proper size, and washed on hot, and they felted just fine. I don't even bother finishing the edges on my linen ones, either- tear, wash, and go.

In fact, I almost never finish the edges on a lot of things- fraying holds well enough for the pallas, and there are a number of extant tunics with frayed hems. I also saw a painting on linen (I think) from Roman Egypt where the dress the woman was wearing was just at ankle length, and frayed a good inch or two up.

[siobhan_sca]

What are your dimensions on the mamillare? I've been most happy with lightweight linen about 12" wide x about 106-118" long (two pieces of 54-60" wide, selvedge ends together).

I typically fold-hem the long edges: the "band" that results helps me tension the top and bottom edges when I'm wrapping....

Wouldn't have thought of felting it first! HRM.

And I hear ya on the unfinished hems; I don't seem to get around to finishing the bottoms of my "good enough" (Pennsic) tunicae ;-) OOPS

[rufinia]

About 10-12" wide, and long enough to go around twice and tie.

The wool flannel one I had to taper the ends because the knot just got SO HUGE it was a little tumor like, but it's SO WARM and I loved having it at Panteria a couple weeks ago.

[summers_place]

Heh... the hem of my palla was unfinished and frayed this weekend, mainly because I had run out of time to finish it before the event. Guess maybe I was doing it right. ;-)