On Sep 11, 2009, at 7:23 PM, "Laurie Taylor" <[email protected]
> wrote:
Hi,
Finally making progress in my quest to build pieces to use in my
history
class. The ancients are certainly some of the simplest to build,
but of
course I have an insatiable need to complicate my life and my
projects!
So, if you were building a Roman paenula (hooded poncho-like
garment) in a
thick wool or fake wool (actual fiber not certain), the cut edges of
which
are pretty stable, how would you sew the seams? Obviously I'm not
looking
for serging ideas here. I am maybe contemplating actually hand
stitching it
since it doesn't amount to a whole lot of sewing.
I think my question is do we think that they would have lapped the
edges and
sewn through the layers - no flapping seam allowances on the
inside? Or
would regular, plain seams, pressed open or to one side seem more
likely?
This is NOT life altering stuff here! I've not gone over the edge
in a
quest for period accuracy. I'm just curious.
In researching constructional sewing (as opposed to decorative, that
is), the most typical seam for wool from antiquity up through the
medieval period is a lapped or "felled" seam, often with one or both
of the edges turned under, but sometimes with the fabric simply
overlapped. The stitch used is typically an overcast stitch. Rather
than trying to describe it, I'll point you to my article
"archaeological sewing" on my website at heatherrosejones.com.
Heather
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