Every time I take a class, I pick up something new, even if I've learned the same topic in the past. This month's A&S class night at the barony was no different. I have learned how to sew a tunic before, and even a Viking "apron" dress, but I learned a lot more this time!

I learn and remember best by trying to save my notes as if to teach someone else so as I typically do, I am regurgitating what I learned here, both for myself, and for you. ;)

1) First, Mistress Marsali taught us how to make a Norse Sark. Basically this means a shirt.

Everything here was done in rectangular form, so you start with a big rectangle of fabric. The width is as follows: measure widest part of your body, divide by half, and add 4 inches. (This allows 3 inches of room, plus a one-half inch seam allowance on both sides.)

(The sad sketch below is supposed to be a rectangle of fabric, folded over in half. The neck hole would go at the top.)

The length is one long rectangle, like I mentioned. You make it as long as you want it to be. You'll want to fold this nice, long rectangle in half and mark the shoulder and the neck hole. -- We'll get to that neck hole shaping later.


Now you'll cut out the sleeves. For the length of the sleeves, measure from the "arm's eye" to your wrist, and add 2 inches. The arm's eye is the biggest part around your armpit to your shoulder, basically. The biggest part. (This makes sense if you look at where sleeves are inset in other (even mundane) garments you own...)

The width of this sleeve is the widest part of your hand (with your hand extended) (because you'll want to be able to get your shirt over your hands!) plus 1 inch for seam allowance.

Gussets go into the armpits. Marsali had a much more elegant method for installing gussets than what I have done in the past. You -gasp- plan for them, and insert them as your're sewing, not rip open the armpit of an existing shirt and add it after the fact! :)



Gores go into the sides. Make sure these go from the waist, to the end hem. When you sew in the gore, leave a 1/2 inch seam allowance at the top end, for when you sew down the other side. This is what makes it lay down nicely without puckering!


On the neck, you don't need facing in shirts. Tunics however were typically faced. But see the next post for facing if you want that neat keyhole look. This can be more comfortable for some.

For the neck hole. Take a tape measure and measure around the wearer's neck. Now draw out an oval on a piece of scrap fabric, as wide across as their neck was around, to make a neck template. Mark the shoulders, and the middle at the top/bottom. Notice how the neckhole is offset just a bit down past the center mark, and is not perfectly centered on the shoulders. That's because the neck hole on a garment comes down lower on shirts in the front than it does in the back and this is how you shape that.


Now you can put your neck template on the fabric where you marked the shoulders, and cut out the neck hole.
Sew up the garment pieces.
You can see here how first she attached the sleeves to the rectangle (this is when the gussets go in).

Next the sleeves would get stitched together.

Sew in the gores while stitching the body together.

Cut out the neck hole. Finish off the neck. (If you want to put facing in this garment to finish off the neck, I'll show you how she did that in the next post.)

Hem up all the raw edges.