In our Landsknecht/German Garb at Court. Photo by Lady Arielle

The Landsknecht were famed German mercenaries from the late 15th century to the middle of the 16th century. The daring soldiers were well compensated for their dangerous work, and when you combine that with the fact that they were exempt from most sumptuary laws, you get a group of people who enjoyed dressing flamboyantly. Their clothing tended to be bright (dye was pricey) and slashed (showy and hid tears and rips). Feathers were common because the merchants who followed the train sold them, and it was easy to buy one and just “stick a feather in your hat.” To learn more about the history of the Landsknecht, I highly recommend the 2002 book, Landsknecht Soldier by John Richards — it is well researched and illustrated.

A number of resources for Landsknecht garb is available online. Here are links to several I find very helpful:

Renaissance Costuming FAQ – Scroll down to the section on Landsknecht about midway down for a good overview of what men and women wore.

St. Maximilian – The web site of a company of the St. Maximilian Landsknecht Re-enactment Guild (check out the Costuming Guidelines).

Landsknecht Guild of St. Maurice – Check out their Resources page!

Landknechts & German Ren – Many images, woodcuts, and modern illustrations

Trossfrau and Landknechts – Period woodcuts depicting the women of the Landsknechts

Landsknect Dress Diary – Good detail!

Landsknechtsportal – Translated from German, and not updated recently, but full of patterns, information, and cultural information

The Real Landsknecht Page – A bit hard to follow, but some useful images and information

FiberGeek’s Landsknecht Diary – Dress diaries, image sources, and details on constructing a Woffenrock

German Captain’s Woffenrock – Dress diary, resources, images

The Frazzled Frau – An entire web site documenting German women’s garb. There isn’t much Landsknecht specifically, but several of the styles in the first half of the 16th century translate to female Landknecht wear

SCA German Renaissance Garb – Excellent resource with lots of images, research, and projects!

Woffenrock Dress Diary – Not entirely period, but interesting — and contains a number of links to source images which are helpful.

Hats and Underwear of the German/Swiss Woman from the 15th century – Not in English, but full of great information.

Gregor in his Woffenrock and Tellerbarret

Early German Renaissance Costumes – Excellent dress diaries

Landsknecht Woodcut Gallery – 24 images!

German Ren Costume – list on Yahoo Groups (will have to join to see messages)

Patterns:

Woffenrock by Reconstructing History – I used this to make Gregor’s Woffenrock and I think it turned out well.

Kampfrau or Common Woman’s Dress by Reconstructing History – Haven’t used it, but have it

German Accessories by Reconstructing History – I’ve tried several of these accessories and they worked well

Last May I was given a bit of beeswax as a prize. I thought at first it was a candle, not knowing what beeswax could be used for other than a candle. But I looked it up and discovered it was useful in sewing — you use it to strengthen your thread and keep it from knotting. I tried it and it was AMAZING. I’ve been using it ever since, and really see the benefits of it. I then bought some beeswax, melted it, and created my own little bits of beeswax. Some of these will be gifts at Cynnabar’s Grand Tourney, and the rest I’m keeping to just give out to people I meet — I want everyone to know the wonders of beeswax.

Beeswax!

With that thought in mind, I’ve compiled a list of uses of beeswax, from medieval times to today:

1. Sewing – run your thread through the beeswax several times to strengthen it and minimize knotting.
2. Leather armor – use it to harden leather for body armor
3. Metal armor – useful in lubricating armorsmithing tools, and for polishing to a mirror-like finish
4. Blacksmithing – used to finish ironwork, giving a nice sheen and preventing rust
5. Basketweaving – used for pine-needle baskets
6. Woodworking – a period finish for wood when mixed with mineral oil
7. Archery – used to wax and protect the bowstring
8. Sealing wax – mixed with shellac and oil, it because a flexible wax for sealing documents
9. Bronze preservation – mixed with turpentine, it keeps bronze in good condition and untarnished
10. Camping – waterproofs tent seams

That’s not all — you can also use it to make candles, ornaments, soap, crayons, wood filler, jar seals, lip balm, etc. etc. It even has medicinal uses — beeswax is used for lowering cholesterol and for relieving pain. It is also used for swelling, ulcers, and hiccups.

Beeswax has a high melting point of 144 to 147°F, so you can keep it with you without fear of it melting.

Oh, and it smells divine.

Everyone should have some beeswax! Come see me at Cynnabar’s Grand Tourney on December 3 and I’ll give you some 100% beeswax.

16th century Germans wore many hats, one of which we call a Tellerbarett (platter hat). You can see versions of this large, round, flat hat in many paintings and woodcuts of the era. I could find no reference to surviving hats from this era, so I have only images to go by. It seems clear to me that the hats were constructed in different ways — each of the three images below shows a slightly different construction — but they all share the large, round shape and feathers are common.

Doppelsoldner and Campfrau

Magdelena of Saxony

Judith

So I set out to create my own. I wanted one in red wool, with the top slashed to show black wool underneath, and white ostrich feathers. Here’s my result:

My Red Tellerbarett

Top of Tellerbarett

Tellerbarett Underside

This is a big hat, and I may need a shot of courage to wear it, but I really like it. The feathers are wispy and fun. And I like the pattern I slashed into the top (they are winged hearts) — it’s not traditional, sure, but it makes it unique and personal.

Here’s how I made my Tellerbarett:

1. Cut out two pieces of wool (one in main color, one in constrasting color) in 20 inch diameters.
2. (Optional) “Slash” (cut with good, sharp fabric shears) a pattern in the circle of your main color wool. If your wool is likely to fray, either hem the edges of the slashings or use something like FrayBlock on the edges.
3. Baste the two circles together along the edge.
4. Cut out a strip of wool in your main color 8″ wide by 63″ long (63″ is the circumference of the 22 in-circle you cut in step 1).
5. Sew a casing with a narrow ribbon along one edge of your wool strip. You will later use this  ribbon to pull in the strip to the circumference of your head in step 8.
6. Sew the raw edge of the wool strip to the edge of the wool circle, right sides together. Sew the narrow ends of the wool strip where they meet.
7. Take two wire clothes hangers, cut each to form a long wire, secure the ends of the two wires together (I used duct tape because it was handy), and bend the now one long wire into a circle. Sew this circle to seam edge of your wool circle, trying to stay as close to the seam you created in step 5.
8. Turn your hat right side out, pull your ribbon in the casing tight until it fits your head, and try it on. If you need help keeping the hat on, as I do, you can sew ribbons to either side of the casing to tie under your chin.
9. (Optional) Embellish with feathers!

This project took me about 4 hours.

I’m so happy … today Gregor departs on his long journey from the far reaches of Artemisia, arriving here in the Middle Kingdom tomorrow. Then begins a long weekend of more Pennsic preparation — shield bending, weapon taping, shade fly assembly, bed shopping, packing, etc. etc. So much to do, so little time … but what fun!

My Garb-A-Day project has been coming along well. I’ve been able to stick to stitching nearly every day — I took a two-day break last weekend to work on benches, but otherwise it’s been at least something new everyday for nearly three weeks now! My sewing skills have improved, too! I have modified my original plans as I went along — I decided not to make three Flemish overdresses because five layers of linen is really just too much for summer, I think. But I made all the kirtles and smocks. I’m working on tie-on arms today for two of my kirtles, plus a partlet.

Speaking of all the garb, Gregor challenged me a while back to fill a wardrobe with garb. Well, I think I’ve met that challenge … take a look at all the things I’ve sewed for Pennsic:

Our stuffed Pennsic wardrobe!

And that’s not even everything — some items aren’t in there because they are in my “to finish” pile (Gregor’s Elizabethan shirt, my tie-on arms, partlet) and one of Gregor’s tunics is coming back with him. I am pleased!

Red Landschknecht Hat

Since last night’s experiments making a Landsknecht hat went went, I started working on it again as soon as I got up! I used some lightweight red wool, with red linen for the lining. I made the hat bigger in all ways — bigger brim, bigger slashings (the loops that stick out, bigger cap on top. I thought last night’s seem a bit too modest for a Landsknecht. I machine stitched the loops to the brim, then handstitched everything else. It didn’t take too long, especially once I finally tried using the beeswax I’d received in “AnneMarie’s Favor” Award from Duchess AnneMarie’s Half Century Holiday — what a difference the beeswax made in avoiding snags and tangles in my thread!

"Landsknecht with Helmbart" by Erhard Schon (1491-1542)

Landsknecht were German mercenaries in the 15th and 16th centuries, with a reputation for being very good fighters. Gregor has a particular interest in them, and one day would like to don the entire garb of a Landsknecht! To the right you can see an illustration of a Landsknecht with a similar hat — this illustration is a woodcut by Erhard Schön (1491-1542) from Nuremberg, Germany.

I am very pleased with the results! I cannot wait to see it on Gregor — and he arrives from the faraway lands of Draca Mor in just three days! I can’t wait to see him.

Landsknecht "Starfish" Hat

Top of Landsknecht Hat

Lining of Landsknecht Hat

If anyone is interested in how I made this hat, leave me a message here. I’d put the pattern up now, but I need to get back to sewing … Pennsic is so close and I have so much to do! Just know that you will probably need to wait until after Pennsic for a detailed response.

Gregor needs a hat and wants a German Landsknecht “starfish” hat. I have no pattern, but here’s what I came up…

Test Schlappe Hat

The top of the hat

Back to sewing… so much to do before Pennsic!

Today’s Garb-a-Day project was a simple blue tunic. I had just two yards of  linen to use, but Gregor’s tunics really required more like 2 1/4 yards (to get his desired length of 41″). So I just added a band of green linen to the hem to make it longer, then added the same green as trim around the wrists and neck. I cut the green linen for the neckline on the bias, so it would be a bit more flexible. That works, I think!

The tunic design I use is based on an extent garment from the Bochsten Bog, and as such, it uses several gores (triangular pieces of fabric that made the tunic flare out a bit at the bottom). When gores are placed on a seam line, they are simple. But when you have to actually cut the fabric and insert the gore, as you do with this tunic, it gets much tricker! The first time I did gores, I had no idea how to sew them.

Google is my friend, and I found this tutorial: http://www.cottesimple.com/gores/gores.html

This explained the basics, and it worked … but I noticed a slight pucker in the fabric at the top of the gore when I stitched the gore with my sewing machine. The pucker appeared on the next tunic as well, and at that point it bothered me enough to do more research. After reading a great deal about how to make perfect gores, I decided to try hand-sewing just the gore point, then machine sewing the long seams. It worked! This tunic now has perfectly-pointed, pucker-free gores — hooray!

After a busy couple of days filled with “real life” activities, I’ve finally managed to (mostly) complete the reversible doublet (or jerkin, as it has no arms right now) for Gregor. Again, I used the same Simplicity 4059 pattern as I did for my son’s doublet and I’m very pleased at how it turned out. It’s not yet complete — I need to add the trim around the peplum, slip-stitch the red linen bottom down, and hand-sew the eyelets. As that is all handwork, I’m saving it for the late evenings when I’m just hanging out with Gregor or playing D&D. The red you can see on the edges of the peplum on the green side should get mostly covered by the black trim.

A golden doublet!

The doublet for my son turned out VERY well, and I’m extremely pleased with it. The Simplicity pattern was just as good as the one I used for my Tudor gown — easy to understand directions, simple construction techniques, and a great looking (and well-put-together) garment when completed. I was able to use the tablet-woven band Alexander worked on on the front, and supplemented it with red grosgrain ribbon. I was also able to make it reversible, so Alexander can wear the red linen side out if he prefers. And, I while it is loose on him (he’ll be able to wear this for several years), I think it still looks pretty good. I did end up shortening the bottom by about 3-4″, however, as it was just much too long on him.

I also put in a special “kid-friendly” feature — a hidden pocket behind the front right peplum! In addition to loving pirates and gold, Alexander loves pockets. I’m going to hide a gold doubloon in there and see how long it takes him to find it.

A "hidden" pocket behind one of the peplums

I still need to finish the eyelets — I’m working on those now. I’ll take a photo of Alexander wearing his entire “pirate” outfit as soon as I get a chance. I’ll also try to take some better photos when it’s not so dark. Tomorrow will be a busy day with non-SCA stuff, so I may not get to my Garb-A-Day goal, but I guess that just means I’ll have to double up on another day.

Here’s the progress on the eyelets — they take a long time!

Alexander wants a gold vest for his pirate outfit, and Gregor needs something dressier than a tunic, so I’m making both of them doublets. This project predates my Garb-A-Day craziness, but I’ve decided to try to squeeze it in anyway. Yes, I am crazy, in case you’re wondering. Anyway, as I’ve never made a doublet before, and am even less familiar with male clothing than female, I’m using a commercial pattern — specifically Simplicity 4059. The pattern designer  (Andrea Schewe) is the same one who did the Tudor gown I made and absolutely love, and which has been determined to be reasonably historically accurate by “those who know.” And I really like how this doublet looks — it appears to be based on Tudor doublets, and the armless style is good for hot weather. I know I really should research it more, but I’ll save that for future projects — for now, I just need to get them clothed! Here’s a photo of the doublet from the pattern:

Doublet B from Simplicity 4059

Alexander’s doublet will be made of a gold 100% cotton canvas twill with red linen as a lining, and Gregor’s is a green striped cotton canvas (same fabric as my Tudor gown) with green broadcloth as the lining. I’ve already cut out all the pattern pieces for both. So tomorrow I’ll begin sewing Alexander’s doublet — with any luck, I can finish it within the day. I should also note that I’m actually making both doublets from the same set of patterns — size XS for Alexander and XL for Gregor. Alexander’s will likely be a little loose and a little long, but hey, he can grow into it, right? If it’s too big, maybe I’ll just make him a belt, or add a tie to the side that we can use to tighten the back.

Oh, and I plan to hand-sew the eyelets (rather than use grommets) to give the doublet a more historically-accurate look. For the trim on Alexander’s doublet, I want to use the Golden Path of Fire tablet-woven band that Alexander came up with and has been working on. Not sure what trim to use on Gregor’s doublet, however — maybe a silver cord?