Tam's Renaissance costume

Here's the tunic I made for our little guy. Renaissance clothing is pretty easy to sew because you just make it big and add a drawstring or tie. All this tunic is composed of is two nearly identical front and back pieces and two tubes for sleeves. I knew I didn't have to make it perfect, or make it to last, since he'll out-grow it before next year!

The material is a light tan cotton/linen that I had used for curtains for one of the Minnesota apartments. The trim is all bias tape inherited from my aunt's sewing stash.

For this tunic, I traced a 9mth onesie onto paper for a pattern. This was to get the right length for the shoulders and width for the torso. I then used a pair of pants to guess at the length. I wanted it to go to his toes so it would cover the diaper and we wouldn't have to shove shoes on him.

I wanted long sleeves for sun coverage more than for warmth so I guessed on the arm length (a little long). I also left slits up the sides so that he could sit comfortably and he could stay cool if it did get warm. Then, in the back, I cut a slit from the neck opening so I could get the tunic over Tam's big head and tie it closed.

Quick seams up the sides, around the neck, around arm holes. I quickly sewed on the red bias tape so I didn't have to turn any edges :-) I ran out of red, so around the neck on the front is blue. (This is what happens when you don't measure anything).

Finally, I found an awesome dragon design on line and used it for the front of the shirt. I stenciled the dragon on using freezer-paper and fabric paint.

We loved the results!