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The sca asks for an attempt at an historic look, not complete accuracy. Do your best with what you have and what you can afford, and no one will look down on you. :)

And it depends on the state of the sheets, but I bet they're better than broadcloth. :)

They are not- transparent and have no holes. I know, I just rolled them over a bolt. ;-)

For myself, I'm pretty careful about putting on linen and wool or something that gives the 'look'. I prefer bottom weights for my field garb personally, and I like trimming with thrift- store synthetic blended jacquards with metallic middy braid or guimp. It's like a formula without math. :P

I'll probably add this to the post, but do you think that sort of beginners garb is make or break to a person being introduced to play?

They beat fluorescent polyester any day and fall within a "reasonable attempt".

If your newcomers decide to stay, then they can upgrade their garb to suit whatever persona and period works for them. If they don't stay, you haven't spent a massive amount of time or money outfitting them for one event.

And they can always go into the underwear catagory right? And this is still better than bathrobes IMHO.

For beginers, go have fun with them. No one says they have to be completely period fabrics, just to make an attempt at a period costume.

As to personal opinion... some bed sheets are a bit too thin to be used for outerwear, but might work for smocks and shirts.

I may consider lining it or making it dual layered to make up for the "limp" factor. For the T tunics I think that stability is provided by the heavier fabrics used as trim. Velvet pieces, wool strips, that sort of thing. And then they'll still be suitable for underwear later. :D

I've used bed sheets before. I don't see a problem, as long as it isn't something glaringly modern.

Just your basic solid color all cotton bed sheet. Aside from being somewhat limp, I think I'll throw a couple togather.

Personally, I wouldn't use bedsheets (new or used) for outerwear for anybody.

Especially for newcomers. It is my opinion as a former chatelaine that newcomers should be dressed reasonably well. True they don't need to be borrow our 12th Night finest for a day tourney but they'll notice the difference in fabrics.

I don't think it's make or break but I'd use it as a last resort. If there's nothing in gold/silver key and nobody has anything to loan then it's better to get them into something.

We have some pinwale corduroy that may suit for outer tunics with better results. I wouldn't hesitate to use them as a natural fiber lining, but this is the exact reason I pose the question.

How nice is nice enough? If I'm going to set a minimum bar, how low should it be I suppose?

Hey, I made a pair of bodies and a petticote from a sateen sheet that I bought in the wrong size. They were even a pretty teal.

I made a skirt out of broadcloth in a pretty teal. I think that the underwear angle for using them is very strong.

I made my husband's undertunic from old sheets. It was a great way to practice what I was doing without possible ruining good linen and when we move to linen, I'll donate them to the newcomers garb box.

Thanks for the input! I am liking the undertunic angle. I've been accumulating muslin from curtains at the thrift shops so those are a possible under garment solution as well.

It doesn't really bother me, overly. I personally prefer woollens and linens for my own clothes, and I tend to encourage no0bs onto woollens and linens from the outset, but I certainly don't have any problem with other people wearing other things, especially not when they're new.

Having said that, if it were me, I would probably encourage the no0bs to buy suitable fabric for clothing, but use the sheets for linings and facings, scrip bags, bottle bags, "stuff sacks", napkins, table runners, etc.

This is a new idea, using them to add to the set dressing aspect. I don't hesitate to use them as flatlining for delicate or limp fabrics from the outset, and this is a new and interesting idea for all the little 'bits' that are too small or whatnot to use as linings.

Actually, I think that old bedsheets are PERFECT first garb - they are soft and worn in, and FREE. Make a basic shift/over tunic for each of them, *make sure it fits*, THEN go spend money on spiffier fabric to make them better garb from. New folks almost NEVER have enough garb that actually fits and belongs to them to make it through a weekend event, even in stable, predictable weather. If it never gets worn again after being used as a sizing template, so be it!

Using old sheets/free fabric is also a great way to encourage novice sewers to try their hand without worrying that they are going to mess up expensive fabric.

THanks! None of these guys are sewers, they're going to hang out with friends who's kookey mom does this stuff, so this is all on me. For myself I'm experienced enough to know what fabrics are natrual and have a good feel to them, even if they aren't what would have been used in period, whatever period that may be.

Some of the commenters bring up these large peices would be good for camping dress set, too. I think I'll use them for that since I have other outerwear options.

If they aren't too thin they would work for a quick and easy tunic / tunic dress. But would worry about if they might be too cold at an outdoor event.
I've used them in the past for Chemises and other inner layer clothes with something nicer on the outer layer. (I now use linen.)
Check out the Remanant table at your local fabric store, there might be something suitable for an outer layer, and use the sheets for the under.
Would make the new people feel like they are more in line with what others are wearing.

I'm looking right now at the thrift stores and their housewears department, I've come away with bolts of cotton fabric. Some velveteen, some jaquards that I'm satisfied with. Little more insulation than the bedsheets, miles away better than my first garb that was in Nylon(no pictures, I'm not sure if that's good or not LOL).

Since the two new boys don't sew, I'll just use fabrics that please me and let them trust me. Sheets I think will be for chair covers, cooler covers and table cloths. :D

I don't think that sort of garb is make or break, but I think that many (though not all) new folks will be happier and more comfortable in good garb from period materials, but they may not know what period looks like or feels like.

For example, my first SCA gown was from a synthetic wool fabric (I was worried about being too hot in real wool) -- it had the appearance of wool, but definitely not the texture or ability to breathe. It looked pretty good from a distance, but I was covered in flop sweat by the end of the event and smelled pretty stinky. The next gowns I made were wool and linen, which not only worked much better to regulate temperature (even better than my cotton dress!), but they looked better, not because of the amount of effort I put into them (my first dress probably had more hand-sewing to it, as I did a lot of it in the car on the drive), but because "correct" fabrics have the right fall to them.

Do I think a bed-sheet dress is make or break? Absolutely not. Do I think they'd probably be more comfortable in a linen, as opposed to cotton, underdress? Yes, because it just plain breathes better. Do I think a newbie would care that the fabric isn't period? Depends on the newbie -- I cared, but I'm one of those "history goobs," but my "I'm just hear for the beating" stick-jock boyfriend probably couldn't have cared less if his garb was accurate as long as it was good enough for no one to bother him about it.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, there. I don't go around telling other people what to wear, but I don't think it's possible to over-emphasise the benefits of natural fibres in general and linen undergarments in particular.

I've used sheets before for patterns, lining, and mock-ups. For theater I've used them for skirts but not for anything else, they just didn't have the texture or hand that I liked. Your sheets may vary.

Sheets make great mock-ups, especially for long gowns, because you can just cut a little head hole and drape and pin until you get the shape you want!

Rant

As part of a re-enactment community, it BETTER be accurate, which is why you'll see me in wool and linen with my English Civil War folks regardless of the weather.

The SCA is not a "re-enactment" group. We don't have a checklist of what participants are expected to wear/use. We don't re-enact a specific event. We play around at being medieval, some more successfully than others.
In that context, if you want to show up in a bedsheet and claim it is a medieval gown, you can get away with it.

That said, my ex used to invite friends to check out events, with an invite ALSO to come over to our place and select what they were going to wear. Trust me: they would inevitably go all starry eyed as soon as they saw the burgundy brocade houppelande or the velvet sideless surcote. The wool Irish dress tended to be a big hit too, for some reason.

I know how I felt the day I showed up at an event in the very first tunic dress I'd ever made. I felt like a million bucks for about five minutes - then someone else sailed into the room in yards and yards of burgundy velvet and I wanted to slit my wrists - 'cause I KNEW the difference.

"Newcomer" does not mean "moron." They're going to figure out the difference - and they're gonna want the pretties. It's one of the things that tends to attract newcomers to the SCA, isn't it?

Bedsheets make damn fine pattern muslins. Bedsheets make excellent camp curtains or wall hangings. Bedsheets even make good cannon fodder for TEACHING your newcomers how to make their own clothes before they start cutting on better fabric.

Re: Rant

My bad about the re- enactment thing, I'd no intention of being the novocaine free dentist!

And that is how we end up with the "history maven Vs. Fun Maven" a- la- Street Fighter, because of that cleft between the vagueness that is our game and the universes and activities supported by good research. This is not to say that good research isn't happening in the SCA circles, only that it's not required for our game.

I'm making field garb as context, so something you don't care about a bit of dirt at the hem.

The sheets could make better uses elsewhere, so set your mind at rest! Better garb and better chair covers!

I think there are two schools of though.

They are perfectly acceptable (in my opinion) since they are a solid color and not.. neon.. especially if they are cotton, rather then polyester, and a weave, rather then a knit.

They will look ok. and can easily be 'dressed' up or paired with other fabrics/pieces from gold key or otherwise.

However.. a lot of people (and this is the route I have taken as I am in my first year as a scadian) is that cheap and quick garb is a waste of time, and if I am going to take the time to make something, I am going to use linen (or silk) and make something I can continue to wear for years. However, I am also relativly sure that I would like to continue to play for several years, and hopefully longer. If said new folk aren't sure how they feel about the sca, or think they would just be casual event attenders, use the bed sheets! I myself have a sheet that is a cotton weave that I plan to make a chemise or something out of eventually, just because I hate to see fabric go to waste.

I don't think garb can make or break the game for newbies. If they are the historically minded type, they might feel a bit.. under dressed... if/when they realize that the fabric is not period. so to speak. But that will likely just empower them to go buy some linen and make something nicer, not quit playing.

We have some weekender players, so just show up for the pretty cloths and family company. Lined garments that are large enough to throw on other players seems appropriate. Also two probably- one- time- drop ins. Same with them, I'm not necessarily making garb for them, but with an eye towards our weekender players is a smart move.

I'm here to make some garb and improve my techniques over time, that doesn't mean I'm going to whip it out without care, but with thought for future users of the attire.

Also, the sheets aren't the only thing available in quantity, so I think I'll take the middle road and make garb that is field quality, so wash a wear and use the sheets for either lining and patterning or for camp dressing and disguising.

Thanks!

I actually made a t-tunic out of sheets for an event in Alabama... and I was glad I did- it was breathable, it didn't call for more skill than I had sewing and it was cheap enough that after I learned how to sew, I didn't feel bad replacing it.

I've worn and done exactly the same thing with my sheet tunics. I've even had some under gowns of them as well, but If I have other alternatives, I'll exhaust them first. ;)

I've been in the SCA for...roughly six months, so I'm DEFINITELY a nOOb. My first event, I didn't have time to *coughFIXcough* make a decent first attempt... (tried...and failed terribly) I ended up just wearing a skirt and blouse, and was HIGHLY uncomfortable the entire time. My second event, I borrowed a skirt, chemise, and outter corset from a friend, and felt MUCH better. I'm currently working with 100% wool to make a Tudor period gown, and I have several yards of 100% cotton (in a gorgeous saffron colour) for a lighter dress, next. I have to admit, I would never have even thought to use bedsheets, just because I tend to pick fabrics by the way they feel, and bedsheets FEEL wrong to make into a dress. As a newbie myself, I would probably rebel if anyone tried to dress me in a bedsheet, so taking the time to make GOOD garb is worth it. If they don't decide to stay, take the garb back. People only come in so many sizes, and loner geer seems to be in demand quite often. Or keep it in your own wardrobe incase everything else happens to be dirty, or in need of repair, you know? ^^ Just my 2 cents.

We had a fine rant just above you actually about how being new to the game doesn't mean your a moron. And it's true. I had worn bedsheets when I started playing about 12 years ago, and they looked good, but didn't feel like *cloths*.

I still think I can use them for undergarments, so under tunics who's main purpose is to hold trim off the ground ;-) and I think that cotton sateen would be alright too as visible lining, like on the insides of large sleeves. Not that I can think of a period place to apply that...

I've made dresses out of plaid fabrics that were little better than a bed sheet and certainly more expensive. But I think that a cotton bedsheet in good repair can be better used as camp dressing. Pepperbeast put it up there in the comments as well, covers for that what is not period. And for a chair, they're perfect! :D

For me, it depends largely on what I am making. A few years back I did a velvet gown that required 7 yards for the skirt alone, and than it had these huge triple puffed sleeves and those needed another 3 yards each. Well, than I made it really hard for myself, because I wanted to do it in an old style shade of rose, and no other color would do. I had already plotted and planned and drawn out my sketches, and it HAD to be rose colored velvet. Have you ever tried looking for a dusty rose colored velvet! ACK!

Well, finding velvet in an odd color was one trouble I was having, but the fact that I needed so much of it was the major problem, because I rarely put very much money into the fabric I buy. I tend to root through Jo-Anns, red tag $2 a yd clearance section to find most of my fabrics. It did not take me long to realize that if I wanted rose colored velvet, the only way to get it was to have it special ordered at some $45 a yd! That was a great big: NO WAY! So, I changed my outlook on my dress, and put off sewing it, for about 7 months, because I still could not imagine it in anything but rose colored velvet.

Than, nearly a year later, and nearing in on Easter time, I was in WalMart, and they had just gotten in a whole batch of new Easter fabric... among them, were some pretty pastel colored polyester panne velvets, and a whole uncut bolt of a dusty rose that just screamed "BUY ME!". Okay, so technically it was stretch velvet or velveteen and made out a fabric that had only been around the last 40 years or so, but the color was perfect for what I wanted, and it LOOKED like real velvet even if it wasn't real velvet and it only cost $3.95 a yd!

In the end I got my rose colored "velvet" dress, not accurately, but I didn't care, because it looked the way I had invisioned it.

Of course, as I said for me, it depends largely on what I am making, and so I have yet another story on me vs accuracy, this one currently ongoing. As you may or may not have heard me say before, I am doing what I am told is utterly unheard of and completely impossible to do, (by about 40 different people so far, and I expect that list to grow as my project continues). Hey, keep telling me I can't do this too, because thats what keeps going... the desire to prove I can! LOL!

Anyways, I am taking a character out of a modern day fantasy comic book and *horrors* recreating his entire wardrobe (6 different outfits) in as much historical accuracy as possible. He's a prince from 1558 Japan, who grew up in China, than went on a personal spiritual quest all across Asia and picked up various elements of each place he went along the way. And thus wears cloths that are mixed up with Japan, China, Mongolian, and Portuguese elements, plus a few VERY imaginary fantasy elements thrown in to boot.

Oh such fun it is torturing myself like this. I now have to figure out which parts of his outfits came from which periods of which countries, so that I can make each part historically correct, even if wearing them all at once isn't historically correct. If you think it's hard tracing down one item from one country and one time period... try 45 different items from countries of unknow origin which you have to study each coutries history to find out where each one came from! eeek!

Well, I finally traced most of the items and their origins and what they should be made out of, and FINALLY, I started my search for the fabric: silk, from Asia, in historically accurate widths. I found silk from Italy 45" wide, silk from France 45" wide, silk from India 45" to 68" wide. I needed silk from Japan 15" wide.

I went to my local JoAnnes told them what I was doing, what I needed, the woman looked at me like she thought I was a nut, and than asked "But why don't you just buy the 45" wide fabric and cut it down to 15" wide strips?" Well, because the whole point of making this outfit is to be historically accurate, and my studied showed me that his cloths would have been made of 15" wide silk, that was sewn on selvage, and part of the design element is the fact that it HAS to be sewn on selvage, so I MUST use 15" wide silk.


It took me three months to track it down, but I finally found a guy (who lives in Japan) who does nothing but collect and sell 13" - 16" wide Japanese silks! YAY! I emailed him, told him what I wanted and he was able to find me five bolts of *OMG* antique handwoven 15" wide silk. For the first time in my life, I bought a fabric that had a major price tag on it.

I am so happy with my silk. It arrived last week and I've been driving my family nuts talking about it steady! LOL! This is the first time in over 20 years, that I have ever allowed myself to buy a fabric for the sake of historical accuracy. The price of historically accurate fabrics, usually sends me off looking at my curtains and thinking: "Hey, I'll bet I could cut that up to make my garb out of! LOL! Usually I settle for: "Oh that LOOKS accurate enough and only costs $15 dollars". Yeah... like you said, bed sheets can make great garb, and often I go that road myself, as long as it LOOKS accurate... hey, try looking at the curtains in WalMart... I do that often, the big prints on curtains often have a nice period look to them.