How Do I Make My Knightly Tunic/Surcoat

[Aiden of Oreland]

I have made a surcoat. But that was out of scratch and I didn't follow any guide lines. I just, well, made it. I suppose many of you have crafted their own surcoats and tunics. How do I make one? A surcoat? What kind of stitching, how wide should I make it? How long? What parts of my body do I measure? Pretty much a step by step instructions. I tried searching and looking it up but I could never find anything on the matter. Could you help me? Oh and how to make like a flag or pennant would be cool too. Ones that could be displayed out side or at a SCA event.

[Sir Douglas]

There's a .pdf file here that might help you out. I haven't tried the instructions yet (though I plan to...eventually), but they seem pretty thorough.

[Ian]

There's a .pdf file here that might help you out. I haven't tried the instructions yet (though I plan to...eventually), but they seem pretty thorough.

Yes, you can't beat anything Tasha Kelly (the person behind La Cotte Simple) puts out.  She's the person who developed the pattern for my arming doublet as well.  She does some of the best medieval garment reproduction there is.

[Aiden of Oreland]

Wow! This is actually amazing. Plus Im a visual learner so this is just perfect! Im also excited because I am slowely about to come up with a heraldic design. A green secondary on a white/silver surface. A ranpant stag holding a shield under his fore arms. Maybe place beach leaves in there. Though, my surcoat is likely to be a quartered design with a head of an elk/stag/buck on one sqaure and two chevrons on the other. But the question is, what should the background behind the stag head be? And what should the background and chevrons be?

[Sir Brian]

Have you decided then upon a specific period for your harness? – I ask because whichever period you have chosen would also help determine the style of surcoat you are making. Surcoats were of the long variety up until the early 14th century when the front part became shorter, around mid-thigh and the back remained long although not as long has the previous centuries. By the battle of Crecy both the front and back were shorter and eventually were the length as Sir Ian’s.

[Aiden of Oreland]

14th-15th century but for now im going to hold back making making one. For I am not fully grown. Plus I may have a change of heart. Plus it will be german.

[Ian]

14th-15th century but for now im going to hold back making making one. For I am not fully grown. Plus I may have a change of heart. Plus it will be german.

By the 15th century surcoats pretty much go out of style.  They change drastically over the course of the 14th century, so if you can narrow down to a decade or two, that would determine the type of surcoat you would wear.

[Aiden of Oreland]

14th-15th century but for now im going to hold back making making one. For I am not fully grown. Plus I may have a change of heart. Plus it will be german.

By the 15th century surcoats pretty much go out of style.  They change drastically over the course of the 14th century, so if you can narrow down to a decade or two, that would determine the type of surcoat you would wear.

Could you show me examples of 14th century German surcoats?

[Ian]

Don't think of centuries as culturally isolated from one another.  It's just a convenient way to tell time, nothing more.  So the 14th century is not a cohesive unit of time that has cultural similarity within itself, and thus distinguishes itself from the 13th or 15th centuries.  Rather, cultural changes happen on their own time, and often happen over the span of decades, not centuries.  That was a really long way for me to say that styles change rapidly within one century and are not the same or even similar throughout

Anyways... for the beginning of the 14th century you're looking at a long ankle-length surcoat like this:


In general, during the middle of the century, you're looking at the surcoat getting shorter (just above knee length) like these:




By the later parts of the 14th century, the Germans, much like the French and English have gone to the Jupon, which is still a 'surcoat' but it's very tightly fitted and very short (ignore the cape he has on):


The 'Cyclas' style surcoat, or the short in the front, long in the back style doesn't really seem to be a thing in Germany, but it was definitely big in England during the 1340's.

[Sir Douglas]

Don't think of centuries as culturally isolated from one another.  It's just a convenient way to tell time, nothing more.  So the 14th century is not a cohesive unit of time that has cultural similarity within itself, and thus distinguishes itself from the 13th or 15th centuries.  Rather, cultural changes happen on their own time, and often happen over the span of decades, not centuries.  That was a really long way for me to say that styles change rapidly within one century and are not the same or even similar throughout

Agreed. It's a natural human quirk to want to "compress" time the farther back you go; it's hard to fully grasp how long a century really is, and how much change can take place in that amount of time.

When I start losing track or getting confused, I like to think of our own recent history: the 20th century. To say that blue jeans and t-shirts was the fashion for the entire 20th century would be silly, especially to anyone who was around in the 1940s and 1950s. Compare an American World War I soldier to an American Vietnam soldier to an American Gulf War soldier. It's still all 20th century, but they all have their differences and similarities. It just helps put things in perspective a little bit.

[Aiden of Oreland]

How about 13th century examples? Also while on the subject, could you give me some example of "soft" clothing styles? So I can have more than just armor but also middle-upper class clothing.

[Sir Patrick]

Excellent example, Douglass!  Even the differences in a WW1 kit and a WW2 it are huge and they aren't that far apart time-wise. Makes me rethink trying to stretch my kit's time frame.

[Sir Wolf]

How about 13th century examples? Also while on the subject, could you give me some example of "soft" clothing styles? So I can have more than just armor but also middle-upper class clothing.

ok thats a start

now, where? england? italy? german area? etc?
early or late 13th c?

[Aiden of Oreland]

How about 13th century examples? Also while on the subject, could you give me some example of "soft" clothing styles? So I can have more than just armor but also middle-upper class clothing.

ok thats a start

now, where? england? italy? german area? etc?
early or late 13th c?

Germany, and I'm sorry if I keep asking it by century, I am asking for a timline almost. So I can see all my options in that century.

[Ian]

Try doing some of the research for yourself, it can be very rewarding.  Go to a site like http://effigiesandbrasses.com/.  Click on the search tab and enter the years you're interested in, then select 'Germany' and try to look at the trends you notice in the results.  You can also look at the site http://manuscriptminiatures.com/ and run the same search to see period artwork.