White Jade Design Int'l

The Timeless T Tunic
By Juru Biya/Jin Ming-Yue AKA Laurel Rockefeller

In 2003, this little Jurchen persona import from Calontir tackled the more familiar territory of Asian culture and history: reviewing a martial arts program, giving historical overviews in a little known area, and researching the Tang dynasty when mundanely my expertise is far more in 19th and 20th century China in efforts to sort through fact and fantasy. Knowing well the caliber of garb experts in Calontir, it is thus a more treacherous territory to tackle garb, even though I have sewn since I was tall enough to reach both machine and pedal on a sewing machine, the daughter of a gifted home economics teacher. Yet a new year means new risks and if I error for lacking the same level of expertise as the reader, I humbly apologize and will accept correction from those of more laurel (no pun intended with my mundane name) status. And so with this new year, it seems fitting to break away from Asia for just a moment and discuss a form of garb often taken for granted and just as easily underestimated: the T Tunic.

Ah yes, the T Tunic. The most classic garb form that even the most sewing challenged can usually successfully pull off. Yet it is a far more versatile technique than I think others guess. With a little sense of time and place, most eras and geographies can be pulled off, far more than the excellent SCA publication, "Forward Into The Past" details. Here's a little on how to adjust the T tunic to work for 3 common and uncommon persona applications.

Early to High Medieval Saxon: Think square and you're already there. The most T looking of T tunics ends up a very Saxon style. Cut both sleeves and body loose enough for comfort with very straight lines. If using a 45" fabric and therefore setting in a sleeve piece from elbow to wrist, simply cover the seam with some broad ribbon (embroidered style is preferred), repeat at the wrist, neck, and hem, and you are all set. Try hip to knee for men and mid calf (or t length) to floor for women, depending on if you are constructing an under-tunic or an over-tunic. A simple round or square neckline will work just fine. No lacing required. Pull over head, belt, and you're good to go!

11th-12th Century Norman: Think loose but tailored. Diagonals will give you the Norman look. Carefully plot your measurements with lots of wear ease in mind. You're using 1/4th of your measurements in the standard layout (see Forward In To the Past). Now add in your wear ease. I usually give about 4-7 inches beyond this minimum. So if your chest/bust measurement is 40, you would plot this minimum line from 14 to 17 inches from the center fold point across and at 2 inches below where your shoulder to fullest point of chest measurement would fall-you need that 2 inches for your underarm curve. Now plot your waist measurement using the same rules-for women it usually/often creates a diagonal line. You probably want a little less extra ease for the waist-so if you're giving yourself an extra 4 (which becomes 16 in the finished), you might try 3 (12" finished), especially if you are a woman. Now from the waist, draw a diagonal to the edge of your fabric-a less dramatic diagonal for women because the length from waist to hem is greater. For the under-tunic, cut similar to the Saxon, but from elbow to wrist, make a diagonal of about 2-3 inches total (remember that sleeve lengths will be actual). For the over-tunic, make this diagonal start from about 4 inches beyond the underarm curve and extend it down to about 15 to 24 inches or more at the wrist for women. Men's over-tunics have this same effect, but to a lesser degree. Norman belts will extend to the knee or below for women and either cord or ribbon works great.

Basic Chinese: You wouldn't think a T tunic could work here, but with a little extra work, the piecing still will suffice. I generally use a square, Saxonish cut for the under tunic, but with slightly shorter sleeves so they won't peak through-since Chinese used silks for warmth, the under tunic was not used as much for basic clothing. The cut here is very square, just like the Saxon, but instead of a pull over style, the Chinese used the frog buttons. Using a high, round neckline that traces the collar bone, cut the center front fold down to the hem and apply about 5 frogs for hip length or 7 for knee or floor length. Generally speaking, the lowest frog for women does not appear below the knee. Women usually wear a long, pull over under tunic dress beneath this buttoned over tunic while men wore only the top layer.

The style most people assume is Chinese was not worn by all Chinese until the Qing dynasty in the 17th century. That overlap and side closure is a distinctly JURCHEN/MANCHU style and was not worn by the Han or most other Chinese during SCA period.

And so you have it, in a nutshell, how to use the T Tunic for 3 different times and places. There are more, of course. I have found that pretty much every period, except Elizabethan, can be pulled off using the T Tunic. And of course for myself, I wear T tunic versions during the summer as mundane clothing and usually at night any time of the year. It really is a fundamental and practical garment.