Tasha wrote (of making clothes for dolls):
> When working with children it is easier to use felt for costumes.


and later:
> . . .Give them a simple pattern and show them how to use the
> overcast edge. Felt eliminates hems and doesn't fray. Granted the
> garments will be bulky and a little crude looking but I found that
> the children seldom care because it is something that they did
> themselves. Trims and decorations can be glued on. Once they get
> going and show an interest you can introduce them to regular fabric
> and sewing seams.

When I do kids' classes, I try to give them materials as close to the
real thing as possible. There are a number of reasons; three biggies
are (1) that most people are most comfortable working with what
they're accustomed to using, so by making their first experiences
authentic I make it more likely that they'll make authentic choices
in future, (2) if they learn the skills and tricks particular to and
develop instincts and expectations based on their experiences with
authentic materials, they won't have anything to unlearn when they
pick them up later, and (3) if they finish the project, in class or
at home afterward, they have something they can use at events that
"belongs" in the Middle Ages or Renaissance. (Of course, in this
case that will only apply if they're dressing plausible dolls, rather
than Ken and Barbie.)

Felt has its advantages, but working with it is very different from
working with woven fabric. You have to cut and handle it
differently, and (as Tasha mentioned) the finished product hangs and
drapes very differently. Woven wool that has been fulled, on the
other hand, also doesn't fray, and it was used for clothing in period
(like the Boksten tunic <http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/
garments/bocksten/bocksten.html>, for instance). You can seam it
right-sides-together using an overcast or running stitch (or a
variety of other documented stitches <http://heatherrosejones.com/
archaeologicalsewing/wool.html>) without making your seams
excessively bulky. And you end up with something that looks like a
real medieval kid might have made it from scraps around the house.

Woven wool is also cheaper than wool felt, and more likely to be
available for free in the form of scraps from grown-up SCAdians'
clothes- and accessories-making projects. If it's not already fulled
when you get it, running it through the washing machine with a hot
wash and cold rinse is usually sufficient.


Coblaith Muimnech
Barony of Bryn Gwlad
Kingdom of Ansteorra
<mailto:Coblaith@...>
<http://coblaith.net>