Ah, Pennsic, every SCAdian's favorite time of year. You can always count on having a wonderful time. . . if you are prepared. Anyone who has been to Pennsic knows how hot it can get. Therefore, if you are a first timer, it is important to follow the advice of those who have been to Pennsic before. One of the things I was told before I left for my first Pennsic was that with all the walking you'll do in the heat, it's very easy to get heat rash on your inner thighs. It is really painful and once you get it there is pretty much nothing you can do to make it go away until the end of the war. They told me the best thing to do was wear knee-length biker shorts, the kind you might wear to an aerobics class.

At my first Pennsic I quickly discovered something: I hate wearing bike shorts at Pennsic. They are too tight and constrictive, plus they are usually made of some blend of cotton and polyester which is terribly hot material not meant for wear in the summer sun and heat. So I came up with a solution: Pennsic bloomers!

Pennsic bloomers are basically just long shorts cut to fit in all the important places to prevent the friction that causes the heat rash-I don't care how skinny you are, your thighs will rub together in Pennsic's heat, and if you get heat rash you will be hating life! With a few simple measurements, these will take care of that problem. But first, let's take a quick look at medieval underwear, known as braies, in period.

Braies in Period

Most of the evidence available on underwear in period is from paintings showing men working in the fields in their braies or of Christ hanging on the cross in his undies. This is actually very helpful--I have a friend who has done some extensive research and experimentation with braies and she came up with a construction method that I think is probably extremely close to how they would have been constructed in early period (Please click here for a very clear drawing of what braies would look like on the wearer, both with and without chausses, the stockings men wore over them).

Early braies were constructed from a huge amount of material, though over time they began to become smaller until they looked a bit like Speedos, as you can see in the pictures below:

Braies and other undergarments protected the outer garments from skin oils and kept them cleaner longer--the undergarments could be changed and/or washed more often than the more costly outer garments. It seems that braies were a men's undergarment, and I have yet to come across any pictures showing women wearing braies. However, I don't really even need to go into the biology of why it's probably safe to assume women wore some version of them. I have gotten into quite a few discussions with folks who believe women did not wear anything below the waist, so I won't get too far into that here. It's my personal opinion that women probably did wear some kind of undergarment below the waist, and that it's not too far a stretch to say that they may have worn something very similar to men's braies. The purpose of this section was to simply explain what period braies would have looked like-I make no claim that Pennsic bloomers are up to period specifications and they are meant to be unisex.

Design and Materials

The way I construct my Pennsic bloomers, they tend to look something like the picture in the middle above, except they are quite a bit longer and roomier. Note: I do not claim that the method I use to make the bloomers is a period method of construction. A good site to check out if you are interested in constructing braies that are a lot closer to the ones worn in period is this one:

http://www.bumply.com/Medieval/braies.htm

My design is based on the design for period braies on this site, except I use quite a bit less fabric and smaller measurements, so the bloomers are probably a bit more close fitting.

As far as materials, you will need fabric, thread, and something to hold the bloomers up such as a drawstring or elastic. I suggest using one of the sturdier muslins to make bloomers--they are relatively cheap and they tend to be pretty light and airy. Linen is a good choice if you want to use a more period material, but it is considerably more expensive and can be a bit hotter to wear since it tends to be of a heavier weight than cotton fabrics. Personally, I wear the bloomers year-round with my garb and tend to choose muslin for the ones I wear at Pennsic, while I'll choose to use linen for events at other times of year. While these only take a few yards of fabric to make, it's usually a good idea to buy extra in case you need to experiment. If you have a huge amount left over anyway, you can just make more bloomers, as you'll need more than one pair to get you through Pennsic. As always, make sure to prewash your fabric before you cut it. To hold the bloomers up, I prefer to use 1-inch wide elastic if they are meant to be worn at Pennsic. Okay, so commercial elastic is not period, but guess what? The last thing I want to do if I need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night is fumble with a drawstring. Elastic just makes life at Pennsic much easier. A fingerloop-braided or lucet cord for a drawstring seems much more reasonable at other events. However, personal preferences are important so the choice of materials is totally up to the maker.

Measurements

The most important step in making Pennsic bloomers is taking the measurements. Of course, you will need a tape measure, a pencil and paper. The basic measurements you will need to take are as follows:

• Hips - Wrap the tape measure loosely around your hips. Add 4-6 inches to this measurement.
• Length - Measure from your waist to however long you want the bloomers to be. I usually like them to come down a few inches below the knee. Add a few inches too allow for the casing at the top for the drawstring or elastic.
• Around thigh - Wrap the tape measure around your upper thigh at its widest point. Add extra inches. You definitely don't want the legs of the bloomers to be too tight around your thighs as it is just plain uncomfortable.
• Front crotch - For this and the next measurement, it's best to wear a pair of closefitting pants while taking the measurement. Measure from the waistband to the crotch seam of your pants. Add extra inches, including a few extra for the casing at the top.
• Back crotch - Measure from the waistband to the crotch seam of your pants again, this time in back. You may want to also take this measurement while you are sitting down to make sure you allow yourself enough room. As before, add extra inches, including a few extra for the casing at the top.

Now that you have your measurements written down, you are ready to move on to the next step.

Construction

This "pattern" consists of four rectangles of fabric: two large pieces that form the legs and main body of the garment, and two smaller pieces that act as gussets to allow room in the crotch and seat. The first thing you are going to want to do is take your pre-washed fabric, fold it in half and spread it out on a flat surface. You are going to want to look at the measurements you took for your hips and around your thigh to figure out how wide you need to make the two large pieces. It may take a bit of eyeballing to get what you think is the measurement that will allow the most comfort. Remember, measure twice, cut once! Also, when in doubt, add even more inches on--you can always cut more fabric off, but you can't add it on. Moving on, once you've figured out how wide to make your two large pieces, mark the width you just came up with and the length measurement you took earlier with chalk. Cut out the two large pieces (by folding your fabric in half you'll be cutting your two large pieces at once--this saves time).

Now you will basically do the same thing with your two small pieces, though it's better to do this on fabric that isn't folded since once piece will be longer than the other. Measure out the two crotch measurements and mark with chalk. For the width of these pieces, I usually say to make them about eight inches wide. You may want to make them wider or narrower depending on your body type, but you'll probably have plenty of room anyway due to the extra inches added to your hip and thigh measurements. Again, you'll need to do some eyeballing, and add more inches if you feel you need to! Once you are satisfied with the width you came up with, mark it on your fabric with chalk and cut out your two smaller pieces.

The larger pieces should now be folded in half lengthwise. You may want to hold the larger pieces up to yourself just to double check that they are the right size to fit you. You should now have four pieces of fabric as mentioned before, like this:

Now you are ready to sew. Take the small piece that will belong in front of the garment and one of your large pieces. Pin one side of the small piece to the side of the large piece and sew. Take your other large piece and pin the side of the small front piece and sew. Now do the same with the slightly larger back piece and sew. You should now have basically a big ring of fabric with two big tabs (the legs) hanging down. Pin the bottoms of the two crotch pieces together and move down the inside of the legs, pinning as you go. Sew these pinned edges together. What you'll have then should look like a really big pair of shorts with a square crotch like in the drawing below (seams are marked in red):

Now hem the legs and make a casing around the top for the drawstring or elastic. Feed the drawstring or elastic through the casing (sew casing shut if using elastic) and you are finished! Now you can turn out as many pairs of as these as you need for Pennsic!

Bibliography

Snyder, James. Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, The Graphic Arts From 1350 to 1575. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Inc., 1985.

"Circa: 1265 Braies Information." Online. http://www.bumply.com/Medieval/braies.htm. Accessed 17 November 2002.

"Kongshirden 1308 : Akershus." Online. http://steel.laiv.org/kjertesveinene/drakt/hoser/index.html. Accessed 17 November 2002.