- A 16th century Venetian courtesan -
Red Stolas
updated ?
I made this red Roman stola for the Knowne World Courtesans' Bacchanal at Pennsic 2017. I actually made a palla to go with it, but it was so warm I left it in the tent.
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I believe the fabric was Sew Classic Knit Slub Knit Jersey in Tango Red, which I got from Jo-Ann. It's 95% polyester and 5% spandex, and I chose it purely for the drape.
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The first step was sewing the ends together to make a tube. Per advice I found on Google, I sewed the zigzag seam with a piece of tissue paper on top of the fabric. This resulted in me having a very difficult time pulling out the bits of paper from the seam (I don't think they're all out yet and it's been washed multiple times!) I stopped the seam just far enough from the upper edge to make space for my upper arm to fit through. Then I cut that same distance down about 40 inches across from the seam in the back. This left a wider panel in the front, which creates the cowl neckline.
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I wanted to find buttons with gold stags on them (the KWC symbol is the Hart of Gold) but I wasn't really happy with anything I found. I ended up settling for these buttons from Amazon. I placed the buttons across the top of the stolla, spacing them about 5 inches apart (with a 20 inch gap in the center front to form the neckline, vs about 10 inches in the center back), to form the sleeves. And that's basically it! The great thing about the fabric I used is that I didn't have to hem any of the edges.
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With it I wore one of my red chiffon veils, gold cord from Jo-Ann for a belt, a phoenix medallion (a Warehouse 13 replica - I was brain dead and couldn't figure out how else to make my belt hang right), earrings made by me (replicas of Met Museum accession number 20.235), and a violet wreath made by me using floral wire, floral tape, and fake ivy from craft stores, and violets from the APinkSwan shop on Etsy. My other jewelry was thrifted.
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You can see in the photo above, for my friend Lady Héloise de Bruyères' apprenticing ceremony at Ymir 2018 I swapped the medallion with one of my Viking turtle brooches from RareCrafts on Etsy. It wasn't until after that event that I figured out how to get the belt to lay the way I wanted it to: tie it at the waist in the back, bring both ends around to the front, then tie it loosely so that it hangs properly (which seems rather obvious in retrospect - ah well).
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Unfortunately the fabric didn't hold up after a few years of abuse - it became stretched out of shape in places and developed holes. For the 2022 Bacchanal I made a new one out of __. I made this one with loops for fibulae - just one on each shoulder, 5.75" in from the outer edge. I also left a slit in the side up to around my knee. I don't really like the drape, so it's back to the drawing board for 2023!
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Photo Gallery
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 Pennsic 2017 - just before going to the Bacchanal! The neckline should be cowl, not sitting way up there - whoops! |  On the road to Ymir 2018 - this time with the neckline laying properly. The necklace was commissioned by my friend Lady Héloise de Bruyères and made by Countess Rowan Berran McDowell. |  Pennsic 2019 - finally got the hang of the belt! |
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 Pennsic 2019 |  Pennsic 2019 |  July 2022 - Trying on the new one, with a strip of scrap fabric as a makeshift belt. |
 July 2022 - closeup of the top |  November 2022 - closeup of the top laid flat/folded back. Note that the front is wider than the back, to (attempt to) create the drape (didn't work so great) |  Pennsic 2022 - I discovered I really don't like the drape. I'll look for something else for next year. Photo by Beatrix Kelynghall |
 Pennsic 2022 Photo by Beatrix Kelynghall |  Pennsic 2022 Photo by Thomas de Winter |