Under Tunic

Under tunic, or men's smock, made out of 100%  linen, hand sewn with the "seam and fell" method with split sides. 

I found a second article written by Carol Priest-Dorman in 1997, titled “Viking Tunic Construction“, also written for the Eastern Kingdom. In the section where she was discussing making of the under tunic/men’s smock, she writes this about constructing them to allow movement; “side seams: slit, especially for men's smocks (definitely known from tenth- and eleventh-century Denmark); straight (definitely known from Migration Era Denmark); and straight with triangular gores inserted (definitely known from ninth- and tenth-century Sweden and tenth- and eleventh-century Denmark). Women's smocks and gowns almost always require gores. Men's riding coats require gores in order to achieve the fullness of skirt that is needed to ride a horse while wearing the coat; gores are optional on tunics and probably not needed on jackets. Men's smocks can have slit sides for greater freedom of movement.”

I chose to use do oversewing on all my seams and then a hem stitch to tack down the seam allowance, making it a very solid and secure felled seam. I learned of this specific technique in the Medieval Tailor’s Assistant, by Sarah Thursfield, 2001, on page 44,when she discusses seams and sewing. In her book she states, “1. Oversewing (top-sewing, seaming) For joining selvedges or folded edges on all kinds of material. If worked neatly and near the edge it will open out flat without the need for pressing. For each stitch, push the needle through only one or two threads away from the edge. Keep the stitches close together. When the seam is complete, flatten the stitches with your thumb or index finger nail. Oversewing should not be confused with overcasting, which is worked wide and loose over a raw edge to prevent it fraying.”