The Druid Priestess Robe and Tabard

Today i received in my email box pictures of the robe and tabard that i have been making over the last few weeks, which you can see a post about the beginnings of in Robes not Sacks. I have decided to call it the Druid Priestess Robe and Tabard given how wonderful Joanne who is a Druid Priestess, looks in it.  Joanne also became a Grandmother this March Full Moon. 

 

I am always impressed when I sew a shiny type fabric as an accent to a non-shiny cotton fabric.  It lends a richness to the entire outfit and gives it some sort of edge.. or something.. I noticed this years ago when I was making fabric bunnies with frilly dresses, from cream calico, which is a pretty plane fabric, but if i sewed cream satin ribbon on it, it always looked much fancier.  This time I have used a shot sort of silk, that is the turquoise blue of the dress and the royal blue of the tabard, neat ey? Especially as it was stuff I had laying around in my fabric box.. most excellent!!  *beams*

I was also totally stoked at how this Druid Priestess Robe and Tabard came out.  Both fit well and are not sack like in the least, which to my mind, is as it should be for ritual wear, especially if you are playing with others.  OK so it doesn't really matter if you are playing with others but, I am a little over ritual robes being little more than sacks with arms or some weird sort of medieval fantasy frock, not that I have anything against medieval clothing but there is a time and place. I am more drawn to modern style robes, with influences from fantasy and medieval sure, but also something that could be warn every day, something that is comfortable to wear, something that you can wear down the street without people starring as often happens when wearing medieval garb. Something that would almost blend in.  I have been thinking about for quite some time.  Anyway back to the Priestess Druid Robe and Tabard *points below*

 The Back of the Tabard with the Goddess and Moon,the way the moon is here in NZ would be a New Moon.  This moon thing is something I was in Canada last year, the moon there was upside down!  It was quite weird but it does mean that the traditional triple moon/goddess symbol --> )o(  for the southern hemisphere  would look like --> (o)  just as a side note.  

 Also the fabric I used for the Goddess and this bag is a New Zealand craft print and shows various types of traditional weaving, which is often used in making Kete a traditional woven bag, so it is appropriate that I used it to make a bag yes? 

For the Awen symbol that I sewed onto the tabard,  is appliquéd using a gold print craft fabric that I have used on three other tabards, see pictures below they are the green ones.  the three awens are made from NZ craft print and is a print of the ocean, which suited our Druid Priestess well as she loves blue and I believe the ocean.  The three dots, drops of inspiration are paua shell buttons, a nice touch I believe.  The trick to good appliqué is iron on stiffener, and not the expensive stuff but the cheap stiffer stuff, as it holds the fabric nicely, especially when sewing it on with an ordinary sewing machine 

 

 Awen Symbol appliqué that i have made

Another Awen Symbol appliqué that i have made

 Here for your viewing pleasure,  is a close up for the back with the Goddess and Moon.  I edged both of these in dark brown cause I thought that black would be a weird combination given the colour of the fabric for the Goddess herself.  it came out rather well. 

All in all, I have to say that i am very proud of how this Druid Priestess Robe and Tabard turned out and I feel very privileged to of being asked to make it for Joanne, who is just as wonderful as the photos show.  

There is a certain magic to sewing like most crafts.  In our family we have always been crafty one way or another, and I could always tell the jumpers that my mother knitted to that of other peoples or commercially knitted jumpers. And now that I think about it the bits that my grandmother knitted as well.  I once had a jumper that was knitted by both my mother and grandmother,  now that was pretty awesome!! I used to tell my friends that it was love, and in away that is true, but there is also a certain kind of magic that goes into knitting and sewing, a certain crafting you could say>  It sets these clothes a part form all the rest.  

I hope to that I have managed to imbue this Druid Priestess Robe and Tabard with the same type of intent and energy that both my Mother and Grandmother did when they were making stuff.  Especially as our Druid Priestess will be spending the next three or four months travelling around Europe, and attending the OBOD summer meeting at Glastonbury, where I am told all the other Druids where White!!