Chitons and Tunicas

By Baroness Sibella Denton Greek • The is a flattering, comfortable and lightweight garment worn by both men and women. There are a number of versions of it: – Roman Tunica (aka: Ionic chiton) – Doric – slimmer than the ones I wear, and only pinned with fibulae at the shoulder. Normally not sewn on the sides; worn by men and women (warriors often wear shorter ones). Belted; can have simple belts or complex belting.

• A is basically a chiton with a deep upper fold; it is always attached with brooches or fibulae. – The upper fold is handy when it comes to hip length if your chiton is fairly sheer.

• The is an outer garment worn OVER the right shoulder and UNDER the left arm.; it is always rectangular (unlike a , which was often shaped). Chitons Peplos Doric Chiton Man’s short tunica with short sleeves Ionic Tunica Doric Chiton Himation Fibulae Fabric choice

• preferred wool as a main garment because it takes dyes well. Contrary to popular images they weren’t swanning around in white all the time. They did have linen, but it wasn’t dyed. It was indeed white. • Linen is my preference for every day clothes, for ease of use and because we live in Meridies. Modern dyed linen gives you the look. • I have seen some argument for silk, first used outside of China in about 1000 AD (in Egypt at that time, in a Princess’s tomb) COLOR!! Construction • Himation: a large (often VERY large) rectangle. I have seen many folks use very light silk for this and it looks amazing. • Doric chitons should be made of two rectangles. The front one should be half your largest body measurement plus 10”. The back should be half your body measurement plus 2”. You can seem the sides, or not; they may not have done so, but I do because I don’t want any Janet Jackson at the superbowl moments. • Length: to preference. Some of mine are very long, and some are shorter. Most of mine, with a minor drape at he waist, hit my ankles. Construction of the Ionic

• Choose your length. • Short sleeve garments should be should be made of two rectangles. The front one should be AT LEAST half your largest body measurement plus 10”. The back should be AT LEAST half your body measurement plus 2”. • However, you should look at how long you want your sleeves to be, and that can be your width measurement. For example, you can just make it however wide the fabric is. But always, always: the front panel for women should be at least 10” wider than the back. For men, they should be at least 6” wider. Construction of the Ionic Tunic • You will have two rectangles the same length but not the same width. This is important. • For the peplos style: You will need to use a seem finishing technique like French seams or the like so that the side seam is finished inside and out. I find that this technique is useful for other seams as well. • Seam the sides all the way up and down. • Finish the bottom of the resulting tube with a folded seam. Construction of the Ionic Tunic

• For the peplos style: finish the edge with a folded seam inside out. • For the other styles, finish the top edge with a folded seam • Then, tack the garment together at the shoulders , pulling the back tight across the shoulders and, in front, lining up the ends of the sleeves and leaving the extra fabric width to V at the center. (I prefer to sew it permanently.)