Michigan Renaissance Festival - Shamrocks & Shenanigans

Playtron Outfits
Stacey and I went back to the Michigan Renaissance Festival yesterday. I've always wanted to go as a playtron. A playtron is a patron who dresses in costume, or garb, and plays a character even though they aren't a cast member of the faire. So, for the last month, Stacey and I have been researching period costume to make our own.

Kilt-ed!

Looking awesome!

I'm part Scottish, and have wanted a kilt for decades. I have a traditional small kilt on order from Got-Kilt made with MacQueen/MacQuien tartan. But it won't arrive until the end of September. For RenFest, I decided to make a great kilt, also known as the Breacan an Fhéilidh (belted plaid) or Féileadh Mòr (great plaid). The great kilt just barely makes it into the late English Renaissance represented by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. You see a lot of small kilts or fèileadh beag at festivals, but it wasn't created until the late 17th century, well outside the Elizabethan period.

Piper complete with
Féileadh Mòr, Brogan Tionndaidh,
and Cadadh 

English wool is very expensive, and you need eight to nine yards to make a great kilt. For this kilt I picked up some flannel from Joann Fabrics with a Gordon tartan pattern. Family tartan patterns are a recent development, they weren't formalized until the 19th century It's ok to use anything you want for a renaissance period kilt. Something with natural dye colors is best (browns, black, dark blue, etc.) bright synthetic dyes weren't available.

I made the shirt from unbleached muslin using a Simplicity pattern. I can sew a little, but haven't done much, so it took quite a while.

I still need to make shoes and hose. Brogan tionndaidh are shoes made from a piece of raw hide, drawn up over the foot, trimmed, punched with holes, and laced in place with raw hide thongs. They are the precursor to modern ghillie brogues. Rawhide boots up to the knee would be another option. Cadadh are sewn up kilt hose made out of the same material as the kilt. Since they aren't stretchy like knit socks, they need garters or raw hide thongs to hold them up.  Yesterday, I got by with black shoes and short black socks.

Stacey wanted to make something to go along with my kilt. There isn't a lot of information available about Scottish Highland women's clothing. Both men and women wore a leine - a long shirt. Women wore them full length, and men wore them to mid-thigh, the knee, or longer. Over the leine, went a corset, overdress, and an arisaid, - a simpler plaid, unbelted like a shawl, or belted like the men in a later period. 

Stacey started the day wearing her plaid over her shoulders but as it grew warmer, she tied it over one shoulder. 

Men in Kilts Competition!
On our way into the faire several women on the queen's court suggested I enter the men in kilts competition. They took the time to show me how to present myself to the queen.

Queen Elizabeth prepares to examine the contestants

It was quite a lot of fun. Queen Elizabeth encouraged us to demonstrate the proper kilt swish as we paraded about the stage. She had a kilt examination tool - a dental mirror with a telescoping handle. While examining each contestent she would make appreciative comments. Several contestants wore their kilts in the traditional "military" style and gave the ladies in the audience more entertainment than they bargained for. This was my first day in a kilt, so I chickened out and wore compression shorts. A couple of younger guys in USA flag kilts and a guy who looked like Wolverine in a kilt took the lead. One of the flag kilt guys wowed the ladies by yanking off his jockey shorts and twirling them in the air. He ended up winning.

The Ded Bob Sho

We always try to see the Ded Bob Sho. We stuck around after the performance to get a photograph.

Me, Ded Bob, Smug, and Stacey

Tired but happy rennies