A Mamluk Inspired Tunic – Rafi al-Qasid

East Kingdom Wiki: https://wiki.eastkingdom.org/index.php?title=Rafi_al-Qasid

I hand sewed a linen tunic with linen Tiraz bands and used cotton thread to sew and embroider a tunic modeled after a tunic and pattern I found on the Ashmolean Museum of Oxfords Website (Ellis).

My goal was to make a simple tunic that would be persona appropriate. I tried to make it the general shape of the on the right, but in my size. I chose to do a different style of Neck opening due to the fact that I do not particularly like wearing Deep V necks.  The extant example is believed to be a child’s tunic due to the size of it. However I chose to use this as an example because it was one of the best cited  examples I was personally able to find that was still a complete finished piece. The original is from Egypt some time between 1250-1517. Believed to be from the area of Fustat. The original was constructed from linen and the embroidery is done in a combination of silk and flax thread. It was made using smaller pieces of fabric that were joined with run and fell stitches but the source claims the adult versions would have been made on a larger loom and would have been woven from cuff to cuff. So I made mine in that style as the only seam is the sides and where I attached the Tiraz bands.   I made the Tunic then Embroidered the Tiraz bands and then attached them to the tunic. Due to the fact that I was not confident in my ability and If I made a catastrophic mistake on the Bands I did not want to ruin the whole tunic. 

Full documentation here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gX-osqzR3zAelNXGgwEjRROg0ciq7fDibtwgDy3nVt8/edit?usp=drivesdk