Irish dress plus tartan attachment?

[Poof Bird]

Here I go again with my crazy projects!  I'm going to CRF in a few weeks, and I decided that I needed something other then my Lady Knight to wear.  I'm bringing my pirate, but the lady knight gear is too bulky and rather unrefined yet to parade places other then my home faire.  So, I got to thinking what was easy to pack, already finished, and pretty much ready to go, since I'm too busy to sew right now.

Came up with an idea.

My irish overdress, which is navy blue, white chemise with poofy sleeves.  I have always *loved* the ladies that wear their tartan on their backs, attached at the shoulders. 

Like so:





...I have some teal and brown plaid that I found in a dollar bin that I bought a few yards of a while back, and I happen to have a teal skirt already....lol

So yeah, I'm taking the overdress and using my teal and brown plaid ala that photo.  H/A?  lol, no way!!

My big question in this fartoolong entry is this:

I want to attach the plaid to my straps, but I'm not sure how to do that!  I want it to be detachable, so sewing is out.  Is there some sort of pin or device that one would use to do that?

Thanks in advance!!

- Poofie

[Angus]

How about using 2 small Pennanulars?

[Mairghread]

That piece of tartan is called an earasaid and is H/A for a later time period (17th-18thC highlands from what I have in my notes).  You will see a lot of them worn with irish dresses or kirtles at Faire.  Usually you pin them with two small brooches or kilt brooches, I have also seen people tie them with ribbon, or just knot the ends of the fabric around their bodice straps.
Here is a link on how to fold one
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Documents/earasaid.pdf

[peggyelizabeth]

During the renaissance, what is now known as a plaid (pronounced play'd) or an aerasaid (various spellings) was called a "Highland mantle" Mary, Queen of Scots was known to wear it when she visited the Highlands as a way of showing her solidarity with her people.

At this time, tartans were not standardized in the way we know today, with a specific pattern and set of colors being assigned to a specific clan, this happened later. Tartans were different based on the availability of dye stuffs, with women's tartans being largely the color of the undyed wool and the dyed wool left over after the men's were made. We know of 2 tartans that existed during the renaissance, one is the Lennox tartan, of which there is portrait evidence of the Countess of Lennox wearing a tartan mantle, the second, IIRC, is Ulster, a piece of which was found in a bog and carbon dated to the 1500s.

Typically, either a broach of some type, was used to fasten it to the bodice, or the two end could be tied together to wear it as a cloak.

Here's a great pdf of how to wear it:
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Documents/earasaid.pdf

[Poof Bird]

Thanks for the info!  I got some "kilt pins" from the fabric store and am gonna try those out.  I think they are wide enough to go all the way around the strap and hold the plaid in.

Appreciate the info!

[gem]

I want to thank you for posting that pic--I have 8 yards of 18" wide wool tartan that I  have been trying to figure out a way to drape for four years!!  I think that will help a lot.

So, what's pinned to her shoulders--is that like the corners of the width of the fabric?  And the rest of the length hangs down, with some tucked into the waist?

[peggyelizabeth]

Gen, you might want to try this style:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/images/sash.jpg

#4 would look really nice w/ 18" wide fabric. It's basically the same as above, but w/ less tartan. I've used a narrow belt to keep mine in place.