The Trouble With Tabards

Much before I was ever interested in heraldry, somebody else had made a tabard for our barony. I was told it was cotton, but it was textured and felt like polyester. It retained heat like polyester. It was scratchy like bad polyester. And it had little duck footprints all over it, big old crossed horns of herald on the chest, and shoulder caps that were as big as dining room curtains.

I hated wearing it, and Suzanne didn't blame me. She didn't make me wear it if I didn't feel like it. The previous herald had a bad habit of constantly forgetting it at home, so she said she wanted to keep it in her Baroness Box with all the other things that were brought out for court. Somewhere along the way the tabard was lost. I swear, it wasn't me. I don't have it, I handed it back to her at the end of every event.

During midnight madness of Pennsic 2016 I bought some blue linen intending to make a new tabard. But since I had no idea what I was doing, I also got some blue cotton fabric at Joanns to make a trial run tabard that I wouldn't be afraid of screwing up.

I then went to the internet! I asked in the court heralds facebook group if people would show me what their baronial tabard looked like. I also got some comments/advice saying the baronial device should be on the front, not the herald symbol. If I wanted those, it wasn't necessary, but I could put them on the sleeve caps.

So I measured myself and made the tabard base a little bigger so it would fit the average person, but not fall off me. Great. Then I borrowed Slaine's light box and traced the duck and wreath onto the white and yellow fabric. Fantastic! I got out my iron and used fusible webbing to iron on the device. (#$&@^^#$&*%($))!!!! Gah! That stuff doesn't like me. Oh well, I did my best. It held on well enough.

I finished it in time for Pennsic. Luckily the webbing held on long enough to last through that. I got some feedback that the wreath should be more circular and it and the duck should be bigger. So after Pennsic I figured out how to undo it. Basically iron it again and peel it up while it's hot. I made a new duck and wreath and battled the fusible webbing again. Not perfect, but it did look much better.

The leaves were peeling off and the webbing was winning the battle. But I had learned basic embroidery and applique, so I blanket stitched the whole thing down.

I think at this point I would be able to make the linen tabard, but of course I put the fabric in a safe spot and I have no idea where that is! So I've handed this tabard off to the next baronial herald and she says it fits her perfectly, so I guess that's the official one for now.