#cato the yarnier

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

A wild Cato the Yarnier appears! He is cranky and judgmental!

Cato is not happy that I stitched up his stomach wound...and the rest of him, really...and made him wear boxers. Like some kind of barbarian.

Cato the Yarnier is made out of crochet. His body is based on the AmiguruME doll pattern, but I had to improvise his toga.

First I made a flat circle in double crochet stitch, and gave it a purple edging. Then I folded it in half and draped it like a real toga, and marked where the corners overlapped. A couple of sew-in snaps hold the toga in place at its corners, while letting it be removable.

This isn't quite historically accurate. Real togas are woven, not crocheted, and are made of wool that can hold itself in place with its own weight. The hem should also fall nearer his ankles, and the shape might be wrong, but this is the best I could do with worsted-weight (medium) yarn on hand.

Still, I'm really happy with how he turned out. Tomorrow I'll get him a doll stand so he can judge my life choices and glower at modern technology more comfortably.

#it's been a while since i did amigurumi. i'd forgotten how satisfying it is! #cato the younger #cato the yarnier #amigurumi #crochet #art #jlrrt speaks

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

A wild Sewpronia appears! She's here to kick ass and trans gender!

Sewpronia is a gallus, a devotee of Magna Mater from ancient Rome. The galli originated in what's now Turkey - or maybe Greece, or Mesopotamia. They arrived in Rome during the Second Punic War, after a prophecy declared the Romans couldn't win without the help of Magna Mater.

Galli were assigned male at birth, but they dressed femininely. They may have been what we'd now call transfeminine, nonbinary, or a "third gender" in Roman society: "They say they are not men...they want to pass as women," as Firmicus Maternus said.

It's always messy to use modern identities for ancient cultures. But for our purposes, Sewpronia is a trans gal. Her name is a pun on Sempronia the conspirator from Bellum Catilinae, because every woman needs to commit a little treason sometimes.

Her white and purple tunic, yellow shoes and makeup come from a description of the galli in Apuleius' Metamorphosis, the black and bronze jewelry are based on a gallus' grave found in northern England, and her long bleached hair follows the description in Robert Turcan's The Cults of the Roman Empire. Underneath, she has a strophium (bra/chest wrap) and subligaculum (loincloth).

Roman women wore this bikini-like outfit when exercising, as shown in this Sicilian mosaic:

The galli had a curious place in Roman society. Men who were seen as too effeminate were looked down upon, and being compared to a gallus was typically an insult. I'm also not sure whether Roman citizens could become galli, or only non-citizens could, or if this changed over time. But everyone accepted that there was a place for the galli and their goddess in Rome - even Cato wouldn't have disputed that!

Please excuse any historical inaccuracies or poor styling choices I made - and send me any good sources on the galli you know so I can learn more! In the meantime, I'm going to make Sewpronia more cute outfits. She appreciates them much more than Cato the "shoes are modern decadence" Yarnier.

Sewpronia and Cato are based on Allison Hoffman's AmiguruME doll pattern. Happy Trans Day of Visibility, everyone!

#sewpronia #cato the yarnier #crochet #galli #gallus #trans day of visibility #trans #queer history #jlrrt speaks

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Current project: Crocheting an ancient Roman gal to befriend/annoy Cato the Yarnier. I'm trying to figure out how to best portray a lady's tunic. It's essentially a rectangle of fabric, folded horizontally and seamed down one side to form a tube, with pins placed along the top to form holes for the neck and sleeves:

A belt under the bust or around the waist provides support, and makes for a cute silhouette. Plus, this style is easy to alter for different body shapes - important in an era when all fabric took hours to make by hand!

However. I'm note sure whether to make the tunic a separate piece, or use color changes on the doll's body. It's hard to capture the drape of a tunic in crochet. But removable pieces = more wardrobe fun, and more accurate to a real tunic's construction. So before I make the new doll, I wanted to try making a tunic piece.

Fortunately, I already have a model. Unfortunately, he does not appreciate my mission.

#cato the yarnier #crochet #jlrrt speaks

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

The things I do to try to make a historically inaccurate miniature toga that does not occasionally flash us Cato the Yarnier's equally inaccurate boxers.

(Above: Knitting thread on 4 needles, as opposed to the worsted-weight crochet toga he currently has. I'm testing to see if I can make a fabric that drapes better.)

#knitting #cato the yarnier #jlrrt speaks #just roman memes