I don’t think I’ve blogged about my Trunk Views yet, but after lots of thinking and some experimentation, the Views are turning into a Project, so it’s time.

Views: Peasants and lesser nobles should be able to live out of a trunk, right?  Houses were small, people might have been very mobile.  Certainly we in the SCA are very mobile.  And She With Few Things is likely to be rewarded with a lower gasoline bill, particularly when she lives Back of Beyond.  (8 hours to Kingdom A&S, 7 hours to RUM.)

So I thought about using a trunk to move around my stuff.  First I tried using my husband’s GI trunk, which I can lift empty, or filled with spinning fiber, but is too big and bulky to carry any sort of distance.  I thought about putting wheels on it, but most places we put on demos or hold events don’t have enough paving to make it worthwhile, and appropriate big wheels (which would look very period) take up a lot of space in the car.

Then I tried a cheap footlocker that Eoin and Theodora rescued from Flee the Dorms day.  I can just barely carry this one, so it’s fine for demos (and trunks are great for demos because they make great side tables), but for traveling it gets too heavy, and it’s really too big.  I don’t need THAT much stuff for an event.

So then I thought about some variation on a soft-sided duffel bag, but homemade so it looked less modern, and so I could customize it with my name, colors and device.  I used a pair of duffels in highschool for dance and swim stuff, and I could live out of those for quite a while, and carry them through miles and miles of airports.  So that’s the direction I’m headed.

Being that I’m planning on going to Pennsic 2008, I also need to size these SoftTrunks to the standard carryon bag allowance.  According to various airline websites that’s 22" x 14" x 9".  That’s just about the size of my torso, so I can put straps on it as a backpack.  That limits me to four, if I have to carry them all in one trip with no cart. 

(one on my back. one on my front.  one in each hand.  why, yes, combat controller husband has done some loadmaster duty.  this is yet another reason to stay in shape.)

So I’ve started designing a bag.  First I made a paper mockup of the space involved, so I can start thinking in the right scale.

Then I cut its lid.  I figure the best place for the zipper is just like a real trunk, about 1.5" down the sides, so you can lean hard on the ‘lid’ to get the zipper closed.

I tried out a pile of clothes in the paper SoftTrunk, and so far, so good.  Looks like I’ll be able to get four days of working class clothes (1 kirtle, 3 shifts, 1 court dress, 1 pair of shoes, hair stuff, toiletries) in a trunk.  I might be able to get one person’s feastgear in there too – but I won’t know that until I make a prototype that I can stuff.  That’s the next step.

Fortunately, I keep receiving various stashes of fabric, and several cuts are terrific heavy-duty dark gray/black.  One is even polyester upholstery – which has clear advantages for luggage, being lightweight and wonderfully strong, as well as non-absorbent.  So I think I’ll be making a fabric prototype soon.
——–update——
Had a fit of curiosity last night and threw together a 22" x 14" x 9" fabric box with lid.  The ‘four days of working clothes’ listed above are NO PROBLEM.  I could probably add feast gear for one, and a few other things, like an apron, or a light wrap, or another shift.  (I don’t have that many shifts yet – must make more shifts.)  Emptied the box and tried it out on my bedding – summer bedding fits, too.  Summer bedding = Sleep sack, mini pillow, cotton counterpane, wool throw.  So, if I make two of these, I’ll be set for these summer events at sites with bunks.  My Greet bag will tote around whatever project I’m working on.