[ANSTHRLD] Award dimensions

[C.L. Ward]

>Meantime, for woven ribbons it suggests Stars of Merit
>be 20" long, Centurian for 18", Iris at 24-30".

The thing with the Iris is that varying costumes can cause a need for more
length.  Voluminous late period sleeves, for example, need a longer ribbon.

It's also good to note that at least on the Iris there is some "variation by
persona" available, too.  Mistress Eimilie has one that is actually woven
plaid, but the cross pattern is a very subtle, muted color, and the rainbow
bands still show boldly.  Mine is very wide, 4" or so, and woven more like a
scarf -- it has to be bigger if it's going to compete with all the Viking
jewellry.

Another thing I've noted over the years -- when the Iris was first
introduced, we always made it with a type of commercial ribbon that is no
longer available, which had a thin line of metallic gold between the rainbow
colors and on the edges.  This was explained to me as the colors
representing the arts and skills of the artisan being honored with the
award, bound together by service and dedication to the arts represented by
the gold.

The original Irises also had a "cockade", formed of three short loops of
ribbon near the ring or brooch, another feature which has been lost over
time.

::GUNNORA::