Another Embroidery Challenge

This year I ran another Embroidery Challenge within my local SCA group; pre-1600 embroidery with an open theme.

The aim of the Challenge was to provide opportunities to display work in a low anxiety, non-competitive environment and hopefully inspire others to get excited about embroidery, with everyone welcome to participate regardless of experience or skill level.

I like to make tokens to recognise those people who put the work in and take part. These are the tokens for the latest Challenge. We had a fair turn out, given the busy time of year.

Following an informal class I taught in October, I have also announced a Freehand Challenge which will run into next year. The theme of that one is pre-1600 inspired embroidery done without a pattern or markings. It should be interesting to see how everyone finds it and discuss how it all went!

New shinies

 I recently bought some simple fibula for some ancient garb from my talented costumier friend Bhri. (I'm planning on making some hot weather friendly garb soon.)

I also got some pretty hand made pins for the period sewing kit that I use at demos.

She takes commissions too, so get in touch if you'd like to chat about having something made.

Maroon Balzo

 I recently finished this balzo. It was an easy make, but sewing all the little beads on took quite a long time.

Construction is relatively simple; make a long fabric tube big enough to go around your head and allow ease and add about an inch/2.5cm extra on each end (this is to allow for the end to be turned under).

Stuff the tube with fibrefill or pillow stuffing until it is moderately stiff but still flexible enough to bend around your head.

Turn the end of one end of the tube under and pin it over the other end, creating a donut shape. Pin securely. Try it on to make sure it fits. Adjust if necessary, and hand sew the opening securely closed.

Next, you are going to use the donut as a pattern for the lid. There are hats like this which are just the donut shape, but I prefer the covered sort to protect from scalp sunburn.

Using a large piece of wrapping paper or old sheet etc, cut out the rough shape of the donut leaving about 5cm extra all the way around. We are aiming to cut out a lid shape.

Put the lid shape toile over the donut to make sure it will fit, and that there is enough fabric to turn a hem under. Make any adjustments necessary and then cut out your fashion fabric.

Hand sew the 'lid' onto the donut, turning a hem under as you go. You don't want it drum tight; there should be a little bit of ease as the lid will sit against the back of your head/hair.

Add trims as desired.

This particular balzo was inspired by this portrait below:

'Portrait of a Lady with a G*psy' by the Italian School, 15th C

Image from: ://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/PORTRAIT-OF-A-LADY-WITH-A-GYPSY/05D83263A5F30FD8

Italian School, 15th Century | PORTRAIT OF A LADY WITH A GYPSY | MutualArt

But there are many similar ones to be seen in portraiture from the sixteenth century, including this one: 

Vincenzo Pagani (1490-1568) - Annunciation (1532) - Palazzo Ducale Urbino - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, image found via: //au.pinterest.com/pin/1337074878802655/

'Anguissola' Beaded Necklace

 I recently had the opportunity to celebrate a dear friend (who is now my Apprentice Sister!)

I decided to make a necklace inspired by the girl on the left of this lovely portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola.

Portrait of Three Children with a Dog by Sofonisba Anguissola

Image from: https://www.wikiart.org/en/sofonisba-anguissola/three-children-with-dog-1590

The beads are semi-precious (I can't remember if they are quartz or agate) strung on gold tiger tail wire with gold beads and crimps and a gold heart pendant. The clasp is bar and loop style, as I find that much easier to put on and off.

The necklace I made has more rounded beads. The inspiration piece has oval shaped beads which look a little smaller. The pendant also looks a little different, but it is not a bad match.

'Bunnies' Heraldic Device

I finished another heraldic device for the Baronial device banner a while ago. It has a felt base with applied felt on top.

I had a couple of tries at working the bunnies, with slips being my first idea. It was unsuccessful, and in the end I appliqued a bunny shaped felt base to add a bit of dimension, and then split stitched on top of it.

The central chevron was stitched in place and then gilt thread appliqued over the edges. The pink dots are guidelines for where ermines need to be embroidered.

I did the back legs of the bunny in a very pale grey to look a bit like shadow and add depth. I did a black outline for definition and added shiny black beads for eyes. I used smaller black beads for the centre parts of the ermines. They really catch the light.

The teeny cotton puffs came in a Christmas craft pack and I was just thrilled with them. 

Pinning and sewing another piece of felt on the back for extra stability (the banner gets rolled up).

The completed piece. I like how this one turned out.

Some of the banners from the Baronial Device Banner Project on display last year.

Adjusting an old chemise

I had major surgery a few months back and my recovery has been hampered by lingering chest infections so I haven't been able to do any major projects. I've been focused on maintaining a minimum of ten minutes of A&S activity a day.

One thing I did manage to do this week was to shorten an old chemise. I think I made it back in the early 2000s, and I rarely wear it because it is quite heavy fabric. I originally made it almost ankle length, which is a bit unmanageable. Any time I wear it I think 'I must alter this' and then I put it off or forget. 

It was only a very quick job because I hemmed it with the sewing machine, but I am really glad I managed to get this one small thing ticked off the to-do list after so long. Small wins!

The embroidery motif on this chemise is taken from Shorleyker's 'A Scholehouse for the Needle':

Crayola Washable Marker Experiment

For some years I have been using Frixion heat removable markers to transfer embroidery designs onto light coloured fabric with some success. I have also regularly used them in place of Tailors' Chalk. I've only had a couple of instances where the marker has stained the fabric. But I have heard that very cold temperatures can make the ink come back, and I put an embroidery in the freezer to confirm that it is true. So, I needed to find an alternative marker.

Crayola washable textas were recommended to me, so I purchased a pack and did a test run on a poly cotton blend fabric. All the inks washed out in a cold machine wash, so the next trial will be on linen.

The test panel before washing.

The test panel after a cold machine wash.

 

Wolf Head Heraldic Device for Baronial Device Banners

You might remember that my Barony has a banner device project where the registered heraldic devices of the populace are recorded in order of registration or moving to the Barony. Well, I've recently been helping some friends by creating their devices for the banner project.

Some of the banners on display in a hall

I finished this one recently and I was quite happy with how it turned out. It is blazoned as 'Purpure, a wolf's head cabossed and on a chief argent a rose azure between two ivy vines vert'. (And a big shout out to the people who keep the Lochac Roll of Arms updated and running - it is a fantastic resource for scribes and artisans!)  Kingdom of Lochac Roll of Arms - Home (sca.org)

I embroidered the rose and ivy with DMC cotton floss on a separate piece of white fabric using split and stem stitches after marking the design out with a Frixion marker. After ironing the finished piece, I cut the base fabric down and sewed it to a small piece of white felt which would become the chief part of the shield shape.

The wolf head was cut out of white felt and stitched onto a purple felt base. I added an extra piece of felt for the muzzle part, to add a bit of depth to the piece. The image on the Roll of Arms showed a smiling wolf, but the recipient preferred it drawn looking a little more fierce. 

A piece of black felt was added for the nose, and some cream felt for inside the ears.

Then I started embroidering on details in black and white cotton.

I added a few extra lines to add definition and visual interest.

Finally, I sewed the chief in place and used some gilt embroidery thread to define the purple and white backgrounds. I had a luscious deep blue bead that looked good inside the centre of the flower.

Decorating complete, the very last task was to sew another shield shape in felt to the back to add strength to the piece. (The banners get rolled up when not in use, so a backing layer is a good idea to stop fabric distortion.)

The completed piece is now sewn in it's proper place on the banner and looks good!
 

Lots of Scribal Work

 Scribal work and the creation of some heraldic pieces for other people has been keeping me busy lately.

Seahorse Embroidered Napkin

I'm still plodding along with unfinished projects, and thankfully I have had less mistakes and muck-ups this week (although the chilly weather is making for slow handwork).

This simple embroidered napkin had been partially embroidered in purple floss, but I never recorded the colour number (a suprising mistake for me; since I know what I am like, and how prone I am to put a project down and come back to it months later). 

I wasn't happy with the stitching anyway, so I unpicked it and started again in this deep red floss.

The piece is worked in a hoop, and I used DMC cotton floss in split and double running stitches. 

I added a running stitch around the border of this thrifted napkin.

The sea-horse design is part of my personal heraldry.

It probably seems like I have oodles of these napkins (and I do have quite a few) but they are extremely handy at tournaments for covering plates of food to keep the flies and wasps away, as well as for wiping hands and covering up my camera and other mundanities.

I plan to add some decorative weights such as beads to the corners of some in the future so that they are more useful as dish covers on windy days (in the same vein as my chalice cover project shown here: Broider Me 'Bethan: March 2018 (broidermebethan.blogspot.com) ).

Scribal Work

I've been plodding along with scribal assignments lately. I've had a bit of a rough patch where I've been making a lot of mistakes and things just haven't been working out the way they should. Sewing projects needing extra unpicking, spilt paint, dye lots that don't match, projects taking waaaay longer than they should - that sort of thing. I'm nearly at the end of my current batch of scribal assignments, and luckily I seem to be also at the end of the patch of bad crafting luck I've been having also.

 

Murphy's Laws of Sewing

 

Two New Banners for Baronial Device Banner Project

A relatively recent project that I completed (and forgot to post about) was the creation of two new banners for my Barony's device banner project.

My Barony has a series of banners in Baronial colours that record the registered heraldry of the populace. It is a great chronological record of our members, and the banners are a really striking decoration at events.

Some of the banners at an event in 2017 (I think). There are two junior navy, two red, two white and now two navy banners.

I got involved in this project when I was quite new to the SCA and have made many of the devices over the years for people who did not have the skills or time.

In the last several years I have been responsible for managing the banner project, and we recently ran out of room on banner six. I created two new blank banners using almost ten metres of navy cotton fabric and cotton lining. They were edged in red bias binding. I copied the previous style and previous construction technique of hand sewing the bias on with a combination of running stitch and back stitch. That was quite a lot of hand sewing! I didn't mind it though, because I find hand sewing quite soothing when there isn't a deadline looming.

Red Underskirt

I recently made a red underskirt as part of my outfit for the Riverhaven Costuming Challenge.

I chose to use cotton broadcloth due to budget constraints; linen or wool (even silk) would have been more appropriate, but much more costly.

I sewed rectangular panels together, leaving a gap at the centre sides open, which I hand hemmed. I also hand felled the side seams.

I added a tiny buttonhole bar at each side seam for extra strength.

Double felled side seams.

I pleated the front and back panels into separate waistbands by hand using cartridge pleats. Once the pleats were sewn in, I released the gathering stitches to allow a more relaxed pleat. I hand hemmed the bottom of the panels, and added decorative twill tape.

I used the same twill tape as ties for the skirt. The front and back ties are tied independently (as seen on petticoats in the Tudor Tailor book) to allow for greater adjustment.

I'm happy with how the garment turned out, but it is a little bit long. When I get time, I will add a kickpleat/hemtuck all the way around to take up some of the excess. I regularly do this with my gowns as it helps to hold the hem out and give the skirt some structure. It also can be seen as on some sixteenth century portraits.

Cross and Pearl Necklace

I finished another quick project recently; a necklace to go with the outfit that I have been making for the River Haven Clothing Challenge.

I have had the silver and glass pendant for a few years. I strung it on tiger tail wire with small baroque pearls and glass beads harvested from a thrifted necklace. I have trouble with my hands/fingers, so the hook and bar closure is a lot easier for me to put on and off. Silver crimps secure the ends of the wire.