Coif for a Man

I know that it probably looks like I have had a super-productive week, but in reality it has just been one of those weeks where a lot of smaller projects that I have been working on for weeks have been finished off.

Nevertheless, I am riding high on a wave of personal satisfaction to get a few things off the 'To Do' pile. I think it is probably a law of Nature, or physics (or maybe just Murphy's Law!) that at least as many requests for items/assistance come in as finished items go out, but at least I am never bored. (Or likely to be, in any conceivable lifetime!)

Here is another coif for a man. It is designed as a court-type article, rather than an arming coif (which I believe usually has a gusset in the middle. Given my fear and loathing of gussets, I have not yet attempted one of those.)

This coif is constructed in the same way as the light blue one I posted about earlier. The pattern was cut out of two pieces of cotton linen blend fabric. The edges were zig-zagged to prevent fraying and then the seam up the back was sewn up. I opened the seam out and stab stitched it down on both pieces to reduce bulk. The pieces were then sewn together (inside out) leaving a small gap for turning. Triangles were clipped into the seam allowance to ensure the fabric sat smoothly when turned.

Once the coif was turned right side out, I used a blunt wooden knitting needle to push the seams out. Then I whip stitched over all the edges.

Finally, I sewed a piece of bias binding along the bottom edge. Another was applied to the top, and the long hanging ends were doubled over to make the ties. I added a small line of running stitch in black embroidery thread just to fancy it up.

Since I enjoy hand sewing - and make less mistakes with hand sewing than machine sewing - I added the bias strips by hand.

Blue dress update

Hand-sewing the gold bias binding onto the split sleeves is keeping me busy....

Blue dress update

The blue dress is getting very close to completion. I have been playing with different sizes and colours of pearls to see how they will look along the front edge of the bodice, and working on the sleeves.

Testing how pearls will look along the front edge of the bodice.

Blue dress update

I have done most of the hand sewing of the blue dress bodice. I stab stitched the bodice pieces together and then whipped the edges. I also stab stitched and reinforced the seams. I have one armhole to finish and then I will post photos.

Now I am ready to make the bias binding to decorate the bodice, and decide on what I am going to do about the lacing.

My inspiration portraits have hidden lacing.

       
St Ursula (also known as Woman with a book) by Carpaccio- denverartmuseum.org            



Portrait of a Lady by Carpaccio c. 1495 - wikipaintings.org














But I have a large bust, so I am thinking that I might be better served by eyelet holes for extra strength. I do have some lovely lacing rings for a front opening bodice, but I am not sure they will be strong enough.

There are many examples of front lacing dresses from Italy and surrounds that would work:

Portrait of a a Girl With Cherries by Circle of Leonardo c.1491-95 - paintingall.com
(See also http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/91.26.5)

Ghirlandaio's Portrait of a Lady - en.wikipedia.org

Portrait of Constanza Caetani by Fra  Bartolomeo c. 1489-90 from


http://www.angelfire.com/zine/kiarapanther/garb/gamurra.html

Ghirlandaio's Portrait of A Woman - artcyclopedia.com

I am thinking that this type of lacing (below) will add strength and be unobtrusive. I hope the horizontal lines won't ruin the look of the gold bias decoration.

Portrait of a Young Woman by Ghirlandaio c 14885 -  

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_Ghirlandaio_078.gif 

Portrait of a Girl by Ghirlandaio c. 1490 - from wikipaintings.org

Profile of a Woman by Botticelli c. 1480-85 from  

http://www.museothyssen.org/microsites/exposiciones/2010/Ghirlandaio/museo2_en.html

Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni by Ghirlandaio-    from wikipedia.org

A new hat

I take medication that causes me to get sunburnt very quickly, so I really need to wear a hat to events. The only problem is that I have a huge and very strangely shaped head so it is difficult to find hats that will fit me.

For a long time I toyed with the idea of making a hat like this one in the image of a 'Girl from Turin' from Vecellio's Costume Book:

As you can see, it has an open top to allow for her hairstyle. I bought several old straw hats and had planned to re-sew them into a hat like this, but I never got around to it. (I will - eventually.)

At the recent Medieval Fair, a friend introduced me to The Undertailor, who specialises in historical corsetry, undergarments and millinery. I had the opportunity to look at her wonderful hats and hairpins, and found a hat that will fit on my head, even over a caul or a coif! Here's a picture:

I am completely delighted with my hat - and the prospect of no more sunburn! Plus I picked up some chignon and bun pins.

If you would like to contact The Undertailor, go to http://theundertailor.com.au/ or have a look for her on Facebook.

Heraldic embroidered badge

Today I had the opportunity to present a piece that I finished a couple of months ago. It is a heraldic badge to go on a doublet. The project got off to a very rocky start as I had to begin over because I couldn't get the tension on the ground fabric right and the stitches kept pulling and warping.

I realised that the ground fabric was too flimsy, and started again on heavier fabric. This was much more successful.

The outer white edge was done in white crochet cotton in stem stitch. The blue was done in cotton perle thread in stem stitch. I used stem stitch because I wanted this area to stand out and be clearly defined. 

The inner white section is DMC blanc cotton (2 strands) worked in split stitch. The tree has padded leaves and is worked in DMC black 310 cotton in satin stitch (also 2 strands).

Once the stitching was complete and the device had been trimmed, rinsed and edged, I whipped the edges under and added a felt backing.

 I wanted the badge to stand out and not be too flat, so I added an extra, smaller piece of felt on the back. Then I edged the whole shield-shape with some silver gilt thread.

Here is the badge sewn on the recipient's new garb. The recipient is the perfect example of all the courtly graces, so I was very pleased that the badge looked so nice and was received so well.

Purple linen coat

Well, I bit the bullet! I tidied up my loose coat pattern, and cut it out in purple linen. The white bias binding is pre-rinsed and drying. I haven't cut a sleeve pattern yet because I am still making up my mind as to which style I will choose, but I will post pictures when I start getting somewhere with this project.

The brain-bending big button experiment

Apologies for taking so long to post. I still haven't decided on garb for my upcoming event, but I have decided that I need a new overgown this year, so that may be what I end up wearing over one of my existing gowns. I have some lovely purple linen that I got for $4 a metre, and I plan to trim with white to echo my device colours.

I also decided that I would like another muff. I have a lovely one made by a friend, but when I was cleaning up I found a small piece of fabric that I bought years ago specifically to be made into a muff. The fabric is a browny-grey colour with a black pattern. I bought some very large wooden buttons and decided to experiment with doing a huge version of a covered button.

The big bead being covered

The beads are approximately 3cm across and are stained brown. I  measured out approximately 4.5 metres of black crochet cotton to cover the bead. I reamed out the centre hole with a bead reamer to remove any burrs or splinters that might abrade the thread. Then I started to create the 'spider-web' base. A normal small button takes me between 45 minutes and an hour to cover- I am very slow and like a thickly woven button. The picture above shows the big button after a couple of hours! Keeping all that crochet thread from tangling as I wove it through was really tough and made my brain hurt!

The muff I had planned would need five big button closures. It didn't take much calculating for me to realise that I currently do not have the time or patience to spend so much time on a non-essential project such as this! I do plan to complete the muff, but will focus on my event garb first, and will probably use smaller un-covered buttons as closures.

Elizabethan coat ideas

Here are some ideas for the other option that I am considering for my upcoming event - Elizabethan coats or 'frocks'. The advantages with this option are that I have several that are mostly finished, I am familiar with construction techniques, I have ironed out the kinks in my pattern, I have completed loose under-kirtles that are ready to wear, and I can make a low-necked version to help keep me cool. The disadvantage is that I really need to wear a hoop to make this style look it's best on me, and that is not a hugely practical option.

I absolutely love this one below from http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/images/Cooke,Mildred(BBurghley)01.jpg One day I would like to make a complete outfit based on this portrait.

 

Catherine Carey 1562 - 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Carey

 

 

Hans Eworth's Portrait of An Unknown Lady c 1565 - shafe.co.uk

Portrait of Katherine Parr - luminarium.org

Portrait of Bess of Hardwick as Mistress St Lo (1550s) - 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bess_of_Hardwick_as_Mistress_St_Lo.jpg 

Portrait of Elizabeth Benlowes 1569  - modehistorique.com

Portrait of Mary Hill (1567) - kate meersonhistoricals.com

Portrait of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick (c 1565) - lookandlearn.com

Portrait of An Unknown Lady (1567) - larsdatter.com

 

Anne Browne, Lady Petre (1567) - larsdatter.com

Mary Throckmorton, Lady Scudamore (1615) - threadtraveller.blogspot.com.au

Portrait of Lady Dacre by Hans Eworth (1547) - larsdattar.com

Portrait of Theophila, wife of third Earl of Worcester (1567) - larsdatter.com

Portrait of the family of Lord Cobham - myartprints.co.uk

Dress Ideas

I am hoping to make it to Midwinter Coronation in July. Now I need to plan for what I will wear......

I have a real dilemma- there are so many dresses I would like!

Heading into winter, I try not to plan anything big because my health problems are always much worse during the colder months. In a normal year, I am lucky if my health problems allow me to make two or three big garments like coats or dresses.

If I went for something like the dress below, I wouldn't really have to modify any of my existing dress patterns much. But I always feel more confident in slightly later styles. Plus, so many of my dresses look the same.

Lorenzo Costa's Portrait of A Lady with A Lap-Dog

I really like Bianca Cappello's style. I love most of her outfits. The only thing is that I tend to get really hot because of my health issues, so these layers might be too much. Plus the ruff may not be the most practical accessory for a busy day and night.

Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) Portrait of Bianca Cappello (1548-1587) - 1590- 

bjws.blogspot.com

 

I really love the coat below, and I have some very similar fabric to this in my stash. But I don't think I will be able to make the coat and underdress in time. One day I will own this ensemble though. I guess I had better add 'learn reticella lace making' to my long-term plan...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alessandro_Allori_-_Portrait_of_Grand_Duchess_Bianca_Capello_de_Medici.jpg 

 

Now, this one would look much better on me in a darker colour. I like the sleeves just as they are. The only problem is that I think this style would not hide my belly as much as I would like. Also, I certainly couldn't get those sleeves done in time. There seems to be some intricate decoration in the white sleeve panes. Embroidery? Maybe one day this will grace my wardrobe!

  Possibly Isabella de Medici and her son by Allori (1574 )-http://aneafiles.webs.com/eleonoraditoledo.html 

Here is a different version of the same picture (from the same site).  

 

I like the 1530's big sleeve/big hat combo, and I think it looks OK on me, but I won't have time to do this sort of ornamentation. I probably won't have time to make a new balzo either. Plus, I did this style last year.

Lucretia by Lorenzo Lotto - lucyvivante.net 

Bordone's Portrait of A Woman with a Child (1530s) - kunst-fuer-alle.de

 

One day I will own a version of the two dresses below. 

Bernardino Licinio's Portrait of A Woman - terminartors.com

 

Another 'Portrait of A Woman' by Licinio - terminartors.com

I love this dress too, but the decorative features would take far too long to make it achievable this year. 

Bronzino's Portrait of A Young Girl With A Prayer Book - allpaintings.org

 

Finally, I think this is probably the most realistic Italian style for me, given all the limitations that are restricting the project. I could add an overgown for the feast in the evening. I really like the parti-coloured dress, but not for this event. I won't do a reproduction; I prefer to use a portrait as a reference and an inspiration but to change colours and decorative elements to suit my personal taste, style and budget.

http://habanera-nonblog.blogspot.com.au/2008/09/un-agosto-bologna-2.html 

 

I haven't put in any images of loose Elizabethan coats; that was the other option. I have several loose underkirtles and many accessories ready to go. The only thing that was putting me off about that option was the fact that I really need to wear a hoop skirt to make the Elizabethan 'frocks' or loose coats look nice, and I think it will be a crowded event.

I will have to think about it a bit more....