Chemise gussets

I haven't been well lately, so haven't got much finished.
I need a narrow sleeved chemise for an event that is coming up and have been plodding along working on one for a few days. It is cut from a very fine cotton voile. I must have made fifteen to twenty chemises in my time in the SCA, but putting the armpit gores in always confuses me. 'Brain fog' is a side effect of my illness, and it was in full effect today. I just couldn't seem to get my head around those gussets. Sometimes coffee and chocolate is the answer to the problem!

A&S Century Challenge - Simple Smock

Today I finally finished doing the seams on my ex-quilt cover, cheap test-run smock. I cut the neckline a bit wide so had to put in a couple of little pleats (which I would probably do again anyway as it sits nicely & is comfortable).
I ended up sewing the hem on the machine. I will re-do it by hand, but I need to wear it on the weekend and won't get time before then. The second hand quilt cover is nice soft fabric and feels cosy. I'm pleased with how neat the felled seams look, and I will definitely put the time and trouble in to do this again on future garments. I suspect that it will prolong the life of the garment too.

A&S Century Challenge - Hand finishing smocks

Two smock drafts (slightly different styles) cut out and partly sewn by machine. I need to find the time to hand finish them, so that will probably keep me busy (at least) for the next several days. Illness is making me slow and sluggish at the moment.

A&S Century Challenge - Budget Sixteenth Century Undergarments

I'm still sick, so everything lately has been extra challenging.

On Saturday I went to a scribes meeting and learnt about gilding manuscripts and made a start on a new scroll.

I had an inspiring & productive A&S/training on Sunday, and came home feeling exhausted (but motivated). Lots of follow up stuff to do after that one, including paperwork.

Yesterday I faffed around adapting patterns for a little while; a task I always find challenging.

Today I grabbed a couple of minutes to cut out a test run fitted smock from an old cotton quilt cover. I have always made Italian style camicias, but sometimes they can be a little bulky for more fitted styles of late period clothing. I'm always nervous when cutting fabric, but I'm not worried today because I got this quilt cover at the op shop for $3. I should get 2 undergarments from it.

I'm looking at making a modified version of (g) - smock with simple hemmed neck and sleeve.
Image from The Tudor Tailor, reproduced at https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/a6/9f/58/a69f582207ca2d77815540ae11de6988.jpg

Holidays and injuries

Last week I was on a relaxing break near the sea. I took heaps of handwork with me, but didn't get much done. I did manage to embroider a couple of gussets for a new smock.

 



This week, I managed to slam my fingers in a door. I probably won't get much done this week either as it was my dominant hand and my thimble finger bore the brunt of the impact.

Grey flower motif chemise

I finished this chemise a few years ago. It is made of light cotton gathered into a bias binding neckline. The sleeves are decorated with flower designs inspired 'A Scholehouse for the Needle' and by the Warwick shirt.  'A Scholehouse' was a pattern book drawn by Richard Shorleyker (1632.) It contains many designs that exist in pattern books printed at various times in the sixteenth century. The Warwick shirt is an extant example of Elizabethan monochrome embroidery* (done in red). It It has some beautiful designs on it, and can be seen here:

http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/web/corporate/pages.nsf/links/aa47f702d5996adc80257149002da95e

The shirt is part of the collection of the Warwickshire Museum: 
http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/museum

You can see a very interesting article, including some designs from the shirt, here:
http://knol.google.com/k/elizabethan-blackwork-embroidery#

The sleeves on my chemise are very big and are designed to be puffy enough to allow them to be pulled out through slits in split sleeves. When worn without an oversleeve, they flow over my hands:

As with most of my clothes, the chemise is used for both Italian styles and under my Elizabethan loose gowns. The designs are worked in grey DMC cotton in a range of stitches, including buttonhole stitch, seeding stitch, stem stitch and double running stitch. All visible seams were handsewn, except for the hem.

The sleeve laid out before sewing (the white tiles underneath are showing through the thin fabric.)

* also called as 'linear blackwork' or 'single-colour, non-counted blackwork'