Italian Style Green Gown for a Young Woman - Completed

Here is the completed outfit that I referenced in an earlier post. There are three foreparts and two sets of sleeves that go with the dress and it is mostly handsewn.

Black Linen Summer Gown in the Italian Front-Lacing Style

I recently went through old posts looking for a recipe redaction that I had done, and found dozens of draft posts from 2019. I'm not sure why I didn't finish them and post them at the time? A lot of them aren't relevant any more, but there are some that you might find interesting.

Here is one:

I made this gown over the Christmas break for an event in January 2019. It gets very hot where I live (40 degrees Celcius +), and although events are usually postponed when it gets too hot, sometimes the show must go on.

This was a quick project with some modern sewing techniques used to save time. I modified one of my other gown bodice patterns to drop the waist a bit, make the shoulders a little wider and put a bit more depth into the point of the bodice.

The gown bodice was an experiment with no boning. The linen was lined with heavy cotton canvas and the two pieces 'bagged out' or sewn together with the machine and then turned right side out.
I hand sewed the bottom edge of the bodice and the armholes.

The trim is just simple ribbon, sewn on by hand.

The eyelets were all done by hand with an awl and sewing thread. I decided to add some bias binding along the font edges  and slip bones in for a bit of rigidity and to stop the eyelets puckering. Once I tried the completed bodice on, I felt that it needed some extra boning, so I added bias binding strips at the centre side seams and across the back of the bodice, and put four more bones in.

The skirt is simply a series of rectangles of fabric sewn together. I let the skirt hang for a long time to let the hem drop and reduce distortion due to the weight of the fabric.

I pleated the skirt on by turning the top edge under and then marking out regular dots along the skirt top edge. I ran a heavy thread through to draw the skirt up into cartridge pleats. Normally you would use a double row of thread to do this, but I cheated and only did one. The risks with one thread are that it may break and you will have to start all over again, and that the pleats may be slightly uneven if you are not very careful with your dot marking and needle placement. I usually do a two-part line of pleating; on a front opening gown, I run one line of pleating thread from centre-back to centre- front on one side, and do the same on the other. I find that it makes adjusting the pleats more manageable, especially if the skirt is very full and bulky.

Ones the lines of pleating thread are in, I put safety pins in to mark the centre-back and centre-sides of the skirt panel. I line the safty pins up with the corresponding side seams, centre-back point and centre-front point of the bodice. Then I carefully draw up my pleating thread, adjusting the pleats to sit evenly in their quarter. Then I adjust a quarter at a time to make sure the pleats are all evenly spread out and looking nice. A quarter panel at a time, I use heavy thread to sew each pleat onto the bottom edge of the bodice. I usually use four strands of sewing thread that has been waxed for strength. I also knot the thread off unobtrusively at about every 10 cm point, so that if I were to rip some pleats out by accident when wearing the dress, the whole skirt will not fall off.

Once the skirt is on, I cut the pleating thread. This is optional; if you want defined cartridge pleats, leave it in. I prefer less defined pleats so I cut the thread on mine. I hand finish the front opening gap of the gown and add a buttonhole bar at the bottom of the skirt opening for extra strength. I did not add hooks and eyes on the opening of this gown - I left a bit of extra fabric at the front of the dress that I could pin shut and would be adjustable. I then let the gown hang for several more days to  let the skirt drop if necessary and to let the pleats fall properly.

I had help from my dear Mum with the hemming, and I added some ribbon trim around the bottom when hemmed as well.

Finally, I used some scraps from gown construction and another project to make the pouffy sleeve heads that I like so much. I sewed strips of fabric together to make a panel approximately 2.5 times the size of the sleeve cap pattern that I drafted as a base. I pinned the puffs into place by eye, until I got roughly the look I was going for. This is a tedious task, but I can't think of a better way to do it. Once pinned, I hand sewed down all the puff pieces in sections to keep it secure. Then I make all the bulky fabric puffs point to the centre of the sleeve cap and then put the lining piece on top and machine sew most of the way around (without catching any of the puffs in the seam.) Then I trimmed the seams, turned the puff the right way out and hand sewed the gap shut. I also hand sewed around the edge of the entire puff to stop the bulky puff section moving or turning in. It is important to have a stable base for these puffs or they move around and stick up.

I added some lucet ties underneath so I can wear the dress with removable sleeves.

The dress was reasonably cool, but I unfortunately made the bodice a smidge too long and wide, so there is some  wrinkling that I am not happy with. I will make the next one a bit shorter so it sits better and I wont have to worry about my sash riding up or down. This one needs taking up so it sits better.

I spent a good proportion of the day adjusting my sash because the bodice is too long

                                        

(Postscript: no prizes for guessing that this dress is still in my mending pile to have the bodice fixed. I loathe mending and re-dos anyway, and throw covid lockdowns into the mix and it just hasn't happened yet.)

Calontir Clothing Challenge (Post 2)

Amusingly (after being very excited and enthusiastic in the lead up to the start date), this Challenge seems to have me paralysed with doubt and uncertainty. I haven't been feeling very well either, which doesn't help, and I have a lot of other SCA commitments. All combing to be the Perfect Storm of Getting Nothing Done.

I did manage to get a pair of sleeves cut out (just the fashion fabric part), and a linen partlet cut out. Ive sewed up and enclosed the side seams but haven't hemmed it yet. I need to decide how to decorate it (the fun part!) but the design I go with will depend on the final design I pick for the dress. I'm not sure I want to do a recreation of a specific gown, more a blending of design elements from several similar portraits.

Comfy purple tie-on sleeves

 Last month I was chatting to a friend about how we might previously have thought that a global pandemic (and subsequent SCA shut-down) would be a great time to catch up on projects and get things done, and how surprised we were by how tired and unmotivated we were. We decided that we would try and motivate each other and challenged ourselves to complete a pair of sleeves each in a month.

The first step was the pattern. I had a nice comfy one that needed a bit of a tweak, but my friend didn't have a pattern. We had a fun Zoom session with me trying to help her draft a pattern by draping.

Next step was cutting out. I was lucky that I had some fabric set aside to make a set of sleeves. Two lots actually, which was lucky because I was tired when I cut the first pair out and I cut out two left sleeves. Ugh! I know better, but if I didn't do any cutting or sewing when tired, I would be getting even less done than I am now.

Take 2 and the sleeves were cut out along with a matching lining. I ran a machine zig-zag stitch around the edges and then sewed the seam.

 

Then I finger pressed the seams open and ran a little stab stitch along the inside to keep them open. 

(I cut this pattern wrong which is why the edges at the the of the seam don't match up. I trimmed it later.) 

 

I always find the next part tricky so I put the lining inside the sleeve the way it is supposed to look when finished, put a pin in at the top of the sleeve, and then turn the lining inside out. Then I pin around the top edge and machine sew it. I clip the curves so it sits better, and then turn right side out. Hopefully all the seams are hidden inside! Then I push a bone folder or blunt knitting needle along the seam from the inside so that nothing is tucked up, and then do a whip stitch along the top edge to stop the lining from rolling out with wear.

I lay the sleeve flat and pin the outer sleeve (fashion fabric) hem. It is important here to make sure that the inner lining is nice and smooth too with no bumps or folds. I use tiny stab stitch to sew it in place. Then I fold the lining hem under, leaving about 3 mm of the sleeve showing. I used to just marry the two edges together, but I was finding that the lining would often start to bubble out slightly after a bit of wear, especially if the lining was a different type or thickness of fabric.

At this point, the sleeve is ready for eyelets. I use eyelets because my Italian style gowns have a series of ties inside the top of the armhole. In period, it is more likely that a single lace was used on sleeves where visible ribbons or buttons weren't used, but I find multiple ties are very handy because I can take my sleeves off for pack-down at events when it starts to get a bit warm in garb. Honestly, at this stage of sleeve-making I usually mark out the holes for the eyelets and then put the sleeve in the To-Do pile indefinitely because I hate eyelets. (Hence the wisdom in doing the challenge with a friend.)

My eyelet holes correspond to where the ties on my dresses are. I make 5 eyelets (or sets of eyelets) which gives me some options with lacing. (With some pairs of sleeves, I only use 3 sets of laces and tuck the other two down inside the sleeves.) Having no ladies maid, fluctuating weight, and usually no-one to help me dress, my clothing has to be versatile.

This lot of eyelets is not the best that I have done, mainly because I haven't done any in so long and because I was rushing. But they work fine, and I got them done in a night. I actually wore the sleeves to a virtual online event. It was nice to be back in garb again and I was happy to have finished them. I like my 'comfy' sleeve pattern because it is not restrictive, unlike some of my tighter sleeves.

Partlet with Blue Knotted Embroidery (Complete)

I managed to get the blue knotwork partlet finished this week. This is another project which was postponed because I was not happy with how it was working out. I originally hoped that I would be able to use it as part of my suite of projects for my Heraldic Challenge work (details below) but the frettes were not as prominent as I had hoped. I also used this project as an opportunity to practice my double running stitch (Holbein stitch) and it did not turn out as smoothly as I would have liked. More practice needed!

This pattern was taken from Giovanni Ostaus' 1567 "La Vera Perfettione del Disegno" at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/662394

Cleaned image from: https://www.facebook.com/pg/modelbuchmuse/posts/?ref=page_internal 

As always, I am indebted to Baroness Praxilla at Modelbuch Muse. Her page makes finding patterns so easy!

I think I will do some more patterns from this modelbuch in the future.

This partlet is a wide-fronted collarless partlet which was popular in Italy in the sixteenth century. Here are some progress photos on the development of the project:

All visible seams handssewn. I edge my fabric pieces with the machine before hand hemming to provide a bit of extra strength, especially as I usually machine wash my underpinnings.

I use a relatively wide hem, about 6 or 7mm.

The border edging of the embroidery on this chemise (held in the Museo del Tessuto, Prato), inspired the decorative edging at the centre front hem. Image from oocities.org via Pinterest

 Similar decorative edging can be seen on this English coif c. 1610, held in the Glasgow museum. It is linen base fabric, embroidered in silk and gilt. Number 29.130

Image: collections.glasgowmuseums.com

I was unsure as to which lace to use. In the end I chose a silver lace that I had overdyed with a blue-black dye to tone down the shade of gilt.

The base fabric on this one is cotton. Linen would be a better alternative but is expensive and hard to find where I live, whereas cotton is readily available and more affordable. Linen is MUCH nicer to embroider and sew though! Similarly, thread is cotton DMC embroidery floss; a more affordable alternative to the much nicer silk thread that I would prefer to use.

Heraldic Display Pentathlon Challenge CHALLENGE 2019-2020

Participants are challenged to create 5 (or more) items from the list below. Challenge runs from now until the 1st May 2020 (or the closest available garbed event.) Displays will be set up throughout the year to showcase the work of participants. At the end of the Challenge, the populace will vote for their favourite items and tokens will be awarded. Heraldry can be your own, or you can make something for a friend, or Guild etc. Be creative and enrich our game with your displays.

Categories:

1. Banners, flags, pennants, standards and gonfalon etc.

2. Encampment equipment, furniture, tent screens etc.

3. Personal Adornment such as jewellery, favours, tabbards and clothing etc.

4. Equipment such as needlecases, napkins, crockery, water bottles etc.

5. Items for the Barony: any item(s) decorated with the Innilgard device to be donated to the Barony

This Challenge has been extended because face-to-face Lochac events have been suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Linen Partlet with Purple Flowers

Going through my piles of unfinished projects recently, I came upon this unfinished partlet in the Italian style. The embroidery has been started, but hasn't progressed far. It is worked in shades of purple and grey.

I will keep you posted!

Red and Gold Tie-On Sleeves Made From A Sari

I made these sleeves last year as a bit of an experiment. I found a child's tunic made from a sari in a local thrift shop, and loved the fabric. Although a modern fabric, it did not look jarringly modern, and I felt that it would make a nice pair of detachable sleeves.

I carefully washed and dried the tunic. Unpicking it was challenging as the fabric is delicate and has gilt metal threads through it. I would not be surprised if it is a silk or silk blend fabric. The garment had obviously had several adjustments for a growing child, and there were interesting tucks and joins all over the tunic.

I also removed the trim which was pretty but very much the worse for wear.

Once the fabric pieces had been carefully pressed, I positioned my sleeve pattern so that the pattern was facing the same way on both sleeves while trying to avoid any holes or damaged areas.

Cutting the wine coloured cotton lining fabric was much easier; no patterns or mends to worry about.

I usually don't use my fashion fabric as a pattern, but I was in a big hurry for this project.

Once the sleeves and linings were cut out, I edged them with zigzag stitch to reduce fraying. I then machine sewed the seams, and finger pressed the inside of the sleeves open. I hand sewed the seams open with tiny, hidden stitches. I then put the lining and sleeve together inside out.

This is always a step that I have trouble with. I just can't seem to visually 'get' how they are supposed to go, so I usually baste or safety pin along where the seam will be prior to sewing, and then turn them right way out to make sure the insides of the seams are hidden and the fashion fabric is outside and facing the right way with everything looking correct. Only then do I turn it back inside out, pin and sew. After another double-check, I clip the curves on the armscye and then turn the sleeve the right way out.

I usually baste or pin around the shoulder part of the sleeve to make sure it is sitting right and then I work the eyelet holes. This is a job that I detest as it is very painful for my fingers. I usually can only do one or two holes a day.

When I had the eyelets done, I hemmed the wrist area. I turned the fashion fabric up first, and stitched it down with tiny hidden stitches. Then I pinned the lining into place, slightly shorter than the outer fashion fabric hem. (This stops the lining from rolling out.) I then stitched the lining wrist hem down.

I think I paid around $4AU for the sari tunic. It is delicate and probably won't last too many wears, but I was happy with how the sleeves turned out and I thought it was a worthwhile experiment at a good price.

Tie-on Sleeves in Plum Cotton Fabric

You may remember that an ongoing project is the creation of a suite of tie-on sleeves to complement my Italian style gowns. The other day I was bed-ridden and I was trying to work on sewing down the inside of the seams on one of the pairs.

The sleeves are cut out and zigzag stitch put along the cut edges. Then the side seam is machine sewn (or hand-sewn if I have the time and manual dexterity, which I usually don't).

Th idea with the inside seam is to press or finger-press the seam open and flat on the inside and sew it down with tiny invisible stitches so that it doesn't bunch or twist with wear.

I'll admit that I was struggling with the project, so I was pretty satisfied when I was done.

  I put the project down to admire my achievement........ and looked closer.....
Yep, those are two right sleeves!
Of course, I noticed this after the seams had been machined and then hand sewed flat. (Eyeroll.)

Repurposed Tatted Lace Partlet

One of the projects I have on the go at the moment is a bit of an experiment. I found a fabulous but tatty vintage lace runner at a thrift shop and snapped it up. It has a diamond pattern with little roses and I think it is tatted (which is out of period) but passes for neeedle lace.

The piece had a few rust stains, but with some careful laundering I managed to brighten it up. I cut the piece to use the two parts as the front panels of a collarless partlet. I managed to use the pretty edging on the central parts and avoid most of the remaining rust marks.

I made the back part of the parlet up in linen and hand hemmed it with a small hem. I pinned the tatted panels in place. I will trim the excess tatting on the outer edge (which will be hidden by my gown) and trim with binding. I have a couple of colour options waiting to be tested for the binding as matching the colour is difficult.

I have been pretty busy with projects for other people lately, so this one is sitting in the to-do pile, but I am looking forward to getting it finished as I really love the tatted piece and it makes me happy to think that some other ladies' hand work is getting a new lease on life and will be admired rather than languishing in a bin of ugly doilies.

Hemming of Body Linens

Today I am hemming body linens again. My furry helper is ill & this sort of sewing is quite soothing. No idea what day I am at now in the second round of the century challenge.

Sewing the enclosed seam flat.







Tacking down the edge of the partlet prior to pinning the second fold into place. Although it seems like extra work, I do it this way because I have a lot of issues with my hands and it hurts to sew. Any extra, uneccessary fabric manipulation just means unnecessary pain.

Purple Tie-on Italian Sleeves

Last week's realisation that I had lost the sleeves I wanted to wear to LPD prompted a frantic scurry about to find the basket of sleeves I cut out late last year to work on in my "leisure time". Luckily a purple pair was partly done and just needed edge finishing, hemming and eyelets. I got them done in time for the event but also found a couple more pairs that were partly done. So my project for the next few days will be working on those.

Here are the purple pair in-progress and completed. The black satin ribbon had already been sewn on and the seams sewn open. I whipped around the top edge of the sleeve to stop the lining rolling out. Then the purple fabric was hemmed. Then I hemmed the black lining seperately and added the eyelets.

A&S Challenge - Seam Treatments and a New Sash

Lots of seam treatments this week, plus I sewed up a new sash. The sash is a simple (very long) rectangle, hemmed at both ends. I toyed with the idea of adding tassels to this one as it is longer than my others, but I decided that I will get more use out of it as it is. I am not usually a fan of orange (the camera has not reproduced the colour faithfully) but I think it will look good against a black gown. I got the fabric quite cheap at a thrift store, so I am pretty happy with this find. I still have enough for an underskirt or kirtle.

Striped Dresses in the Renaissance - Research Notes

I love stripey dresses, so I decided to collate some references from the SCA period to inspire me to cut into my stripey stash!

 Detail from ''The Finding of Moses'' - Bonifacio Veronese
Image from: http://www.wga.hu/html_m/b/bonifaci/

 Portrait of a Lady with a Boy - Paris Bordone
Image from: http://www.myartprints.com/a/bordone-paris/portrait-of-a-lady-with-a-14.html





 Portrait of Noblewoman and Son - Bartolomeo Passarotti
Image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Bartolomeo_passarotti,_ritratto_di_nobildonna_col_figlio.JPG






Portrait of a Venetian Noblewoman at the age of 18 - Giovanni Antonio Fasolo
Image from: http://starlightmasquerade.com/PortraitGallery/Closed-Bodice-Venetian/inspiration-pages/closedbodice52a.htm






Portrait of the Women of the Giusti del Giardino family - Girolamo Forni
Image from: http://bjws.blogspot.com.au/2016_02_04_archive.html






Self Portrait - Marietta Robusti  c. 1580
Image from : http://www.wikiart.org/en/marietta-robusti/self-portrait-1580?utm_source=returned&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=referral







Porrait of a Lady with a Dog - Paolo Caliari (Veronese)
Image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmV50GzVZbSS_a-BdmRaRzWX183-Bph7tKmAE-BPWgVvdxJyx1NbzBzwbIl6HawD4W1NZ4TEj5FGYPCDoVd1-apVPMJmR_EJFzYhf4Qx5YL97aIpsRAIClBG9pVBfjEiX5Xh3p8tM-dN4/s1600/Portrait-of-a-LadyPaolo+Veronese1560-70.jpg





Paola Gualdo And Daughters Laura and Virginia- Giovanni Antonio Fasolo
Image from: https://au.pinterest.com/pin/538883911640923357/


and detail:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c8/b0/ef/c8b0ef5ad5f769f462767bb70db5d757.jpg









Portrait of Caterina di Ferdinando I de' Medici - Tiberio di Tito
Image from: http://www.wga.hu/support/viewer_m/z.html







Portrait of the artists sisters and brother - Sofonisba Anguissola
Image from: http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/anguissola.php







Portrait of  Cardinal Granvelle's Dwarf - Antonis Mor
Image from: http://www.artinconnu.com/2009/05/antonis-mor-anthonis-mor-van-dashorst_07.html






Portrait of a Knight of Calatrava - Frans Pourbus the Elder
Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knight_of_Calatrava_by_F._Pourbus_the_Elder.jpeg




 Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages (Detail) - Paris Bordone
Image from: http://the-earth-is-flat.blogspot.com.au/p/we-were-there-stripes.html







Portrait of a Boy with Fruit - Mirabello Cavalori
Image from: http://the-earth-is-flat.blogspot.com.au/p/we-were-there-stripes.html





Giovanni Battista Moroni
Image from: http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/yourgarb/2009/Christy-children.jpg





The Daughters of Giovanni II Bentivoglio and Ginevra Sforza - Lorenzo Costa
Image from: http://thescarletlibrarian.tumblr.com/post/141801959572/how-would-you-rate-the-borgias-costumes-as-far-as




Detail of Madonna in Trono e Santi - Jacopo Bassano
Image from: https://au.pinterest.com/desamona/history-1560-s/




Invitation to the Dance - Giovanni Antonio Fasolo
Image from: http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/invitation-to-the-dance-by-giovanni-antonio-fasolo-fresco-news-photo/154715850



Portrait of a Girl', 16th or early 17th century. Found in the collection of the Regional A Deineka Art Gallery, Kursk, Russia. 
Image from: https://au.pinterest.com/pin/66639269461585875/