Renaissance Style Hairpiece

We are heading out of summer in Australia at the moment, and SCA events can be uncomfortable in Renaissance garb. I would normally dress my hair and skip the headcovering, but I cut my hair much shorter late last year. It seemed like a good idea to make a decision about what to do with the synthetic hair braid I purchased last year and which has been sitting around in it's packet since.

If my hair was longer, I would put it in a bun and hair tape it. So I decided to try and make a fake bun inspired by these ladies in Vincento Campi's 'Cucina', c. 1580s.

Vincenco Campi-Cucina - Vincenzo Campi - Wikipedia 

To start with, I re-braided the synthetic hair, tying the ends off securely with thread. Then I started to wind the fake hair into a 'wheel'. Using sewing pins to secure didn't work particularly well, so I sewed the hair into itself with brown thread as I went. When all the braid was in the wheel, I went back and sewed it all together, hiding the stitches as much as possible.

Next I wove some purple ribbon through with a blunt needle, which helped to secure the hairpiece even more. 

Finally I sewed in a comb and a couple of wig clips. The hairpiece stayed in my hair fairly securely. I am quite pleased with the result, but won't be wearing it any time soon because my hair is currently a more natural shade, and the synthetic hair does not match at all! (I imagine I will dye it again sooner or later though.) I might spend a bit more to get a more realistic braid next time.

While very satisfying, this project did eliminate my immediate hair woes. I decided on a style I wear mundanely, with hair rolled in front and with two braids pinned up at the back, secured a la The Borgias with a pretty clip. I used some stash velvet ribbon and a costume jewellery pendant. I measured enough ribbon (with hem) to cover a mundane barette. I found the halfway point on the ribbon, marked it with a pin and then centred the pendant on it horizontally, sewing it down with yellow thread. I then hot glued the ribbon hems down and hot glued the whole thing to the barette. Super fast and easy (and not at all period, although it is not inconceivable that this hairstyle could be achieved with the help of maids, hair tape and some pretty hairpins.) I don't like using hot glue (not authentic, it's messy, I'm bad at it, I always burn myself) but it is fast and satisfying. I'm happy with how this hair adventure turned out.

Embroidery Challenge Tokens

 I have been continuing to work on WIPs and UFOs lately.

This week I managed to get some tokens finished for the most recent Embroidery Challenge participants.

This latest Embroidery Challenge has an open theme. It began late last year and finishes very soon. The aim is to encourage all skill levels of embroiderers to get involved, and hopefully inspire others in the Barony.

The tokens are glass beads and date pendants strung on tigertail wire and secured with a couple of jewellery crimps.

I have also been doing some scroll illumination, but of course, I can't share any of that until the scrolls have been presented.

UFO Pile of Shame and The 100 Day Project Inspiration

I've been spending some time lately trying to prioritise my works in progress (WIPs) and UFOs (UnFinished Objects) so that I can really get some finished this year. I am very good at starting projects- buoyed by the excitement of something new - but lack of energy, lack of time, and often lack of confidence make the project stall. It is amazing how quickly time flies, and suddenly something you put aside 'for a little while' has been sitting around for a year (or more). Covid certainly didn't help with any of that!

In a happy coincidence, I was reading a social media post by the Baroness of Politarchopolis and she mentioned #The100DayProject. #The100DayProject | online art community It is basically on online project to encourage people to be creative and commit to 100 days of creating. Very much the same as #100 Days of A&S which I loved being involved in, and which has set up really good habits of doing at least ten minutes a day on SCA A&S projects (and which I have pretty much continued with). This new project has given me a shot of motivation to spend the next 100 days focusing on UFOs and WIPs. Probably for only a short time every day as I am at a very low spot right now health wise, but every little bit helps.

I won't be posting day-by-day updates on what I have been doing because I think it will take a while to achieve anything as I will be working slowly (and it will be boring to readers). But I hope to at least have some Finished Article victory posts for you soon!

(Please imagine a tidy little pile of nicely folded UFOs here. In reality my UFO/WIP projects would probably take up half a dozen storage tubs and that is downright embarrassing.) I try to console myself with the thought that a lot of them are embroidery which takes a very long time to do.

Some medieval and renaissance heart imagery for the romantics among you

 

Miniatures From The Book of Knighthood (1460) Containing Christine Pizan's Épître d'Othéa - Flashbak Image from: (1503) Pinterest

Livre d’heures à l’usage d’Amiens

Image from: Livre d’heures à l’usage d’Amiens | BnF Essentiels

Heart shaped codex contains Danish love poetry,  Copenhagen, KB, Thott MS 1510.

Image from: (1504) Pinterest

O rosa bella by John Bedyngham in Chansonnier cordiforme, ca. 1475, made in France (Savoy). Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms. Rothschild 2973, fols. 8v–9. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France, image from: The Soundtrack of the Renaissance Court | Getty Iris

Young Man Holding a Book, Master of the View of Saint Gudula Netherlandish ca. 1480

Image from: Master of the View of Saint Gudula | Young Man Holding a Book | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Happy Valentine's Day!

For more information on unusual book styles from the medieval period, go here: Strange Medieval Books | medievalbooks

Happy Galentine's Day Friends

 

Future Challenge - Blue Brocade

 Here's an idea I had for a future challenge for myself: I found this gorgeous remnant at an op shop (thrift store) for about $1.50. It looks like it has been trimmed off the bottom of a curtain; it is quite narrow and has a hem on the bottom.

Will I be able to make a pair of detachable sleeves out of it? Stay tuned...

Happy (Belated) New Year 2024

Hello everyone, and a belated Happy New Year to you all.

The festive period seemed to fly by for me; I had lots of medical appointments but other than that I couldn't tell you where the time went. I didn't have my usual pre-pandemic social engagements and yet I seemed to be very busy. Time somehow seems to be going by faster than it should be!

I have been busy pottering with projects, and continuing my routine of doing at least ten minutes of creative time every day. I have had a whole lot of boring mundane stuff (like mending) to do that has eaten up a lot of time but not been very satisfying. I'm daydreaming about exciting new projects but trying to force myself to finish at least some of the current ones and UFOs. I'm just frustratingly slow.

I've also been plodding along with the 'underlayer' portion of the River Haven Clothing Challenge. Hopefully I will have a victory post to share about that very soon.

In other news, we have a new addition to the neighbourhood. At this time of the year (summer in the Southern Hemisphere) we see quite a few moving up and down the street. 

Season's Greetings

 Season's Greetings! May you have a peaceful and healthy 2024 and may all your projects go smoothly.

RHCC: Layer One (Detachable Sleeves) - Complete

 The first official layer - Accessories - of my entry into the River Haven Clothing Challenge is complete.

Two pairs of tie-on sleeves down; one undergarment layer and one outer layer still to go.

RHCC: Layer One (Detachable Sleeves) - Blue Sleeves

I used my existing sleeve pattern and cut the blue fabric and cotton lining. I machine zig zag stitched the edges and then sewed up the seam that runs down the back of the arm on both the blue fashion fabric and the lining. I stab stitched the arm back sleeve open on lining and fashion layers.

I put the right sides of the lining and fashion fabric tubes together (with a lot of double checking to make sure I was sewing the correct pieces) and machine stitched around the top of the armscye. I then clipped the curves to make sure the top of the sleeve would sit nicely and not be bulky, and then I turned it all right side out. I whip stitched around the top edge of the sleeve to make sure that the lining didn't roll out at any stage. I embroidered an 'L' inside the left sleeve to make dressing in a hurry easier.

I marked 1.5cm seam allowance on the fashion fabric and turned the hem under at the wrist and stab stitched it down. (I also stab stitched my finger a couple of times.)

I turned the lining hem up inside the sleeve slightly more (around 1.75cm) and whip stitched that into place. There were a couple of spots where I clipped a little triangle where the fabric was a bit tight and pulling. I used to sew the hem and lining together in one step, but I found that often the lining and fashion fabric would stretch at different rates and sometimes the lining would start to poke out a bit, so now I hem the two layers seperately.

  

The final step after pressing the hem with an iron was to mark and sew five eyelets in each sleeve head. I opened the fabric up with an awl, went around the hole with a double running stitch and then enclosed the hole with a ring of satin stitch.

I think this fabric might be digitally printed. I have never worked with fabric like this before. I noticed that a part of the design seems to have lifted where a pin stuck it.

RHCC: Layer One (Detachable Sleeves) - Cream Sleeves

If you have been following me for any length of time, you would know that I love Renaissance accessories, and I love the flexibility that tie-on sleeves provide. It won't come as a shock that I have been working on the 'Accessories' layer of the River Haven Clothing Challenge.

I'd love to do all accessories, but my plan is to start with two pairs of detachable sleeves.

My sleeve fabric

I used my trusty old sleeve pattern and cut into the cream fabric first. I also cut the cotton lining. I zig zag stitched by machine around all the edges and then sewed up the seam that runs down the back of the arm on both the fashion fabric and the lining.

  
I trimmed one side of the seam overhang on the fashion fabric main seam and tucked the other side under and sewed it down to enclose the raw edges. I also stab stitched the seams of the lining flat to reduce bulk.

  

I put the right sides of the lining and fashion fabric tubes together (with a lot of double checking to make sure I was sewing the correct pieces) and machine stitched around the top of the armscye. I then clipped the curves to make sure the top of the sleeve would sit nicely and not be bulky, and then I turned it all right side out. I whip stitched around the top edge of the sleeve to make sure that the lining didn't roll out at any stage.

At this point I quickly embroidered an 'L' inside the left sleeve on the lining to help save time when lacing on sleeves on busy event days.

I marked 1.5cm seam allowance on the fashion fabric and turned the hem under at the wrist and stab stitched it down. Then I turned the lining hem up inside the sleeve slightly more (around 1.75cm) and whip stitched that into place. There were a couple of spots where I clipped a little triangle where the fabric was a bit tight and pulling. I once used to sew the hem and lining together in one step, but I found that often the lining and fashion fabric would stretch at different rates and sometimes the lining would start to poke out a bit.

The final step after pressing the hem with an iron was to mark and sew five eyelets in each sleeve head. I opened the fabric up with an awl, went around the hole with a double running stitch and then enclosed the hole with a ring of satin stitch.

This sleeve pattern is nice and roomy. I have seen slightly more narrow sleeves as well as wider ones in portraits from the 1530s-1550s, so there does seem some leeway in designs.

Image from: mid-1530s Paris Bordone - Portrait of a Lady with... (tumblr.com)

I love this portrait of Lady with a Boy by Paris Bordogne. 

The dress is the style I like to wear and her sleeves are beautiful; I'd love the whole outfit. I do wonder if a single fastening on that cut-away style of sleeve is practical for someone who doesn't have a maid to do her lifting and carrying, however. (It may also just be artistic licence on the part of Bordogne.) Hopefully I will have time in the future to play around with my pattern and possibly modify it slightly to try and achieve the general look of that sleeve, but with a stronger attachment point.

River Haven Clothing Challenge

Sorry about the delayed posting; a hard-to-kill chest infection and corresponding brain fog are making everything that much harder lately.

I have decided to enter the SCA River Haven Clothing Challenge. Here is some information about it-

"Ogres are like onions -they have layers.

And so does this clothing challenge.

THE BASICS:

From 1st October 2023 to 31 March 2024 River Haven will be running a clothing challenge.

The main focus of it is to encourage garb making within members of the group, but there will be prizes. How good will depend on Sponsors (more on that later).

Based loosely on the Calontir Clothing challenge and the IRCC, the challenge is to make an outfit of at least three layers during this time. It can be from any time/place that SCA covers.

Prior to the challenge you can research, source patterns, do mock ups, make toiles, source your fabric and other necessities, but fabric for the outfit itself is not to be cut until 1st October. This is also the date to nominate and put in your plan (late nominations/plans will be accepted, but end date for making the outfit is final.)

There will be check in points on 1 December, 1 February, and 1 April (final date). One layer is to be submitted at each of these. More on processes to come.

There will be three divisions. Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Please look honestly at which category most suits your skills and nominate for that one. The three categories will be judged separately."

I am not entering for prizes, more for accountability. I need new garb, but don't enjoy the process so hopefully this will help to motivate me.

I had to start late because I had other deadlines that must take priority, so I am already quite behind.

'Is this wise?' I hear you say. Probably not. :-)

'Is it sensible to take on another project when you are drowning in unfinished projects and battling health issues/starting a new round of appointments with a new specialist?' Also No.

Embroidery Designs - Pomegranates

Some Renaissance embroidery designs with pomegranates:

Design from 'A Scholehouse for the Needle' by Richard Shorleyker, (1632), individual pages reproduced on Pinterest

Image taken from: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10526079n/f69.item

From The Trevellyon Miscellany (1608) available on Pinterest.  More information can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevelyon_Miscellany_of_1608

From The Trevellyon Miscellany (1608) available on Pinterest.  More information can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevelyon_Miscellany_of_1608

Completed Owl Tabbard

I thought you might like to see how the embroidered owl tabbard looked when it was completed. Sir Eva did a lovely job of cutting out and couching down all the slips, as well as drafting and putting the garment together and adding the couched dividers on the shoulders.

I also got to see how the eagle brustfleck (that I helped Sir Eva with previously) looked when worn:

Beaded Necklace in the Style of Lord Leicester's

 I recently made a necklace inspired by late period Elizabethan portraiture. 

This piece is made of agate and glass beads and is inspired by the necklace worn in this portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester c. 1560 (Portrait attributed to Steven van der Meulen [active: 1543 - 1563/4] and held in the Wallace Collection).

Image from: Wallace Collection Online - Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

The necklace has three strands of tiger tail which the white glass beads are strung on, and all three wires go through the black agate beads. The ends are finished with a silver hook and rod clasp. I made the necklace shorter than Lord Leicester's because it was made for a lady to wear unadorned and her style is less flamboyant than his.

Baronial A&S Tablecloth/s

Something I have been concentrating on for the last couple of weeks is making up a new A&S tablecloth for the Barony.

The old A&S tablecloth that I made some time in the 2000s is really showing it's age, and we had some blue tablecloths in storage that were not being used. Someone suggested that they be turned into A&S tablecloths which sounded like a great idea.

I machine-sewed on some white bias binding around the edges of the tablecloth and marked out the candle-in-arch A&S design with a template. I made up some fabric paints using acrylic and textile medium and started to paint. I thought a couple of coats would do it, but each motif ended up needing seven or eight coats because of the composition of the fabric and the way that it soaked up the paint.

The motifs haven't turned out as crisply as I would have liked, but the overall effect is much nicer than the previous tablecloth.

Split Stitch Owl Design

 

I recently had a chance to help a friend with a project for an upcoming ceremony. The project involved split stitching on velvet, which I had never done before.

The texture and pile of the fabric made stitching very different to stitching on cotton or linen, and it took some adjusting to. 

If you are planning an embroidery project on velvet fabric, I would recommend allowing a bit of extra time.

It was a bit of a rush but I am quite happy with how it turned out. The lovely design is by Sir Eva and the owls will be cut out and appliqued onto a garment.

Embroidery Challenge Piece

I recently had the opportunity to present my embroidery challenge piece and it was well received. I thrifted a linen napkin with (what looks like) crochet edging, and used running stitch in silk to embroider a heraldic sea horse. I also added a running stitch around the edge of the napkin.

The theme of the challenge was 'Animals and/or heraldic". I originally planned to do a more elaborately embroidered partlet for the challenge, but this last year has been hectic, so that plan did not come together.

Pearl and Pelican Necklace

The beading bug has obviously bitten me, because this week I did another beading project.

I got some lovely pearls and a pewter pendant from Mistress Kiriel, and this week strung them up on tiger tail wire with some glass rainbow beads. I used a simple ring and bar closure, which is really helpful if you have issues with your hands and wrists.

A very simple, fast and satisfying project!

Beaded Challenge Mementoes

Being a keen embroiderer, I try to run a local embroidery challenge every year or so. The themes vary, but the idea is to provide some motivation to create a new embroidery piece and arrange a forum to display the pieces created. Any skill level is welcomed, and the Challenge hopefully encourages people to participate without any of the pressures of a formal competition.

A lot happened in my local SCA group last year, including one of our members winning Crown, and so people were very busy with other things. The Embroidery Challenge extended into 2023 as a result, and people will finally have a chance to display their work this month. 

I made some small beaded tokens to give to participants as a memento of this year's Challenge. (2022 because the Challenge started last year.)

They are just small beads and a date pendant threaded onto tiger tail wire and secured with a metal crimp. Sounds like an easy make, but cold, shaky hands and beading do not mix well. Needless to say, the task took longer than expected, and I spent almost as much time trying to find and pick up all the beads I dropped before the puppy found and ate them!

Banner Bags

I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment, but I did spend a couple of hours recently making some bags to store some banners for my group. It was a very simple project, but one which really rekindled my enjoyment of crafting because I decided to use potato stamps to put the banner numbers on the bags.

I hadn't used a potato stamp since I was a child (and my skills have not improved since then!) but I really enjoyed it. The results were not great, but boy I had fun with it. 

I must try and get some woodblock stamps in future, and learn about fabric stamping.

'Portrait of a Lady' by Scipione Pulzone

Portrait of a Lady by Scipione Pulzone

(also known as 'Portrait Of A Lady, Half Length, Wearing A Black Velvet And Ermine-Trimmed Dress With A Lace Collar And Head-Shawl' by the Florentine School) - check out that lace veil!

 Image from: WikiGallery.org