New dress fabric ordered

I finally ordered fabric for a new dress for me! Yeah!

I went kind of bold and purchased a burnt orange wool for the dress and olive green linen for the lining. I already have the black wool for the guards.

My goal is to recreate the look of these dresses (colorwise)...





Durer

I just hope I don't end up looking like a pumpkin. lol

Goller - The Plan and a good start

What is a Goller?  It is the German version of a capelet, usually fur-lined, worn for warmth.  It is very suitable to the working women that wants to stay warm but can not be bundled up in a full sized cloak.

There are many examples of gollers in period artwork.  Some fur-lined, some not; some with guarding and some without and some with collars and others without.  Below are a few of the examples that I am baseing my goller on:

Paumgartner Altar (detail of right wing) by Albrecht Durer, 1503.

Nuremberg Woman by Albrecht Durer, ?.

Portrait of a Young Woman by Hans Baldung Grien, 1st half 16th Century

So, tonight I got the goller cut out from a light brown wool.  I followed the pattern from Reconstructing History #505 Early 16th Century German Accessories.  I then cut guards an inch and a half wide from a lightly felted black wool and pinned them onto the front of the goller two inches from the edge.  That was all for tonight.  Next the guards will be hand whip stitched in place and the whole goller lined with fur.

Belt Accessory - Keys

I made an eBay purchase today for some reproduction keys to hang off my belt.  You can see keys hanging from the belts of many german women in period artwork.  Keys were often worn visibly on the belt (by both men and women) as they respresented certain rights (or an office) of the wearer. As the head of the household, a wife would own a chain of keys.  Here are just a few examples that fit my persona's timeframe:

A seated woman by Albrecht Durer, 1514.

Melencolia I , Albrecht Durer, 1514.

Couple Seated on a Bed, from Scenes of Daily Life by Israhel van Meckenem.

I felt it would add that touch of authenticity to my garb if I had a set of keys too.  Having a period correct gown is a wonderful thing but it is often the little extra accessories you add to it that make it really special.  The keys I bought aren't perfect but they fit my budget for now.  In the future I may replace them with nicer ones but these will do for the time being.

Above are the reproduction keys I purchased.

Extant 15th Century Keys.

Tablet Woven Garters - Finished!

I have been working on my first piece of tablet weaving in the evenings while watching TV with the family. It was probably not the best time to be working on a project that needed a bit of concentration in order to keep the pattern straight. I made more than one mistake along the way. I looked at it as a learning tool... having to turn back the cards and unweave.

The thing I really need to work on is getting my selvages smoother. I am just not sure if I am pulling too tight or not tight enough. It will come with practice I am sure.

The other major lesson I learned was to always allow for more warp then you think you will need for the project. My poor husband got recruited to hold the loose ends of my warp for my last eleven turns as I didn't have enough warp left to tie a knot and still turn the cards.

But, here they are... my first tablet woven item... garters! Now I just need to make stockings to go with them.


For the A&S 50 Challenge these will be one item under my Persona challege (linen garters) and also one item for my skills challenge (tablet weaving).

I have also started researching period German recipes for my third A&S 50 Challenge. I have found many that I can make and feed to my family to test them out. Once I have tested a recipe I will add to a cookbook doc which I will print out at the end of the challenge for display.

Next Project - Garters

I know I haven't finished the apron yet, but I am waiting on some linen thread to do the hem with so it has been set aside for now.

That allows me the time to play with some new things that came in the mail today from Halcyon Yarn...

A belt shuttle, as the Inkle Loom I got for Christmas did not come with a shuttle, and two dozen tablet weaving cards. 

I also ordered four mini spools of linen warping yarn (the black is on backorder).  This linen yarn is Newport 16/2 Linen in the 300 yard cone.  It is a dry spun yarn that has a nice sheen to it.

With all these new things to play with I started on my next project - garters to hold up my future stockings.  The plan is to use this small project as a learning tool for tablet weaving.  I plan to use my Inkle loom to weave on.  Some people often refer to this as a "TWinkle loom" when tablet weaving is woven on an Inkle loom.  Whatever one calls it, this will be my second weaving project ever and my first tablet weaving... we will see how it goes.

The Apron - Day 2

Today's goal was to get my apron pleated up and I managed to get it done too!

There are a couple of ways to create pleats in your fabric.  If the seamstress was very accomplished she could simply eyeball the distance between basting stitches... I am not that accomplished.  I need a tool to help me get perfectly even basting stitches.  The two most common options available are iron-on dots that can be found for purchase on-line or using a sheet of plastic canvas (used for 3-D needlepoint projects) to measure out the dots.  Since I happened to have a large sheet of plastic canvas in my stash of craft stuff, that is the option I used.

I aligned the long edge of the plastic canvas sheet with the basting row I put in yesterday (for my straight cutting line).  Using a #2 pencil, I made a dot in every third square across and down for a total of seven rows.  I plan to only smock 6 rows but it helps to have nice straight pleats to work on when smocking so having an extra row is helpful.  When I filled all the squares in the plastic canvas I lifted it and repositioned it further down the length of my apron.  It took four placements to cover the 60 inches of the fabric to be pleated.  Here is what a 9 inch section looks like fully marked...

I used a black quilting thread to make my basting stitches as it is a strong thread that resists breaking when gathered into the pleats and the high contrast in color helps with placing the smocking stitches later on.  Here is that same nine inches after basting...

And finally, here is what the whole 60 inches of fabric looks like after drawing up the basting stitches...

Next step is the make the smocking stitches.

The Apron - Day 1

I pulled out my white 5 oz weight linen tonight so I could start the cutting for my new apron. Since I will be smocking the top edge of the apron I needed it to be 50-66% wider then I intend the finished piece to be. As I want the finished top to be about 20 inches wide, I chose a starting width of 60 inches. The pleating will gather the beginning width into the much smaller finished width. For the waist to floor length I opted to use a known period loom width of about 32 inches.

To insure that I was cutting straight with the grain, I hand basted a black waste thread along one of the weft threads. I then cut the length I needed a half inch from the basting line.

That is all I got done for tonight... Tomorrow the basting stitches for the smocking.

A Pleated & Smocked Apron - The Plan

So, now that the holidays are over I am going to start working on my new garb.  The first project will be something small and hopefully quickly finished... an apron.

Aprons were very popular as they helped keep ones hard to clean clothes from getting soiled.  I personally like the look of smocked aprons and that is what I plan on making.  Below you can see a few of the paintings of which I am drawing my inspiration from.

The first three show the use of pleated aprons. In the Seated Woman by Durer you can see how the pleats have been drawn up tight at the top of the apron and then are allowed to hang down and become full.  I don't see any top stitching on the pleats in this image so the basting threads may have been left in to hold the pleats in place.

Seated Woman, Albrecht Durer, 1514

Presumed Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1517.

Portrait of a Woman, Albrecht Altdorfer,  1522.

(Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid)

In Albrecht Durer's Melencolia I, you can clearly see a pattern at the top of the apron that could easily be honeycombed smocking.

Melencolia I , Albrecht Durer, 1514.

And again, below you can see what apears to be honeycomb at the top of the apron and maybe a simple line of embriodery or cutwork at the bottom too.

The Seamstress, Edward Schoen, 1535.

If I have time I would like to add some embroidery to the bottom of the apron as well.  Maybe some blackwork similar to what appears in this painting:

Unknown.

Well before my persona's life time there are many examples of pleated and/or smocked aprons.  Most notably, images found in the Luttrell Psalter from the 14th century.  Black embroidery of some kind is clearly seen at the tops of these gathered aprons.

And finally, about 60-70 years after my target time period, you can find many images of pleated, smocked and otherwise embroidered aprons in the Frauen-Trachten by Jost Amman published in 1586. The ones of greatest interest to me are among the images of the women of Frankfurt am Main, Germany the home of my persona, Elsbeth.

The plan for new garb for me!

Now that the rush to make garb for the three kiddos is over I am excited to get on with the plans for a whole new set of garb for me!  My SCA Persona, Elsebeth, was born in Frankfurt, German in 1465.  My goal is to create period garb that falls between the years of 1485 to 1520 when I would have been an adult between 20-55 years old.  To that end, I want my first dress to be an everyday working dress similar to that seen in the images below:

Portrait of a Man and His Wife by Ulrich Apt the Elder, 1512.

Anna Barth? from the Lamberger Portrait Book, 1575-ish.

(Is fancier then I want and from a later period but nice to see the style didn't change much.)

Portrait of 34 year old women by Hans Holbien, 1517.

Portrait of Coloman Helmschmid and Agnes Breu by Jorg Breu the Elder, 1500-1505.

Portrait of a women by Wolf Traut, 1510.

To Do List:
1. Kleid (dress)
2. Hemd (smock)
3. Wulsthaube (headwear)
4. Goller (shoulder wrap/cape)
5. Apron
6. Hose (stockings)
7. Shoes (and maybe Pattens too)
8. Jewelry
9. Belt
10. Pouch

It is a long, somewhat overwhelming list!  I will take on one thing at a time but most likely not in the order listed above.  Many of the items I don't have at all and if added onto my current not period correct dress and chemise I will at least "look" more period-ly correct so I may work on those first just in case the dress doesn't get finished by the next event, Ymir, in February.

Winter Solstice

What a wonderful fun event Winter Solstice turned out to be! Good food, music, dancing, games and new friends.

There were some minor garb issues... A gusset seam split on baby T's dress, E's pants lost it's drawstring so he had to wear his mundane jeans for half the day and I just didn't get anything new made for me... still, a good day and I was pleased the kids had such a good time.


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Location:Winston-Salem, NC

The linen has arrived!

How crisp and nice it feels too!  The 5 oz is in the wash right now.  The 3.5 oz will get washed soon.

I finished the second sleeve on "T"'s gown this morning.  I looks good on her.... a bit loose but I meant to do that for growing room.  Now I just need to hem it and embroider the neckline.

Oh, I was so excited today to finally find a source for solid brass lacing rings!  I have been searching online for a week now with no luck.  I need them for "M"'s bodice on her dress and more projects in the future I am sure.  I found them at Renaissance Fabrics.  I also purchased some brass buttons, lacing and trim from here as well. The shopping cart wasn't working but I sent them an email with what I wanted and she is going to invoice me.  Yeah!

Change of plans...

Well, maybe not a change of plans.  More like an addition!

I had originally thought I would make "T" a copy of the Holbein's daughter's hemd and sleeveless dress.  Then it occurred to me that the Winter Solstice event is in December and it might be a wee bit chilly.  So, in doing a bit more research on children's clothes I came across the Herjolfsnes finds.  Herjolfsnes 44 is a child's gown with long sleeves and originally made out of wool.

So based on their layout I pattern drafted it out to be sized for almost 2 year old "T" with a bit of growing room as well.  I had some cast off "first garb" blue linen pants that had been given to me and I cut them apart for this project.  I had just enough to piece this dress together.

I got most of it sewed tonight.  I have one sleeve left to attach and then the hemming.  I lined the collar with the oatmeal linen I used as guarding on "M"'s dress.  If I have time I would like to do some simple embroidery at the collar to hold the lining in place.

I also finally settled on who to order my wool flannel from: The Wool Connection.  Once the wool comes in I can start on "E"'s tunic and maybe a few other projects as well.

Linen is on it's way...

I ordered linen online tonight.  They didn't have any colors that called out to me so I just got some white linen in 3.5oz and 5oz for the kid's hemds, coifs and possibly an apron and headcloth of some sort for me.  I ordered it from fabric-store.com.  Can't wait for it to get here so I can start sewing.

Inspiration for children's garb

So, in preparation for the German themed Winter Solstice event on December 11th I need to sew garb for the kids.  Calum and I have garb we can wear for this event (although I would love to make some new items for me as well) but the kids have no garb to wear at all.  Searching the internet I found a few inspirational images...

The painting "The Artist's Family" by Holbein in 1528 shows a toddler in a simple short sleaved hemd and sleaveless gown.  This should be easy enough to duplicate for our 23 month old daughter, "T".  I will use linen or a linen/cotton blend.  The hemd will be white and the dress whatever period color I can find.  I will probally do hook and eye closure on the bodice instead of spiral lacing.

For "M", our 6 year old daughter, I will make a campfrua overdress using the pattern from Reconstructing History #504 as a general guidline.  I have some pieces of linen (deep red and oatmeal) in my stash that I hope will be large enough to use for her dress.  The hemd will be from white linen and drafted from the Reconstructing History #505 pattern..  If I have time I would like to experiment with pleating and smocking the neckline in a honeycomb stitch.

Finally, "E" is our 8 year old son.  He is not so keen on dressing up so I need to make something simple and not to weird looking for him.  The plan is to make a plain white linen shirt, linen or wool T-Tunic in red (his favorite color) and flannel loose pants.  I plan to follow the T-Tunic pattern from "Practical Worksheet for Tunic Construction" by Cynthia Virtue.

For all the kids I would like to make linen 3 piece coifs but not sure any but "M" will actually wear them.  Cynthia Virtue also had great write up on Coif construction at "How to make a coif: 1 and 3 piece patterns".

So, that is my starting plan.  I am sure it will evolve as time goes on.