Sewing Log: 2012. Items 1-5
Because I lost track of what I was doing in the sewing world last year, and really did get quite a bit done, I’m doing my best (not a Resolution, just an intention, because I forgot to put it on the Resolutions list 13 days ago) to keep track here. That also means that I’ll be updating here more.
No applause, just throw money.
So, getting into the swing of things: Rules are that I have to finish an item between January 1 and December 31 for the item to make the list.
For the first five items, the inspiration portrait (“IP”) is found at: http://elizabethan-portraits.com/Elizabeth60.jpg
1. Lace edged ruff on band. This was white cotton stiffened with nylon horsehair, with white polyester lace on edge. Looked great, totally OOP materials. Triple stacked pleats. This is one that gets whipped onto a collared smock, rather than incorporated into a smock.
2. Lace edged wrist ruffs on bands. These were black, just like in the IP. Black ruffs are unusual. Couldn’t find any decent black lace, so I got rayon/cotton lace in white in an appropriate design and dyed it. Rit works if you follow the instructions and don’t try to dye stuff it’s not intended for. Stiffened with nylon horsehair. Hooks and eyes for closure. Can be whipped, but didn’t need to for first wearing.
3. Underskirt/half-kirtle. I like the term half-kirtle, but just because it sounds more perioid. This was unusual because it was slashed like the doublet bodice. Most half-kirtles either match the sleeves or are dissimilar entirely. This one matched the doublet. I turned the slashes with organza ribbon, which gives a crispness and support to the slash and at the same time is less visible than most other turning materials. Since the main fabric was white damask, it would not have served to merely slash and glue the edges. In addition, the IP shows a line of topstitching around each slash. Through the slashes, you can see the black taffeta lining. I lined only the forepart, where the slashes are. The remainder of the underskirt is unlined. The ouches between the slashes were buttons I found with a design compatible, albeit not matching, to the IP. I have made ouches that would have matched, but did not have the time to make the several dozen required for the project. I was thinking of replacing the buttons with cast ouches, but the buttons are growing on me. I removed the shanks to make them sit more securely and stitched through the buttons with a matching thread through the taffeta and damask layers. This secures not only the button but the two layers to each other. The hem is bound with a straight strip of the same damask as the skirt. The waistband is secured by two large hooks and bars.
4. Gown. The same technique was used for the slashes and jewels on the doublet bodice as described for the half-kirtle. The tabs at the waist and armscyes are lined with cotton twill for body and doubled to make loops, but the shoulder tabs did not maintain the press that I anticipated. I will be revising the loops to add a bit more support, either with monofilament fishing line or with starch. The doublet bodice is interlined with black taffeta and lined with black cotton twill. The hem of the skirt is bound similarly to the underskirt. The sheer puffs at the shoulder are false. They’re merely a tube of organza gathered at several spots to make the loops and secured by ouches. The sleeves are an embroidered chiffon that is reminiscent of the sheer fabric in the IP. I gathered the wrist edges of the sleeves with narrow elastic in three rows to make the two rows of puffs.
5. Petticoat lining. When I hung the gown up on the door to let the fabric relax, I noticed that the black-lined bodice and the skirt, which were made of the same fabric, looked different. I realized that the unlined skirt needed some black to back it to make it look the same. Rather than completely dismantling the skirt from the bodice, I made a removable lining that buttons onto the front edge of the gown and has a drawstring waist. It’s weird but it works.
I will edit the post when I can get a picture of all this off my camera!