Tudor gown and kirtle updates.
It's been awhile since I've posted anything about my Tudor outfit. So, I figued I would post something about it.
The kirtle is done, well, almost. I have to get my husband to help me tonight to lace me in and fit the straps on, so I can cut the ends off and sew it up. So, tonight it will be completely done. Except for the sleeves. I've not even patterned those yet, so they will be a separate item. And the jewels will be worked later.
The gown bodice is coming along nicely. It fits well over the kirtle bodice in the back, and appears that it will hug closely, with just enough of a space at top for the kirtle jewels to peek over. Since I had to repattern the whole back, I decided to go with my first instinct and add in a black silk piped edge. It will help to snug up the top a bit, and I think it adds a nice color contrast, and it will bring the black from the hem up into the upper part of the garment. Now, I have no documentation that there was piping added, but I do have some documentation that the edges were bound, as seen in the Princess Elizabeth portrait. I will be binding the lower sleeve edges, and all edges of the skirt, all in black. Some will be black silk, and the skirt hem will be black velvet with additional black velvet welts. I need to get some wider cording for those welts.
I want to add a bit of gold cording, hand sewn into place. I just am unsure as to where exactly I want to add that cording in, so I may wait till I am mostly done to add it in. I know I want to add it to the hem area near the black velvet, so I may just run a cord along the edges of the black binding someplace. I just don't want to over do anything, since most of the gowns of the period seem to have a decided lack of bling, unless of course a Princess or a Queen was wearing the gown, which seems to be mainly the case later in Henry's reign.
I also want to comment on how nice it is to work with wool and linen. They marry rather nicely, the wool being soft and pliable, and the linen lining giving it a bit more crispness to the body. I also like working with silk fabrics, but unlike wool and linen, they do not like to be pinked with pinking sheers, so I just left them alone for the most part, unless it was someplace that isn't being lined, then I made sure to zig-zag the edges. Sometimes, I keep thinking it would be nice to have a serger to deal with that, but I still wonder if I really would use it a lot more. But that's another subject.
Next steps are to work on the skirts, which I may do tonight. I've got them cut out and mostly sewn together. However, I used the full width of the fabrics, and the linen was not as wide as the wool, so I need to add a small panel of linen inside to even out the widths. I have to remember to add in a strip of wool to pad the edges for the back. Then it will be making rolling pleats and sewing those upside down to the bodice edge. I hope they will flare out the pleats a bit doing that.
Then it will be on to the sleeves. I am not sure much on those yet, so I will post more on them later.
The kirtle is done, well, almost. I have to get my husband to help me tonight to lace me in and fit the straps on, so I can cut the ends off and sew it up. So, tonight it will be completely done. Except for the sleeves. I've not even patterned those yet, so they will be a separate item. And the jewels will be worked later.
The gown bodice is coming along nicely. It fits well over the kirtle bodice in the back, and appears that it will hug closely, with just enough of a space at top for the kirtle jewels to peek over. Since I had to repattern the whole back, I decided to go with my first instinct and add in a black silk piped edge. It will help to snug up the top a bit, and I think it adds a nice color contrast, and it will bring the black from the hem up into the upper part of the garment. Now, I have no documentation that there was piping added, but I do have some documentation that the edges were bound, as seen in the Princess Elizabeth portrait. I will be binding the lower sleeve edges, and all edges of the skirt, all in black. Some will be black silk, and the skirt hem will be black velvet with additional black velvet welts. I need to get some wider cording for those welts.
I want to add a bit of gold cording, hand sewn into place. I just am unsure as to where exactly I want to add that cording in, so I may wait till I am mostly done to add it in. I know I want to add it to the hem area near the black velvet, so I may just run a cord along the edges of the black binding someplace. I just don't want to over do anything, since most of the gowns of the period seem to have a decided lack of bling, unless of course a Princess or a Queen was wearing the gown, which seems to be mainly the case later in Henry's reign.
I also want to comment on how nice it is to work with wool and linen. They marry rather nicely, the wool being soft and pliable, and the linen lining giving it a bit more crispness to the body. I also like working with silk fabrics, but unlike wool and linen, they do not like to be pinked with pinking sheers, so I just left them alone for the most part, unless it was someplace that isn't being lined, then I made sure to zig-zag the edges. Sometimes, I keep thinking it would be nice to have a serger to deal with that, but I still wonder if I really would use it a lot more. But that's another subject.
Next steps are to work on the skirts, which I may do tonight. I've got them cut out and mostly sewn together. However, I used the full width of the fabrics, and the linen was not as wide as the wool, so I need to add a small panel of linen inside to even out the widths. I have to remember to add in a strip of wool to pad the edges for the back. Then it will be making rolling pleats and sewing those upside down to the bodice edge. I hope they will flare out the pleats a bit doing that.
Then it will be on to the sleeves. I am not sure much on those yet, so I will post more on them later.