The Path Within

2012 Goals

2012-01-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's a new year! So what does 2012 have in store for Crystal? Well, so far it's been nothing but illness and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Not that crafty.

I do have goals though!

Make a favor for my champion and my lord (yes, they are two different people).
Make the red eggplant silk veste to go with my ACC butter yellow sottana.
Make the beaded partlet to go with said veste.
That long talked-about, but nary a cut to the fabric Jacobean/Elizabethan Jacket.
Make a wool zimarra with applique/embroidery/some other form of awesome.
Start teaching calligraphy again.
Make something with my silverpoint kit. Even if it's just a trial.
On the "maybe this year" list is a wool flanders dress.

ACC Wrap-up Post

2011-12-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

I have neglected to write my wrap-up post regarding the Artemisian Costuming Challenge, so let's get that done, shall we? Links will take you to tagged blog posts for more information on my process and documentation.


Layer #1 (Skin) - Linen Camicia, hand sewn and embroidered in silk.

Layer #1 Budget - $0 spent. All materials came from my stash, including silk floss and beeswax for embroidery.

Layer #2 (main gown) - Damask sottana and silk sleeves.

Layer #2 Budget - This is where I splurged.
$25.20 on beads for the sleeves.
$23.98 on silk fabric
$8.99 on satin ribbons to attach sleeves
All other materials are from my stash.

Layer #3 (Accessory) - Partlet

Layer #3 Budget - $0 spent. All materials from stash.

I had a lot of grandiose plans for a beaded/couched partlet, but due to time constraints, I made a simple Florentine partlet. It is cut out of one piece of fabric, and ties under the arms to hold it in place. It's designed based on a combination of these two portraits, both by Bronzino, wherein the first clearly has no shoulder seams, and the second has an added collar. I will still be doing a more fancy partlet, but at a later date with no time restrictions.


Layer #4 (Warmth) - Fur-lined muff with gold-worked trim, hand sewn

Layer #4 Budget - $12.00 for thrift store fur coat to reinvent. All other materials from stash.

I had intended mantelinne or Dutch Cloak for my warmth layer, but burned out, so I'm calling this my final layer. It's for warmth, right? My late start in the challenge due to scribal activities put me behind schedule, and I simply couldn't sacrifice my sanity over the holidays to rush making another layer.

Total budget - $70.17

My overall experience was a good one. I finally used some of my stash materials, and have a pretty new gown for the court season. I do intend to add pieces to this for versatility, including a silk veste, beaded partlet, netted caul, and long pearl necklaces. I have already secured most of the materials needed for these, so you can look forward to seeing them in the future.

Thank you, Maestra Bianca for spearheading this challenge and inspiring so many people.

Butter Yellow Damask Sottana - Complete!

2011-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

My sottana is complete! Joyous noise!

I was up until about midnight Friday night, doing finishing touches on the sleeves, and attaching lacing rings for said sleeves. I was determined to get them done so I could the new gown to Solstice Court.

The event was beautiful, the company was divine, and everyone looked magnificent. I feel so blessed to live among such wonderful, talented people. Noelle, you always leave me in awe with your elegance and generosity.

So enough with the talk, it's time to see what I did!

The sleeves are a warm golden yellow silk taffeta, flat-lined with linen to add some durability, and lined in ivory silk taffeta. Strips were assembled into a chevron pattern, resulting in looking a bit like a pseudo-spiral sleeve. I won't say much about my construction techniques on them, as you can buy Lynn McMaster's spiral sleeve pattern. I used her instructions, with my own sleeve pattern. My arms never fit commercial patterns.

While I haven't strictly found portraiture of spiral or chevron sleeves exactly like this in Florence, this portrait of Isabel de Valois clearly has spiral sleeves, and the below portrait of Laudomia de Medici has chevron-esque sleeves. I feel confident that extrapolation of these to what I created is well within the realm of what could have been done.

Isabel de Valois

Laudomia de Medici

My partlet was a simple straightforward partlet to use until I get a fancy couched and beaded one done. I may be adding some gold lace to the edges of this to fancy it up a bit, but I was relatively pleased with how quickly it came together. This was cut as one solid piece (no shoulder seams), which made the stripes end up in a fun diagonal bias angle. I kind of like that. This partlet was sewn 100% by hand.

Enzo, the melancholy zibillino was made by the ever fabulous Holly/Aine of The Sable Greyhound. Her work is always marvelous, and you should go check out her shop at the link above. She also has an etsy shop. Okay, enough with the crass commercial announcements. I just love sharing her with the world because everything she's made for me is amazingly beautiful. She also made the necklace, earrings, and girdle belt I wore to Solstice.

Photo by Kao Martin and blatantly stolen by me.

I was lazy and didn't take a camera, so I'm forced to thieve this picture taken by Kao. I haven't seen any full length photos pop up anywhere either, so this will have to do for now. I'll try to get more images taken at 12th Night.

Silk Sleeves Sneak Peek

2011-12-05T14:22:00.001-08:00

I spent almost the entire weekend cutting strips of silk and linen, and magically converting an ugly pile of strips of fabric into tubes of fabric, and then magically turning tubes of fabric into what will one day be some pretty cool sleeves, if I can pull it off properly. Will I be done by Solstice Court? I damn well intend to be!

All I can say right now is that what I'm doing is very time consuming, but hopefully the results will be worth it. Also, rotary cutters are the bomb. Don't know how I lived without one before. I kinda wish I'd gotten the bigger mat now. Also, my entire house is covered in flitting bits of silk thread. Supportive boyfriend is slightly annoyed.

Progression

2011-11-29T10:31:00.001-08:00

My Sottana is progressing nicely, if slowly. Them hem turned out a smidge shorter than I wanted, but it is passable. Apparently my dress form settled down a little and is now a bit shorter than me. Didn't think that would be possible.

As you can see, the padded hem holds the hem out in a pretty graceful line despite how flimsy and drapey (is drapey a word?) this fabric is. I would definitely do it again, but next time in an even stiffer fabric. This is simply a strip of felt tucked into the fashion fabric as it's turned under, resulting in about three layers of the fashion fabric, and one layer of felt. This damask is a pain in that it does not hold crisp lines, so despite the steaming and pressing I did, it still looks somewhat unpressed at the hem. I'll give it another go to see if I can clean it up further.

As you can see, I have added a bit of ivory braid to the neckline in order to try to give it a more finished look. I was unhappy with it previously due to the aforementioned problem with it not pressing well. Yes, the skirt is hanging funny in the front. This is largely due to the felt padding in the pleats. It looks different on my body than on this skinny form. I do need to do some alteration at the flat/unpleated section in the front though, as it is pulling to one side. Not too pleased about that one, but c'est la vie.

I have made a decision about my sleeves, and did the necessary patterning for them last night.

I spent the weekend fighting with my partlet. My silk organza is not as stiff as I'd liked, and my plans to hold it to a stretch frame without damaging the delicate fabric ended up less than successful. I also struggled with getting my pattern laid onto the fabric, which resulted in lines which were less than straight as I couched my silk cords down. After some exhaustion in fighting with the thing, I have put that on the back burner while I do my sleeves and a quick "alternate" partlet, using the same pattern with different fabric. It's good to test the pattern anyway, right? And who doesn't need more partlets?

I had hoped to have everything done and ready to wear to Solstice Court, and that's not looking feasible at this point. However, perhaps I will have enough done to be dressed in an entirely new gown, even if it's not in line with my original vision.

ACC Partlet and Sottana Update

2011-11-21T17:25:00.001-08:00

I had some misgivings about my standing collar partlet, mainly about the heavy embellishment and how that would on both the inside and outside of the collar. My examples of full partlets with high collars do not have heavy embellishment like this on the inside of the neck. This appears to only occur when worn with a high necked doublet or veste. I had concerns about it damaging the inside of my veste if I did a full scale embroidered/beaded partlet that is not just the inside of the collar. It is logical that different partlets existed to go with specific types of gowns. So after a nice brain licking session with Noelle (mainly to see if she saw the same issues I did and justified my changing directions), I have come up with a "plan B."

I will still be making my standing collar partlet, but not for wearing sans veste. Speaking of standing collar partlet, I picked Holly's brain on doing something to get the star shaped "goldwork" effect without actually doing goldwork, and came up with an awesome plan. I'm excited to share that with you too, when I am ready to go on it. But, that's on the back-burner for the moment as I will focus on making a partlet more suitable for wearing just with the sottana:

Eleonora di Toledo, 1543
Agnolo Bronzino

Always remember, it's your prerogative to change your mind/plan a zillion times as an artist of any sort, including costuming.

For now, I'm focusing on finishing up my padded hem. I'm about 3/4 finished with it... have I mentioned how HUGE this skirt is? Pretty sure I hemmed for three hours last night. I measured my hem using my dress form, which is more scientific than what I've done in the past (ball park eyeball, guess, and pray). I've gotten lucky in the past with only having hems that are a smidge too long, which is a better problem to have than too short. Let's all pray I get lucky again.

While I was hanging out with Noelle, I was reminded of how awesome it is to be with her and her little family. Such snuggle-butts.

Sottana Sleeves

2011-11-16T08:20:00.001-08:00

I have several thoughts/ideas/inspirations for sleeves for my Sottana, and need to come to some sort of decision. I hate making decisions. My top choices, in no particular order are:

Spiral Sleeve - Neapolitan Woman from Moda a Firenze

White pinked sleeve from Allesandro Allori's portrait of Isabella de Medici

Paned sleeve from Bronzino's portrait of Eleanora de Toledo and Son

Pinked and striped sleeves - Painting associated with Allesandro Allori, 1535-1607

I do want to keep the baragoni (sleeve head/shoulder treatment) minimal with this Sottana as I will want to fit the sleeves under the Veste once I eventually get it done. Or possibly make something removable/multiple sleeves. Gah so many options!

My fabric choices include the butter yellow damask, and if the postal service doesn't lose my package for another month (growl/snarl), ivory silk taffeta or yellow silk taffeta, which I've yet to determine how well it will match. Yikes!

I love love love the look of plain white pinked sleeves, but they are very similar to my elevation sleeves, sans the pearls and crystals, of course. So that's currently at the bottom of my top choices, so to speak. If my silk doesn't arrive like...today, I may be stuck with the damask, which means the panes would be the best choice. Plus, I haven't done paned sleeves since my first 'Bethan, back in '03 or '04.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Sottana Progress

2011-11-14T08:17:00.001-08:00

I have pleated and attached the skirts, and appear to have plenty of room for hemming (Thank goodness). The unfortunate thing is that I did 1/2 inch cartridge pleats, and they are packed onto the skirt so densely that they are bunching and flipping over each other in groups, rather than laying smoothly. It's kind of hard to tell from the pictures though - I'll have to take close-ups. I'm hoping that once I get it on my body, they'll spring up and be pretty. If not, I'll have to rip them off and either trim part of the panels off or re-pleat with slightly deeper pleats. I've never had this problem before - this fabric is more wide than what I normally use.

The bodice front looks like it's having some weird vertical wrinkling, but it's because my dress form is significantly less curvy than my body. It will smooth out when I fill it up. Also, my camicia back is not actually V-shaped. It's pinned that way to keep it from falling off the dress form.

I think I'd like to try doing a padded hem, since this fabric is super flimsy and drapey.

I played dress up on the form, and the girdle belt that Holly made me for my elevation goes beautifully with this dress, so no need for another belt! Woo!

Next up (other than finalizing the hem/pleat questions), sleeves and partlet. I need to pick Serafina's brain on the partlet, for she is far more experienced than I.

I will probably not have the Veste done to wear to this season's court events, so I'm hoping it will look fancy enough on its own, and not too similar to my other gold brocade dress. Obviously the older one is Venetian rather than Florentine, but my mind wants reassurance that they are dissimilar enough without the Veste.

ACC Update

2011-11-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have a lovely time at Kingdom Collegium on Saturday, though I didn't get chance to attend or teach any classes - I was sitting as troll all day. I did sneak off to go to the ACC meeting, and got to socialize a little. I didn't have a chance to take any handwork to Collegium, as I had already finished my lucet cords for lacing the dress.

The bodice is complete, and I have discovered what a delicate and moody fabric this is. It has a very light, open weave, so it's very easy to snag the fabric, and seam allowances need to be very carefully finished as they will fray out and become nuisances of themselves.

I assessed my skirt issues, and I think I'll be fine for length. I removed the front panel from the rest of the skirt and am dealing with it separately for now, as it will not be pleated all the way across the front. Once I'm done marking my pleats, I will reattach the front panel to the back/sides (making sure to do it correctly this time), and all will be well with the universe.

My goal is to have the skirts fully attached and hopefully hemmed by the end of the week. I'm running several weeks behind schedule, and need to get started on my partlet.

Sottana Fail?

2011-11-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have been ignoring my Sottana with much fervor. Knowing this to be a BAD idea, considering the looming deadline, and worked on it this weekend. I may have allowed my sewing-fu to get the worst of me. That adage of measure twice, sew once? Yeah... make that three times and think ahead if you're dealing with a patterned fabric that might require pattern matching.

I cut my skirt panels, originally with the premeditated intent to not worry about pattern matching. It's got to be a period practice given the amount of fabric waste that can go into matching, and I figured the patterns would probably get lost in pleats anyway.

I was wrong. I sewed two of the panels together and determined I hated it with the pattern all messy like that. My inner Virgo-cusp yelled at me. I picked apart the panels, made some matching happen, and re-sewed them together. This of course made the panels not line up exactly, forcing a loss of length. Now, I thought I'd be golden because being super scared about short hemlines, I cut them extra long.

I got to my third panel, and somehow, it was NOT cut on the grain. I ended up having to trim a good five inches off the top to straighten it out, which will in turn make me lose additional length. I gave up at this point, and have not yet determined the final damage.

The good news is that if I must, I can pick this panel off and cut a new panel, and use the failed panel to make sleeves. I should have plenty of fabric for this. The bad news is that I was so frustrated with my unfocused brainspace that I didn't take pictures, even though I got my dress form all assembled, and could have taken some mighty nice ones.

Oh well, another day. Until then, enjoy this picture that amuses me, of a most NOT amused kitty. Rudy dog came to visit us, and Sim Sim Salabim did her best Halloween kitty impression the whole time he was here, poofy fur and arched back galore.

"I'd better make myself look big!"

Fabric Haul

2011-10-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

I got a major score on the clearance shelves at Hancock Fabrics a few weeks ago! Royal Blue (about 5.5 yards) and Royal Purple (10 yards) 100% wool. So now I get to play the "what am I going to make with this?" game.

These are all things I've been wanting to tackle for a long time:

Saxon Gown

Flemish Working Class

Early 16th C. Florentine

Zimarra

For the smaller yardage in blue (my favorite color, by the way), I'm thinking either a zimarra or sleeveless ropa, embellished with applique and couching. Another option would be an outer gown to go over my chocolate linen kirtle to convert it into a Flemish working class dress.

For the purple wool, I may try my hand at a saxon gown, or an earlier Florentine style dress. I'm almost thinking this shade of purple is a bit too vibrant though. I think I'd rather it were dialed down a bit into a nice plum. I might try dying it if I don't chicken out. There should be plenty left over to do something for my Sven as well.

Thoughts? Opinions? Other ideas I haven't thought of?

Let's not forget I also have eight yards of evergreen and ultramarine linen getting bored in my stash. Maybe I can combine the wool and linen to something awesome. I won't be starting on this any time before the New Year, so that gives me plenty of time to stew and plan.

Blog Design

2011-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Since I'm a total fail-face at making progress on my sottana, I have instead re-done part of my blog layout. If you read via an RSS feed or Google Reader, please check out my actual page and tell me what you think. Specifically, I added top tabs with some slide-shows of my work on their own pages, and some other misc. stuff to make it more of a "stand alone" webpage, now that my old webpage is gone.

Since posting without pictures is a faux pas, here are images of my linen caul.

A Tisket a Tasket; What goes in my Basket

2011-10-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

One of the first things you'll learn, whether it's for a day event or a camping event, is there will be things you will regularly need. This is a list of things I keep in my basket, aside from my mundane wallet, keys, and cell phone, to keep me comfortable in all the modern ways I've grown accustomed to:

Painkillers
Antacid
Glucose Tablets (handy if you know anyone diabetic or hypoglycemic)
Small sewing Kit
Safety pins
Extra ribbon for emergency lacing.
Kleenex or handkerchief
Hard candy or mints. Breath freshener.
Lip balm or gloss
Sunscreen (a Jaquelinne MUST-have)
Lotion
Small snack
Mug or Goblet and Water
Fan
Wet Ones
Umbrella/Parasol depending on weather predictions
Small garbage bag.
Hair pins and elastic bands
Comb and/or hairbrush
Event Schedule
Small tokens/trinkets to give away to people caught doing something awesome.
Notebook with Pens/Pencils
Small hand-work project (embroidery, lucet, etc.)
Time piece if you don't also have a cell phone (kept on silent!)

You may find this to be an awful lot to haul around (I know I do). It can be divided into two parts - the things you can leave at "base camp" (typically only a short walk away - be it a grouping of your chairs/tables or a tent on site), and those things you want on your person, always. Every item here has come in very handy to multiple people in the past. That's the key - don't hog the haul! Share your lacing ribbons and safety pins. It makes everyone have a better time.

If you serve on a retinue, you will find this basket a ready-made retinue basket without any effort, save finding out if your Royal has any allergies/medications/preferred beverages you should be aware of.

What do you keep in your basket?

Boned Interlining, Part II

2011-10-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Boning your back pieces isn't entirely necessary, but I like a few pieces to ensure the proper silhouette.

After you have inserted your boning, you may have an issue with the potential of the boning channels showing through your fashion fabric, particularly with zip ties under a delicate fabric like silk. Fear not!

Insert the bones and cut a piece of felt or flannel that is big enough to cover the bones, but smaller than the inside to your seam allowance. You don't want to bulk up your seams, just smooth out the bumpy boning lines. The thicker the bones, the more padding you will want- I have found felt to be the most effective over zip ties. Flannel would probably work well over spring steel. For this project, I'm using cheap synthetic felt due to the dollar cap set for the gown. I would prefer wool, but c'est la vie. For any concerned about added warmth, don't be. I overheat easily and used this method on my chocolate linen kirtle, which I wore several times in the heat of Utah's desert summer and was fine. I did not pad the back piece, which may make a difference for some.

Pad-stitched felt over bodice front

Lay the felt over the bones and pad stitch it into place. There are many videos on You Tube on how to pad stitch, which is a technique used to shape thick layers of fabric, particularly in suits and collars. I'm not using it to shape the garment, so tight, symmetrical stitches are not so important. I hesitate to show you my ugly pad stitching at all, but for the sake of sharing knowledge and my poor techniques, here you go.

This use of thin padding to disguise wire/stiffening is also used in millinery, and this layer is called mulling, if I recall correctly. You only need to pad one side, as the other will be facing your body. I pad-stitched everything in place with the boning already inserted, as I wanted to make sure not to stitch through boning channels, and to ensure this layer is firmly attached, with a smooth final product.

Inside of pad-stitched bodice

Once this is complete, flatline your fashion fabric (or lining fabric, whichever you prefer) with this padded, stiffened layer.

After lining and turning, the padded layer will fall behind your fashion fabric and disguise all those unsightly boning lines!

Bodice front - not yet pressed or finished! It'll look even better soon.

Boned Interlining, Part I

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tools

There are probably a myriad of ways to make a self-boned bodice, but this is how I do it.

I cut two of my pattern pieces out of heavy cotton canvas. A strong trigger, linen canvas, or coutil would also work. I used what was buried in my stash. I draw my boning channels directly onto my fabric, as this layer will not show at all.

The brand of zip ties I used

I then cut pieces of heavy zip tie (found at any local hardware store) at custom lengths to fit in these channels. Be sure to account for seam allowance when measuring what length to cut. I use my heavy snips to cut the plastic, simply because it's what I have. I can also use these same snips to cut spring steel boning.

Close-up of bones - left is filed, right is not

I then snip the sharp edges off of the bones and use a heavy metal file to round the corners. This will help prevent boning break-through. Sandpaper would also work for this step, but I use my file since that's what I have to file my metal bones. It makes pretty quick work of plastic bones.

Some people also dip the ends in a plasti-dip. I find this is less necessary for the zip ties. Metal bones do tend to need something as they are more prone to break-through, because they are not as thick. I have also had some luck with wrapping the ends of metal bones in medical tape in lieu of plasti-dip or nail polish.

I then number the bones from left to right, so I know later which bones belong in which channels without having to re-measure. I use a fine-tipped sharpie or similar so the ink doesn't rub off immediately. After this is done, I sew down my boning channels, with the two pattern pieces sandwiched together, creating channels in which to slide the boning down.

It is important to always sew the channels in the same direction, such as from top to bottom or bottom to top, but not to switch directions half-way through. This may cause some awkwardness from bulk of fabric under your sewing machine arm at some point, but if you change directions your fabric has a much higher chance of warping and causing wave-like wrinkles along the channels.

Once I am done sewing the channels, I give them a test drive and slide all the boning inside to make sure all pieces fit properly - if the channels are sewn too narrow, it will have to be picked out and sewn again as the boning won't fit. So far, I've yet to need to take that step thanks to careful measuring.

I will continue the next steps in another post soon!

ACC - Sottana

2011-09-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have begun some preliminary work on my ACC Sottana, also often called an Italian Petticoat or Kirtle. To do so, I took my chocolate kirtle pattern, and modified it to have a more pointed waist, instead of curved. Since my inspiration portrait is of Eleanora di Toledo, it was a logical decision to make. The Pisa Gown, and Eleanora di Toledo's burial gown (both are extant gowns you can see here), both had a distinctive point in the front, so I used the burial gown pattern in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion for a basis on my lines.

It's hard to tell just by a picture of the pattern piece, but I'm confident that this will not only fit, but will be much more representative of the overall look I'm going for than the curved waistline.

I will not be wearing a separate corset beneath this gown, in the spirit of Eleanora's well known active lifestyle and the belief that she did not wear a stiffened pair of bodies. Anea has an excellent article on this topic on her website. I will, however be stiffening the bodice with boning and cotton canvas in order to maintain the clean lines and bust support my body needs. In period, bodices would have been stiffened with all manner of things, from cardboard to glue-stiffened linen (buckram).

Handkerchiefs

2011-09-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

I had a random crazy happenstance occur last night. A week or so ago, I was telling Justin about the handkerchiefs I inherited from my Great-Grandmother a few years ago when she passed. I had not seen those handkerchiefs for a number of years, and was rather upset by it. Somehow they had gotten misplaced in one of my many moves following the divorce.

Last night, in a search for watercolor markers, I found them. I cannot even express how happy I am to see these little gems again. Grandma always kept a handkerchief tucked in her blouse.

The polka dotted fabric they are laying on is also an piece of my inheritance - it's an old flour sack from once upon a time. The "W" is for Wilma.

I love how light and sheer this one is - so delicate, and very fine in quality.

I adore how they turned a simple rolled hem into this scalloped embroidered corner. I presume these were machine embroidered, but the quality is gorgeous. I don't know how old these are, but would guess from the 1980's, so not terribly vintage, but they do come from a lifetime of her habits.

I spent a great deal of time with her as I was growing up, but am ashamed about how little I actually know about her past. I recall being told she had a government job during the Great Depression, and I know she raised her children on a small dairy farm - a farm which I was sad to see sold when she passed. I used to chase her neighbor's peacocks all over that place. Mom tells me stories about visiting and watching the cows get milked when she was a child.

Anyway, I'm so very happy to have found these and thought I'd share how pretty they are.

Saccoccia Test

2011-09-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

I made a saccoccia! This was basically a test, to figure out the best size, shape, etc for me, and to figure out a sewing method that would work for me.

I had a scrap of this modern dragonfly fabric, and decided that it would make a fun lining for a saccoccia... but he gold satin that was going to be the outer layer decided to be a total cow, and got demoted to lining. This dragonfly fabric was a birthday gift from Grifon's sister exactly six years ago. How fun is that?

The most amusing part? It matches my corset! Hah!

I used Serafina's construction techniques, and created a bias strip from my lining fabric to seal the top and then folded it over and sewed it down to create a casing in which to use for an apron string or a simple cord to tie around my waist under my skirts.

Next time I make one, I'll do a couple of things differently (aside from using better fabrics). I will decrease the slit by about an inch. I have small hands and this will still allow me easy access, while giving me a bit more cargo space, as it were. I would also like to try one of the more square-bottomed ones, just for fun.

ACC - Camicia

2011-09-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

For my Camicia pattern, I used the pattern outlined in Dorothy Burnham's Cut My Cote, which had further research and extrapolation as shown at Realm of Venus.

This camicia is made from a lightweight white linen from my stash. It is not as light or high-quality of linen as I would have preferred, but given cost constraints, I went with it. I was able to use a finer quality linen for the embroidery, from a small piece in my stash - there was simply not enough for the entire garment.

Completed Camicia (excuse the poor photo)

I initially was going to sew the camicia by machine. In fact, the sleeve seams were done by machine, but when I got to the point in which I would need to set in the gusset in the underarm, I switched gears and completed the rest of the camicia by hand. This was done to test my own hand-sewing skills, and to see how much control I could have. I historically make a mess of gussets, and I had read how much easier it is by hand.

Hand-set Gusset

Using Laura Mellin's documented method of Elizabethan hand-sewing, I finished all seams first, and then connected the pieces with a tight whip stitch. The close-up photographs in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4 clearly indicate this was a commonly practiced method of sewing in period. I was thrilled with how much control I had, particularly when setting the gussets, and it was nothing but a success.

Close-up of hand finished and whip-stitched seams

I gathered the camicia into a neckband, using a piece of blackwork as the front center part of the band which I completed. I did the blackwork in silk directly onto the linen by counting threads, in a pattern based on one from the 16th Century Italian Blackwork Sampler from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It's the blue one directly under the large red central voidwork pattern. (Bonus points for the embroidery matching my nails!)

Blackworked neckband

After hand stitching the neckband into place and finishing the hem, I hand stitched lace at the sleeve cuff, rather than gathering the cuff into a band. This sleeve finish is shown in quite a few period portraits, such as Leandro Bassano's Portrait, Lucretia, c. 1570-80's. I chose this sleeve finish simply because I have a camicia with a gathered sleeve already. The lace was from my stash, and turned out to be almost exactly the right amount for this project - I only have about three inches left over!

Hand-Sewn inside seams

Lucretia by Bassano

Bibliography:

Burnham, Dorothy K. "Cut My Cote." Royal Ontario Museum; Illustrated edition (1973)

Janet Arnold, "Patterns of Fashion 4." Macmillan, London, 2008.

Landini, Roberta Orsi and Bruna Niccoli (2005) "Moda a Firenze 1540-1580. Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo a la sua influenza", Edizioni Polistampa, Florence

Realm of Venus. 2005-2011. Extant Shifts/Camicie.

Realm of Venus. 2005-2011. How to sew a Venetian Camicia.

Katerina.Purplefiles.net. 2011. Kat's Handsewn Linen Camicia.

Aneafiles.webs.com. 2011. The Italian Camicia.

The Birth of Awards

2011-09-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

I had a bit of a funny realization this afternoon.

When a new Barony is created in the SCA, awards are thusly created by the Baronage to recognize their populace in various ways. I have had my hand in a good number of the premier scrolls (i.e. the very first recipient) for these new awards. Being the premier of an order is a pretty nifty thing, and I'm honored that I was able to be a part of that experience for the very deserving recipients of these awards.

Cero e Luce/Sero Luce, now called Gryphon and Candle, the Gryphon's Lair Arts and Sciences award:
Bethany of Windermere, Premier

Flame of Pharos, the Gryphon's Lair Service award:
Meraud des Belles Feuilles, Premier
(I did the calligraphy only. Illumination is by Grifon de Radonvilliers.)

Vesica Presul, Gryphon's Lair Rapier award:
Vilhelm Silberhammer, Premier
(Calligraphy only, Illumination by Bethany of Windermere.)

ACC - Camicia

2011-09-13T18:28:00.001-07:00

There will be much more on this later, but right now I'm testing my ability to post via my phone.

I've been working on a linen camicia, which will end up being 99% hand sewn. I started the sleeves by machine then switched gears when I became determined to have beautiful hand set gussets.

While the photos aren't the best quality, I'm thrilled with my first hand set/ hand sewn gussets, and have decided to finish the rest of the camicia by hand.

Period Clockwork Androids

2011-09-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to report yet on the status of my ACC project, so I thought I'd share this crazy thing that I'm surprised I hadn't seen before.

The Blackbird Archive shared the rumors that this monk automaton, which is a very rare and very early example of European clock technology has a very interesting past:

"Tradition attributes his manufacture to one Juanelo Turriano, mechanician to Emperor Charles V. The story is told that the emperor's son King Philip II, praying at the bedside of a dying son of his own, promised a miracle for a miracle, if his child be spared. And when the child did indeed recover, Philip kept his bargain by having Turriano construct a miniature penitent homunculus."

The little clockwork monk c. 1560-1562 now resides in the Smithsonian (although no longer on display), and you can view him in action here:

Elizabeth King's fascinating Clockwork Prayer article delves into the history of the monk, the story about Emperor Charles V, the attribution of the automaton, and the historians involved, and unearths interesting things about the past and the validity of the story itself. (Go read it. It's long but well worth it.)

Whether Juanelo Turriano aka Gianello Torriano was actually the monk's maker or not (which seems to still be somewhat speculative as there are no recorded monk automatons in a royal inventory), he was known to be a brilliant clock maker and engineer in Charles V's employ. According to King,

"Today we know of the existence, around the world, of two other monk-like automata, and four lady musicians, all sharing the same basic chassis design and body mechanism, and all dated to the second half of the sixteenth century."

While I'm certainly not the person to do it, I think it would be amazing if someone took this concept and turned it in to an Arts and Sciences project in the SCA.

For those of you interested in post-SCA things, like you amazing 18th Century costumers out there, here's a gem for you: an android made for Marie Antoinette:

Creepy or awesome?

Muff - Complete

2011-09-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

Completed Muff

This muff was made completely by hand with the exception of piecing some of the fur together by machine. This seam is virtually undetectable and is only there because of the nature of the fur I used, being re-purposed from an old coat and thus the shape was awkward to use.

Back side of Muff

Trims used were an elaborate goldwork vine on black velvet, layered with yellow braid, all used from my stash.

Close-Up of closures. Black enamel and gold buttons from my stash

What the muff looks like when there's something in it

Close-Up of loops

Loops were made from cotton embroidery floss with a lucet. While lucet weaving is speculative during this period, it was almost certainly used in the Viking age based on archeological finds of bone and bronze lucet tools. No extant lucet cords exist. Other cording techniques were commonly used such as fingerloop braiding, plaiting, etc, with similar looking results, so I feel confident that the overall look and feel of my loops are accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucet
http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/Lucet

Fully lined in faux fur

I used faux fur simply because of how cost prohibitive real fur can be, particularly since my modern beliefs lean toward only using vintage fur rather than something new. I would have had to use different needles should it have been real, but otherwise the sewing techniques remained accurate to sewing real fur.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this turned out, though if I were to do it again, I would have used an interlining out of canvas or trigger to give the tufted brocade a stiffer hand. This is purely because the goldwork trim makes the edges have a very stiff hand and so the non-trimmed areas contrast more than I'd prefer.

Productivity vs. Couch Lounging...

2011-09-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have intellectually wanted to be productive on my projects, but physically felt "meh" when faced with the prospect of actually making progress. This doesn't bode well for the overall outcome. Hah!

For my muff, I did finish sewing down the trims and prepared the fur for lining by piecing together scraps of fur salvaged from the sleeve linings of an old coat, and stitching down strips of hem tape on the edges. I also created some cording for button loops with a lucet. I must say that I am quite happy with how rich in textures this is coming to be. I think it more than makes up for the simplicity of the fabric.

My boss insisted that I take tomorrow off (oh darn, twist my arm!), so I should be able to be more productive this weekend than I've been in a while.

Organization

2011-08-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

My progress on the ACC has been very slow to start. Thus, to get myself on track with the long list of things I wanted to accomplish with it, I set up a task list and aligned them with my calendar for due dates. Then, I discovered the awesomosity that is Astrid.com. It's an easy to use task list, which has a free Android app for my phone that also syncs google tasks. You can use Astrid to assign other people tasks, or follow other people's tasks like a stalker. And who doesn't want to be a stalker?

You can also set Astrid up to be a widget on your android phone so you can see today's tasks at a glance. Word to the wise though - Google tasks are weak - sync once to import your tasks, and then use Astrid exclusively. I had a background sync activated and Google over-rode the due dates I'd plugged in through Astrid. This is turned off now.

I'm super excited and on track now, as I now know how little time I actually have to accomplish my goals. Yikes! Time to get cracking!

ACC - Muff Progress

2011-08-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have finally put needle to fabric in the ACC. Finally. Between scroll work, Sven's tunic (of which I still owe you pictures), and my exchequer duties, I feel like I'm very behind.

This image is reflecting the fierce yellow of my living room walls (I usually photograph things down in my studio with my special art lamps), so while the color is off, it's proof I've done something.

Due to the delicacy of the gold worked trim, I have to hand sew everything for maximum control. I have sewn down the two border strips and have begun sewing down the edging braid to "hide the ugly." So far, so good. I'm not really looking forward to hand sewing the fur though...

I have selected some buttons from my stash that have a bit of a gold filigree/black enamel look. I think they will work well. They're extras from my black/red corduroy "doublet" circa 2002. I remember being so proud of that thing, and now I look at it hanging sadly in my closet and wonder what I was thinking at the time.

Library

2011-08-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

These are the latest additions to my library. I was stoked to find a copy of the New Carolingian Modelbook (at long last). I have been an avid follower of Kim Brody Salazar for some time. When I saw a copy for sale that was within my budget, I snatched it up. Woohoo!

ACC - Muff Update

2011-08-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

My last few days have been spent cleaning up from Midge Marsh Melee (the event in which I neglected to get photos of Sven in his new red tunic... D'oh!). We went to Thrown Weapons practice on Tuesday, and yesterday had to run errands to get supplies to fix a giant hole in our garden hose which is preventing us from watering the lawn. One week without watering in this weather = dead grass. My landlady would not be too happy.

I did steal a few minutes to start disassembling the faux fur lined coat to get pieces to use in my muff.

I have learned that pulling apart old coats is nasty business. Dusty, musty, and the outer fabric is a gross plasticy vinyl that is icky to the touch. Little furry bits fly everywhere. I did have some success though, and have enough fur from pulling the sleeves apart to line my muff. It will have to be pieced to get the right shape - the sleeves were several pieces of tapered fur, much to my dismay. C'est la vie.

ACC - Muff

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

Wherein my brain gave birth to an idea for a muff...

Muffs became fashionable in Italy during the early 1570’s, and from there it spread pretty much everywhere. Harrison, as quoted by Janet Arnold, records that “Women’s Maskes, Buskes, Muffs, Fanns, Perewigs, and Bodkins, were first devised and used in Italy by Curtezans, and from thence brought into France and there received of the best sort for gallant ornaments, & from thence they came into England about the time of the Massacar in Paris.” (St. Bartholomew’s Day, 24 August, 1572).

Cesare Vecellio, in the second edition of his fashion book Habiti antichi, et moderni di tutto il Mondu, published in 1598, shows a woodcut entitled "Winter Costume of Venetian noblewomen and wealthy ladies."

There are no extant muffs that I am aware of, but there are quite a few pictorial images of muffs, and documents referring to them.

According to Andre Blum, in his volume "The Last Valois," it is reported that King Henri III of France was fond of "perfumes and cosmetics, ear-rings, velvet or satin muffs lined with fur -- in fact, a whole range of modes formerly reserved for the use of women." Another reference to Parisian fashion for wearing muffs appears in Janet Arnold’s "Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (QEWU)": “Amyas Paulet was also instructed to get Elizabeth [Queen] a muff or ‘countenance (so they call it here)’ in Paris in 1579. He sent one, ‘the best I can find at this time thinking it better to send this as it is when there is some cold stirring, than to wait for a better till the cold be clean gone. I have caused this countenance to be furred as well as it can be done in this town, but have not perfumed it because I do not know what Perfume will be the most agreeable to her Majesty.”

Venetian costume of noblewomen and wealthy ladies. c. 1598.

Eleanor Verney, Mrls. William Palmer. c. 1590. William Segar.

Detail from an embroidered valance, c. 1588-90. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Illuminated miniature of Queen Elizabeth carrying a muff. c. 1586. Bodleian Library, Oxford.

I've had this black gold worked trim for about seven years - there's only about a yard or so of it, which isn't enough to do much, but after measuring a few things out, is long enough to act as bands on the edges of a muff. The edges of the trim is not even though, as it appears that it was worked on stiffened velvet and then cut into strips. After digging into my stash though, I found this creamy braid that goes smashingly with my pale yellow tufted brocade. I will use this as vertical bands on the edges of a muff.

I have purchased a faux fur lined coat at a thrift store which I intend to disassemble and use the fur to line the muff, as well as add fur trim to my mantelline when the time comes. It is a dark brown mink-ish looking fur. I will use some buttons from my stash as well.

Bibliography:

1. Donald King and Santina Levey, The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750, V&A Publications, 1993, 160 Brompton Road, London SW3 IHW.

2. Santina M. Levey, An Elizabethan Inheritance: The Hardwick Hall Textiles, 1998, National Trust Enterprises, Ltd, Great Britain.

3. Cesare Vecellio, Vecellio’s Renaissance Costume Book. Dover Publications, Inc., N.Y.

4 Blum, André, The Last Valois 1515-90, George G. Harrap & Co, LTD. London, England.

5. Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d, 1988, Great Britain, W.S. Maney & Son, LTD, Hudson Road, Leeds.

6. http://www.houseffg.org/belphoebe/Research/Muff/Index.htm

7. http://katerina.purplefiles.net/garb/diaries/FL_Manichino_Muff_1.html

8. http://renaissanceitaly.net/mygarb/muff.htm

ACC - Fabric Choices

2011-08-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

My silk coming in a completely different shade than expected caused a problem. This problem:

I hate the way the plum dragonfly brocade looks next to the silk. Maybe I'm being picky, but color is very important to me. In anything I make, be it painting or sewing, my color choices are deliberate. Thusly, I have raided my stash and have come up with the following possibilities:

Here's what I'm thinking:
Sottana - yellow damask
Veste - eggplant silk
Mantelline - Navy velvet
Accent fabrics and possibly mantelline lining - brocade

Right now I'm leaning towards option #3 because the brocade pulls the mauve from the silk really well, matches the navy velvet, and has touches of gold to match the damask. The down side to this option is that I have VERY little fabric. I would probably have to tear apart a Persian coat I made out of it to get what I need. Honestly though? I wouldn't mind over-much. It was a poorly made coat - a rushed job that I never even lined. That Persian also has some awesome buttons on it, IIRC, that would look smashing on a muff. I have used the other two brocades as forepart and sleeves on Elizabethan gowns.

Thoughts?

Halloween 2012

2011-08-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars, folks! There WILL be a Victorian Fancy Dress party in October 2012. Date to be determined (I'm thinking the Friday or Saturday before Halloween).

All interested parties are welcome. Leave me a comment or send me a message at cobaltdragonfly (at) gmail.com so I can keep you in the loop for proper invitations.

Victorian fancy dress or other Victorian inspired dress (including steampunk) is highly encouraged. I'm looking to possibly rent a venue appropriate to the theme, because that would be more fun than crowding in my tiny living room (which would hold two bustle gowns, max); so location is not set, but will be in the Salt Lake/Ogden area.

If you're interested in helping me organize this little soiree, let me know.

Now, go start looking at fashion plates:
Old Rags (all Victorian)
Old Rags (Fancy Dress)

These are nice places to start, but there are loads of fashion plates all over. Go forth and drool!

Eggplant-ish Silk

2011-08-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

I purchased some eggplant silk taffeta from Bangkok Thai Silks (and was pleasantly surprised to have it in record speed). I was less than pleased with the color.

On their website, the color was exactly what I wanted, and though I am aware that monitors make colors vary, I was sure it would be great.

I pulled it out of the packaging to find something closer to a maroon/mauve than the eggplant/aubergine that I wanted. Slightly annoyed, I took it to my special art lamps to see it under better lights. Still slighty annoyed, I took pictures, and discovered that this squirrely fabric hates to be photographed, and I'm not surprised it's not true to the web photo.

Mind you, my camera phone automatically adjusts lighting, but here it is against yellow fabric, looking almost grape(!!):

And here we are with no background colors, which is sort of a light reddish eggplant:

In reality it is pretty close to the medium/dark shades in the second photo. Now that I'm over my initial color shock, I'm not sure how bummed I truly am. It is still a lovely color, even though it's not what I expected, and the silk quality is very nice - good and thick, with a beautiful sheen and stiffness.

So now I'm to decide whether to go ahead and make a zimarre or veste to go with the ACC sottana (but not as part of the ACC) as planned, or to stash it for now.

And Now for Something Completely Different

2011-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

I recently came across this fashion plate, La Mode Illustree, France 1887, via http://oldrags.tumblr.com/:

If I had an occasion to make a Victorian Fancy Dress... I'd totally make the dragonfly dress. I do love the game one too, but you know me. Anyone up for a Victorian Halloween party in 2012 or 2013?

Weekend Progress

2011-08-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

For the ACC, I decided to try my hand at making my own lucet cords to lace my Sottana. I thought I was doing pretty well until I made a mistake and attempted to correct it - but failed at in my attempt. It looked good at first, until I put pressure on it as though trying to pull it tight for lacing - portions of it stretched out.

Ah well, more learning to do, I suppose. This is my first attempt at lucet weaving longer than three inches. I understand that there are also issues with the document-ability of lucet in this period, so I may not go with this after all - but it's a nice skill to have even if it's not 100% accurate for my period.

In other news, I worked on Sven's brick red tunic! He chose and purchased the trim. I had some black linen left over from other projects, so I decided to do the neck facing in black for added interest and contrast.

I measured and cut (in most cases ripped, actually - I love rectangular construction done in fabrics you can rip), and began assembling the tunic. I attached the underarm gussets and then flat-felled the seams by hand.

I usually try to do this using an invisible stitch, but I back-stitched the flat fell instead, using threads of linen drawn from scraps of leftover fabric. I need to work on keeping my stitches a more even length, but I'm pretty pleased with how straight they are looking, on the whole.

I attached the sleeves, side gores, and neck facing, and am now in the process of felling all seams by hand. I will sew the trim down by hand around the neck facing. Then I'll have to sew the sides up, and hem the sleeves and bottom. I might do a guard in black linen around the bottom hem... maybe.

Silk!

2011-07-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

I asked Serafina to spread the word (werd, yo) about Bangkok Thai Silks, whom you can now buy directly from (used to be via e-bay only), and their prices are pretty darn good for silk taffeta. But I neglected to mention it myself. Until now. Their same silk is going for $19.99/yd on e-bay, but there are significant discounts buying directly ($9.99-$16.99). Note that you will need a paypal account to buy from them.

This is, by the way, the vendor I used to purchase the "cobalt-green" shot silk for my elevation gown:

The silk hoarder in me would love to keep it a secret, but I love you all too much not to share.

Enjoy! (and I'm sorry)

Laurel/Apprentice Relationships

2011-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

My lovely and dear friend Mistress Bethany took a new apprentice on Saturday at Baron's War. You can click here to view an album of pics which includes this event.

I was standing next to the lovely and talented Fiametta da Trastavere, who was explaining to someone standing nearby what an important step this is for an artist, and what a memorable moment it is for those involved. I remember turning and nodding in complete agreement and noting that I often feel jealous because I never got that. Fia pointed at my laurel medallion saying, "but you got that." Have I mentioned that I sometimes have a tendency to be socially awkward?

This got me thinking about the journey I chose and how I can help other artists more than I have been. I chose not to ask for apprenticeship of a laurel, so if I feel jealous that I didn't have "that" relationship, it's my own fault. I made this choice for very personal reasons including my mundane situation, and my own goals. I wanted to work on my craft for my own personal satisfaction, and if it led to something bigger, then so be it. Another reason, though small when added to the hat of reasons, was that I'm obscenely shy (no, really), and asking someone would likely have given me a heart attack.

I fully support and admire Laurel/Apprentice relationships, and would love to nurture them now that I'm in different circumstances. That said, I have some thoughts on the matter.

I will teach anyone who wishes to learn; an official relationship is a personal choice and something to consider on a case-by-case basis. One does not have to be an apprentice to ask me questions and learn.
I will probably not seek out apprentices; I will not make broad presumptions and ask others. That said, I am open to those approaching me - consider this an invitation to ask me.
Being an apprentice does not mean you will become a Laurel. That is a personal journey to which I can help guide and advise, but there are no guarantees.
I am a scribal arts Laurel, who does some dabbling in costuming and embroidery. How much I can teach you will be very limited unless your areas of interest somewhat match my own. (Though I am willing to help match you to those who are masters of their craft in your area of interest.)
In the SCA, you will get out of it what you put into it.
If you're not enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.

Serafina's Laurel Scroll

2011-07-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Serafina's Scroll was a collaboration between Duchess Caryn von Katzenberg, Mistress Bethany of Windermere, and myself, at the request of Serafina. Bethany was Serafina's Laurel, and Caryn was Bethany's Laurel, so it was sort of a family affair... except I'm just a crazy fangirl, not family. Needless to say I was surprised and thrilled to be asked to be a part of this process.

The three of us conversed via e-mail, and I uploaded some very poor quality images of inspiration ideas for us to consider. We then met to discuss things in person at Quest and decided on this beauty.

Biblia di Borso d'Este c. 1455-1461
Codices Illustres, page 333

Duchess Caryn did the calligraphy and Mistress Bethany sketched the basic layout and her section of acanthus and passed it on to me. I sketched in my portions of acanthus and spent what seems like forever mixing the perfect shade of lavender to replace the pink from the original piece. Purple/lavender is one of Serafina's favorite colors, which is why we decided to do this. I then began to lay paint.

I quickly discovered that to get the soft shading needed to replicate the look of the original piece, a lot of blending was needed. This became a time-consuming process of laying more and more paint, and I began to worry about the time-frame for completion. I knew that Bethany had a ton of work to do after I was done, so I needed to finish my portion as quickly as possible to give her the time she would need.

Below you can see the scroll as it progresses over the course of one week.

More images can be seen over here in my album:

From Serafina's Scroll

Once my portions were complete, I passed it on to Bethany who did all the miniatures, gold leaf (the gold you see on my portions are a fabulous gold gouache), and the rest of the acanthus. I do not have closeups of the final "done" version, but you can see a picture over at Serafina's Blog (scroll down to the bottom to see the award scroll, but pause to look at the other parts of her vigil and ceremony stuff).

I am deeply honored to have been able to be a part of this process - to have my work on the same paper as these two phenomenal women, to award yet another amazing woman.

Baron's War

2011-07-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

Baron's War was pretty awesome. I spent a chunk of the day working as exchequer, but escaped for a bit to visit Serafina at her vigil and sample some of the amazing food she had there. I wore the chocolate kirtle and newly completed sleeves - pictoral evidence!

From Baron's War 2011

My beautiful coral bead jewelery was made by the lovely and talented Aine, whose jewelery and zibillino are gaining world-renown. You can even buy one at her Sable Greyhound site!

From Baron's War 2011

Yes, it was incredibly bright outside. You can click through and see more pictures from the event. I do not have pictures of Serafina's laurel ceremony as I was part of it. Sadness. :( But you can take my word that it was lovely - so many people shared so many beautiful truths about her. She also looked amazing (as usual).

Supplies!

2011-07-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is a very quick post - images of some of the supplies for the ACC.

Silk organza, black swarovski pearls, and brass spangles for the parlet, and large pearls for the long dangling necklace.

The red linen beneath these supplies is the linen for Sven's new Norse tunic, that he's patiently waited a year for. I've promised to have it done for Midge Marsh Melee, so that will be my focus for the next few weeks.

I also owe you a post about Serafina's laurel scroll, and you shall have it soon. It was a fabulous day, but more on that later.

Chocolate Kirtle - Sleeves

2011-07-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Guess who now has two completed fully reversible black/chocolate sleeves?

My green silk ribbons arrived in a timely manner, but I was stalled on the project while I painted. I'm pleased to now declare them done. I still have to add lacing rings in the chocolate kirtle itself, but this shouldn't take much time. If I manage that in time, pictures at Baron's War will ensue.

Partlet Documentation

2011-07-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

As I said in my previous post about the ACC Partlet, There are portraits indicating Florentine high necked partlets without an overgown.

For example,

Italian, Florentine - Portrait of a Lady (1555-60)
Image Source Link

or:

Portait of a Florentine Noblewoman, 1540
Image Source Link

Therefore, I'm using these as precedent to turn my inspiration partlet into something that is wearable with and without an overdress/zimarra.

The Scroll

2011-07-12T09:06:00.001-07:00

My portion of Serafina's scroll is complete. I tore through it this week, despite frustrations with it not manifesting itself the way scrolls in this style often do. Squirly darn thing. Bethany has her work cut out for her, bless her. I'm not sharing images just yet, but will do so in a few weeks after it has been presented.

I will be celebrating Theresa/Astrid's nuptials this weekend, and I'm super excited for her. She seems deliriously happy, and this is AWESOME. So this week is full of planning and prepping for that. I'd like to pick up some hot rollers (mine appear to have mysteriously disappeared, but then they were from the 1980's so it was probably time for them to go). Does anyone have any recommendations?

After the wedding, I'll be back to finishing the chocolate linen sleeves, and hopefully a quickie linen partlet for Baron's War. Then, I'm on to the ACC.

This Week's Loot

2011-07-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

I can now proceed with my chocolate/black sleeves, as my ribbon has arrived. But who buys just one yard of ribbon? I bought an extra yard of the other two colors I purchased alongside the green, as I would have the same issue with a shortage if I didn't, and also got some pale pink and blue - all silk. Color me happy. This ribbon feels so luxurious. *loves*

I also got a couple new books to augment my costuming library.

And now, back to painting...

ACC - The Partlet

2011-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

The partlet I want to make for the ACC is this beauty, thought to be Maria de Medici, painted by Alessandro Allori, 1555-57, Florence (Moda a Firenze). Eleonora di Toledo is painted quite often with high-necked partlets, and there are numerous paintings of this period with ladies wearing high necked partlets with and without overgowns.

I fell in love with this partlet when researching ideas for my elevation gown, but opted for a collarless partlet at that time in order to not feel silly wearing a Florentine partlet with a Venetian gown. It was a painful choice (but the right one! Serafina and Janeanne did an AMAZING job on it). But now, I get to make my partlet.

I have ordered some adornment items such as black pearls and spangles; I have some gold cord which will hopefully service as couching cord. The original gems may have been jet (or something else altogether), not black pearl, but for the sake of cost that was my choice. It should have the right luster to feel right. I am a little concerned about the goldwork, but I'll do some tests to see if I can make it look right. There's also some gold needle-lace at the edge of the ruffle that makes me nervous.

I have the silk organza I want to use, but it looks like the embroidered part is backed by something, presumably to help the weight and stiffness - I have some buckram that might do the trick. I'll have to test how it looks under the silk and see how it reacts to embroidery to know for sure.

Loot!

2011-07-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

I acquired this awe-sum fabric for a steal. Oh yes, be jelly. 2.75 yards of Jacobean crewel embroidered fabric. This will look great against my chocolate linen, no? Possibly the green too, but I was thinking of doing a Venetian out of that. Hmmmm...

Silk Ribbons, or Why Crystal Fails at Math

2011-07-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Remember the green silk ribbons I bought to use as sleeve ties?

I'm eight inches short. I miscalculated how long to cut them, and now have to order more. Learn to count, noob. :(

I can't finish the linen sleeves (or rather, one of them), until I get more ribbon. Because I'm making these to be fully reversible, I sewed the ribbons down inside the sleeve when they were right-sides together, rather than tacking them on afterward. I took some steps to ensure that they won't pull out from strain (I hope).

The good news is that I got the scroll from Bethany and can spend my time painting until the ribbon arrives in the mail.

Sleeve Updates & Lists

2011-07-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Despite the break in blog etiquette, I'm posting without pictures.

Last night I worked on my sleeves, and I now have four sleeve-shaped tubeish things that need to be assembled into sleeves with linings. That shouldn't take too long, provided I am careful and don't sew the wrong pieces together/inside out. Been there, done that.

Last night Bethany also delivered a certain scroll-in-progress to me for me to do my contributions. This particular piece is super special to my heart, and already has the brilliant work of one amazing Duchess on it. So no messing up for me! I must work quickly in order to get it back to Bethany for her to finish.

So, my projects that are currently a priority are:
1. Scroll
2. Finish sleeves
3. Partlet for chocolate kirtle
4. Sew lacing rings into chocolate kirtle for sleeves
5. Finalize plan for ACC

Other, less projecty, but equally important tasks are:
1. Find dress to wear to Astrid's wedding
2. Beg/borrow/steal garb for Mark to wear to Baron's War (Sven's garb is going to be too large, and he doesn't have many tunics to spare anyway)
3. Decide whether to camp at Baron's War or not

To Dutch, or not to Dutch...

2011-06-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

My original ACC outer layer plan was to make a Dutch Cloak. Now... I may be waffling on that idea. I may lean toward a shoulder cape instead. Forgive the image quality below - I took photos of a book with my phone as my scanner is not hooked up at the moment.

Dutch Cloak (cappotto):

Versus Shoulder Cape (mantelline):

The Dutch Cloak typically had sleeves, and covered the hips, so is slightly longer than a shoulder cape. They are both circular, and are both found in Eleonora di Toledo's Guardaroba in Moda a Firenze.

My fabrics are a plum brocade with gold dragonfly details, a lovely textured gold brocade for trimming and possibly sleeves (undetermined), and gold satin to line it. As this will be designed for warmth, I anticipate interlining this with something yet undetermined. I also have a vintage blonde mink collar which I might be able to integrate somehow, but perhaps not as the necklines are all quite square, and it is a round collar.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the mantelline, because I'm liking the lines of the slightly shorter cloak better. But I'm not quite convinced. Opinions?

Artemisian Costuming Challenge

2011-06-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

For the Artemisian Costuming Challenge, I will be doing a Florentine gown as popularized by Eleanora di Toledo, particularly in this image painted posthumously by Bronzino.

The kirtle, called a sottana in Moda a Firenze, will be made of butter yellow damask from my stash. The overcoat may or may not be a part of this challenge, depending on how cost prohibitive the fabric is and/or finding a patron. This gown has been in planning stages for about a year, and I do not want to compromise my vision due to the dollar limit on the challenge. I hope to obtain eggplant silk for the overdress. If this doesn't happen, the overdress will not go towards the challenge, but I will eventually be making it anyway (possibly within the challenge time-frame, possibly not).

The kirtle will be self-stiffened: no bodies will be worn with it, as was believed to be the case for Eleonora, according to Moda a Firenze.

I will be making a new camacia in white linen with embroidered details as my skin layer, and there will be a high-necked partlet as an accessory. My warmth layer will not be the overdress, but a Dutch Cloak, which Eleanora had several of in her wardrobe accounts. This is a circular short cloak, often with sleeves, or sleeve slits. Another post later will provide additional details on this piece of the challenge.

Sleeves

2011-06-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday and Thursday evenings were spent hiding in my basement, as the temperature is a few degrees cooler than upstairs. The window air conditioner unit is a lifesaver, but the air doesn't circulate particularly well, and I don't do well in the heat. The benefit of becoming a basement hermit is that my studio is in the basement.

I drafted a fitted curved sleeve pattern, largely based on the fitted sleeves in various commercial patterns such as Margo Anderson and Reconstructing History. This was an adventure in frustration as I have very bulky (fat batwings!) upper arms, but my arm length is ridiculously short. Remind me to install a mirror in my studio as well.

I figured I'd pin down the curved sleeve documentation a little later, as it's so accepted... and I've been a bit frustrated in trying to do so. I'll have to pull out my Janet Arnold library later to verify things... but all I've found so far is the use of curved sleeves in Alcega's men's doublet pattern. So yeah, the men did it... did the women really do it too? Probably, but I'd like proof. Regardless, I have my pattern, curved and all, and have cut out one layer in black linen. The other layer will be chocolate linen, and these will be reversible, with sewn-in green silk ribbons for tying them on. These ribbons are actually more olive/less minty than the picture shows.

I got my silk ribbons from Wm. Booth Draper, and I can't say how much I love this shop. Last year I bought their bone bodkin, embroidery waxer, and rosewood needlecase, and I *heart* them.

Scroll: Order of the White Scarf

2011-06-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

This is the scribal project I have been working on. It was awarded this weekend at Uprising War, alas I could not be there to see it happen. I had anticipated doing spirals beneath the birds originally, but scrapped them in a fit of scribal rage. I decided they were looking too feminine for this man.

This project was also full of lessons learned. Yes, even a very experienced scribe learns something every time they work on a project. Number one, confirm all name spellings, even if you are sure you've got it right. Check and double check.

I finished the knotwork bar on the left while doused with lortab after oral surgery. I'm a little surprised it didn't turn out more sloppy than it did. All in all, it was a very fun project, and I'm thrilled that Maestro Azir thought of me when choosing a scribe. I did his White Scarf scroll a number of years ago, and this was for his student, so that's pretty meaningful to me.

Blackwork Progress

2011-06-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to report, other than this status image of where I'm at with the Italian blackwork:

Blackwork - New Colors

2011-06-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Having decided that I hated the colors I chose for the flowers in the latest blackwork project, last night I picked them all out and tried again. This time I chose a lovely plum silk instead of scarlet, and opted for teal silk instead of switching back and forth between peach and blue. I'm much happier with the result. Obviously I'm not quite done filling in the flowers over these vines; it is a time consuming process.

More Blackwork!

2011-06-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have finished Serafina's blackwork! I have been recovering from surgery for the last few days and spent most of that time lounging on the couch watching TV and embroidering between ice packs and such. This is long enough for either a partlet collar or camicia front, so I can't wait to see what she does with it. It would also look awesome with added pearls and spangles (hint, hint).

After completing the above project, I started on a new one. This is obviously a more complicated pattern, and I thought I'd give poly-chromatic embroidery a try. I'm doing this on a smaller scale than the piece I did for Serafina; this is one strand of silk, with two threads of linen per stitch, as opposed to two strands of silk for the red, going over three strands of linen (the black details above are only one strand of silk, as I wanted it to look more delicate than the red).

Yes, I messed up on the red flower. I'm going to be picking that out and giving it another shot. I'm also not in love with the peach color, which is actually lighter in person than the image shows. It's very difficult to work with because it's so light. The blue is also so dark it's hard to tell it's different than the black. Hrm. Perhaps I should take a trip to the Needlepoint Joint and pick up a few more colors. What do you think?

Scribal Project Sneak Peek

2011-06-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of a scribal project which has left me a bit angsty. I'm doing it in a celtic style which is completely unforgiving for brush wibbles and squiggles. To further annoy me, Uncial used to be my strongest hand, and it is soooo very not anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, Calligraphy is not like riding a bike. Unless you practice your hands, you will lose them.

I do wish I had time to scratch it and restart, but alas I'm committed due to time restraints. The good news? I do like the birdy's face. After this is given out, I'll post the whole image.

On a different topic, I offered my blackwork to Serafina for her elevation (or for whatever - her choice!) because I *heart* her. She busted her ass to make me look good at my elevation, and this is the least I could do. I'm super excited to see what she does with it.

Shoes! (A Review)

2011-06-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to pieces when I got my Revival.us 16th Century slashed shoes.

I bought the black pair. I did find that these run quite large, and are very wide - great for those with wide feet, but beware if you don't. I got a size seven for my 6 1/2 foot (they do not have half-sizes), and have to stuff a significant amount of tissue in the toe. I'm certain a size six would have been better.

These have a quality hardened leather sole. For my tender footsies, I have opted to insert an insole for padding as I do tend to be on my feet a lot when at events. A tiny corner of the insole does show in the slashing on the inside of the foot, but not enough to be terribly distracting - I could also darken the insole with a sharpie to make it disappear into the black leather if it bothered me.

One issue with the hardened leather sole is that it is very slippery. I am a known clutz, so this is a dangerous thing for me. I picked up some non-slip grip pads from a drug store that have a sticky backing and stuck them to area equivalent to the balls of my feet. This helped the slippery factor significantly, but I have noticed that they fall off/disappear over the course of every event I've worn them at. I don't want to keep incurring the cost of re-applying new sole-grippers every weekend. Back in my dance days, if we were about to go on a stage that was particularly slippery, we'd slap a piece of duct tape on our shoes to help grip... not sure how well that would work here, and it seems a bit ghetto. So I'm in search of a long-term solution.

All this aside, I'm very pleased with the quality and workmanship of the shoes, and would definitely try another style from this company.

Blackwork Update

2011-06-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

I worked on the blackwork while watching some TV last night (instead of reconciling gate from Quest - bad exchequer!). Once I add the black bits to these last three, I'll have enough for one cuff. So I guess it's time to decide if I'm actually making cuffs, or if I should carry on and do a collar. I really didn't have a plan in mind when I started this.

On a totally different topic, I got a wild hair this morning, and went in search of a copy of my favorite childhood book. It was a mother goose rhyme book, but it was illustrated so beautifully that it inspired me to be interested in art. I now know that the clothing in most of the pictures were Regency and Victorian era, and I would love to look at it with more knowledge and older eyes. There might have been some Georgian in there too, but I don't remember. Of course, searching for a mother goose book is like a needle in a haystack. It might be this version, but without seeing the cover or at least one interior page, I have no idea. The publish date seems a bit off to, as I think I remember it from being younger than that, but I could be mistaken. I know it had a hardcover, for sure. I've dropped a line to my momma to see if she remembers.

Blackwork

2011-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

On a whim I decided to start some blackwork cuffs for a new camicia or smock. I was going to do this at Quest while sitting troll, but a combination of an awesome influx of volunteers and the event shutting down early, stopped this from happening. Therefore I started yesterday, in order to have something to do between changing loads of laundry.

I have never done any blackwork that's not monochromatic, so I pulled out some gorgeous red silk I've been saving for a rainy day. It just so happens that yesterday was quite rainy. Add that to some black silk, and a 16th Century Italian needlework sampler pattern, and I have hours of fun(The pattern I'm using is at a upper left diagonal from the large red pattern in the center-ish). My fabric doesn't have a perfectly even weave, so that changes it to look more diamond shaped than the original. I count threads rather than use waste-fabric. I've tried that method and I can't get the stitches to lay smooth and flat, and it's just so very fussy. I've been working on a blackworked caul for ages using waste fabric and I have struggled to finish it because of this. I'd rather have a slightly skewed pattern that can be interpreted as having *meant* to look like that, than deal with waste fabric.

The stitches on the far right were for getting a feel for the stitch length versus floss weight before starting my actual pattern. The "wrong" side of the embroidery isn't as clean and reversible as I would like due to changing colors, but it is improving as I go along. The picture is craptacular, but it does give you a feel for how far I got on yesterday.

I got a request to do a scroll for Uprising, which has a very short turn-around time, but I'm waiting for some more information on whether the recipient has registered arms or not before I begin.

Quest Recap

2011-05-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Quest for the Holy Lands started out rocky due to some issues with my office of the exchequer property (which has yet to be solved, but I'm confident that it will be soon) which left me without a table for Troll, Shade to sit under, and chairs to sit in. After some creativity and borrowing, we had Troll set up and running, and I had a bunch of volunteers to help me, which made my life so much wonderful, I can hardly express it. I am so deeply grateful for all those who helped me out all weekend.

I wore my new chocolate kirtle on Saturday! Of course, I waited until I'd been sitting/slouching in it all day before taking a picture so it's all rumpled and the nice smooth bodice...isn't. Le sigh. Ah well, I did get numerous compliments on it, and that pleases me.

Saturday evening it began raining, and by the time I left site (day tripped), my dress and petticoat had soaked up about 8 inches of water. The next morning as we were headed back to site, I got the phone call that site had received snow, and that both my troll shade and my personal shade were tragic victims of the wet snow's destructive power. Yay? I'm told they went down before most people even knew it was snowing.

After some cleanup, and a deep sigh of relief that Sven chose to come home with me rather than sleep in the pop-up as he wanted, we headed home, as the event was basically called quits due to inclement weather.

We still have T-shirts for sale though. I highly recommend them!

Elizabethan / Jacobean Jacket

2011-05-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

For many years I've been lusting after Elizabethan Jackets. I feel in love when I saw a fine lady wearing one at Known World Academy of Rapier/Known World Costuming when these two fine events were held together in Outlands, approximately 2003. Yes, I really am this slow to pursuing projects.

Mistress Isobel of Extreme Costuming fame renewed my love for this style with her amazing Maidstone Jacket. When the Plimoth Jacket was finally finished, I was head over heals. I'm not so insane as to think I might finish embroidering a jacket like either of these fine examples though... at least not in the next several years.

Other examples are this, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ca 1616

and this, from the Art Institute of Chicago

There are examples of some with lower necklines, some with collars, and some without. I think I'd opt for the style above, from the Art Institute of Chicago. I was gifted some interesting fabric from my grandmother, and it screamed "Elizabethan/Jacobean Jacket" to me the second I laid hands on it, and it has been a long-term plan to do this, after finishing a base gown to wear it over. Well, put your hands together folks, as I finished my chocolate kirtle which will also act as petticoat bodies under the long-awaited jacket.

In reality while the browns in these fabrics don't match exactly, they are a much closer match than the image indicates. The pattern is woven, and the fabric has a fascinating texture. I believe it is cotton. I do anticipate making a black skirt to go with this as well, in the future, possibly made of silk taffeta.

Drawers

2011-05-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

On a whim, I decided I needed a new pair of drawers for this weekend's event. So last night I whipped up a pair - no measuring (bad Jaquelinne!!), just eyeballing it. This was not a good move, and I'm lucky they actually fit. They are not nearly as roomy as my other pair, but I can get them on and they aren't too tight. I added some sweet lace on the hems, and flat-felled all seams by machine. I would have done this by hand... but they're drawers, and I want to wear them tomorrow.

They're made from a random cotton twill fabric I had in my stash - heavier than I would have chosen from the store, but I think they'll be nice for the chilly rainy mountain weather we're expecting.

Not bad for a two hour project.

Petticoat Waistbands

2011-05-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

This post is for you, lovely Lady Jane!

In a prior post about using elastic on Sven's pants, we discussed using elastic on petticoat and forepart waistbands, as they are hidden beneath over-skirts. As my foreparts tend to be quite heavy with beading and such, this is the method I use for making a painless waistband.

This is an example of a cotton broadcloth petticoat with attached forepart, with a flat front and gathered back. This was important, as it must have the circumference to fit over a farthingale and bumroll, but still be flat in the front so that the forepart lays smoothly. I backed my fashion brocade with cotton canvas so that it would be stiff enough not to sag from beading, as well as to hide farthingale hoop lines. I then beaded it and attached it to the petticoat. I hid the raw seams under strips of grosgrain ribbon, rather than adding bulk beneath the forepart by folding it under. This technique is straight out of Margo Anderson's patterns; I cannot take credit.

The waistband is where I deviate from Margo's instructions. She recommends sandwiching the skirt between two strips of grosgrain ribbon. I have done this in the past, and my seams were too sloppy for this to be satisfactory for me. With practice, perhaps it would work. I chose to take a wide strip of grosgrain about two inches longer than my waist measurement, and fold it in half. I pressed the ribbon to create a crisp line, and then sandwiched the petticoat within the ribbon and sewed it close to the edge. This way, I only had to sew one line rather than two. I finished the petticoat with skirt hooks using the excess ribbon length as an overlap. This is helpful in the event of weight fluctuation as additional hook "eyes" can be added easily.

Chocolate Kirtle

2011-05-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

I was very tempted to make the Ultramarine blue kirtle first, but alas I needed to get started before the fabric was done being pre-shrunk. So in the end, the decision was dictated by my washing machine.

Friday night I cut two layers of cotton canvas interlining for the bodice, drafted and sewed boning channels, cut and filed boning, and watched the conclusion of Downton Abbey and all of Wuthering Heights. My boning is simple cable ties for this gown, as I didn't feel like dealing with spring steel for this project.

Saturday, after many trials and tribulations involving a marathon blocking my exit from the city, I finally arrived at Serafina's house to keep her company and keep us both focused on our projects. She was a machine zipping through curtains like mad while I worked on completing my bodice, including hand-worked eyelets... why is it that the first few eyelets of every project are complete crap? Oh well, they are serviceable. I am disappointed in myself that I didn't quite count right and I have an extra hole in my bodice for spiral lacing. Oops. Yes, I did extra eyelets for no reason. *facepalm*

Yesterday I cut out my skirts, graded the front of the waistline to account for the dip, pleated and attached said skirts to my spanky new bodice. These pictures are complete crap as I don't have a dress form to speak of (in the works though!), and are taken in my poorly lit bedroom. I am pleased with how the pleating ended up in the back. I don't love the front. I used three panels, with only one in the front so I could use the existing seams for the side lacing. There isn't enough pleating in the front, in my opinion, but I don't hate it enough to re-do it.

The Kitty was far too interested in my lacing cords for her own good. Next up, hemming the skirts.

Updates!

2011-05-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I have no updates. The last two days have been too busy to get any crafting/sewing/arting done. *shamed* The good news is that I'm through my Board meeting at work, the hair is once again an appropriate shade of screaming red, and this weekend shall be dedicated to the garb cause (and I will be watching girlie movies, in the process! Oh yes, the BBC Pride and Prejudice is in the queue, as is Burlesque). Any locals who want to join me are welcome. :)

Tonight I'll be making the decision whether to do a chocolate or ultramarine blue kirtle first. Oy the decisions!

Norse Pants v.1.2

2011-05-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

Exciting News! Okay, maybe not very exciting. The espresso colored pants are complete, save a hem. I won't have much time to measure for the hem tonight, and if it doesn't happen, I may have to guess based on Sven's inseam measurement. Leap of faith?

After these pants are done, I'm going to make something for myself. Or help Serafina, if she needs it. The big question is... do I make the chocolate kirtle, or do I hold that for now and make something brighter, like perhaps an ultramarine blue kirtle? Ooooh the choices...

Shopping Haul

2011-05-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday felt like my Birthday, with all my packages that arrived in the mail. I just had to share!

My gorgeous Tailor's Ham is courtesy of Fait Avec on Etsy. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?

I also received this glorious ultramarine blue and evergreen linen for future camping garb - eight yards of each. The hard part will be deciding exactly what to do with each... More kirtles, maybe? Venetians? Campi gowns? What do you think?

"Norse" Pants

2011-05-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

I say "Norse" because I'm well aware that the pattern I used is not period-accurate. I could have used a pattern based on the Thorsberg Trousers, but I chose, instead, to so something very fast and easy. These pants are black linen, with an elastic waistband within a casing. I added a drawstring for extra security, and will be hand-tacking the area the drawstring comes out of the casing as I couldn't manipulate my machine to do what I wanted.

I still need to hem these pants, and of course clean up the front casing a bit by hand, but the end is in sight! Quest for the Holy Lands is coming up in a little over a week, and my Sven shall not be naked!

Next up, the Espresso Norse Pants.

Progress Photographs

2011-05-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Blogger kindly made my post about linen Norse pants go away. Remind me to send a card. Heh.

Ah well, today I have nothing to report as to the progress of said pants due to the insanely busy weekend I had which included guests visiting and the flurry of cleaning that always happens when guests are expected.

Instead, today I'd like to discuss the fine art of progress documentation. No matter what art form you practice, there is not only nostalgia involved with reviewing photographs you may have taken during the course of creating something, but other reasons as well.

I stumbled across this rare photo of a scroll in-progress, circa 2005. I say rare, because I didn't take progress shots except a small handful of times. This particular piece, however, was much more of a time investment than any other piece I'd done to date, and I had my camera handy, so I took one on a whim.

Why would seeing this be of use to anyone? Well, for starters, you can see the techniques I used for spacing and *very* rough sketching - something you cannot see in the final product. It can be used as a learning tool, and a reminder of some things *not* to do. For example, I saved the miniature along the top border as the last thing to paint. This was the most important part of the scroll, containing imagery important to the award itself... (Gold Scarf of Artemisia - a rapier award), but I had run out of time, and to this day, I hate how it ended up because I rushed in the end.

Lesson learned: do not wait to do important parts of the scroll... do them first.

Chocolate Kirtle - Partlets!

2011-05-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

One of the key ways I intend to make the Chocolate Kirtle change from look to look, is by adding several different partlets. Partlets can save my fair skin from the evil sun and make my dress more period-appropriate at the same time. The beauty of historical costuming is in the details, and partlets are not used nearly enough, in my humble opinion. Below is a montage o' partlets that I find particularly beautiful... i.e. I'll probably die if I don't make them one day. The won't all be appropriate with a simple linen kirtle, but the overall shape and look can be used with numerous materials to achieve nothing short of greatness.

Norse Pants

2011-05-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sven, the long-suffering boyfriend, is in need of pants to wear with his tunics at events. Last summer (wow, has it really been that long?), Serafina helped me cut and serge the pieces for two pairs of fabulous linen pants - one black, one espresso. She then left it up to me to finish them. This of course means I haven't done anything with them. I did finish his linen undershirt, and I'll call that a success.

Knowing we have several camping events coming up, I thought I ought to dust off these projects and finish them, so he doesn't have to run around either in heavy jeans (eeewh!), or pantsless... which I might be okay with, but most others won't appreciate it.

The black pants were mostly finished already, only needing a waistband and hem at the legs. The espresso pair was in pieces. Last night I decided to work on the espresso pair so that it was at the same stage as the black. I still need to press the seams, but I'm ready to insert a waistband. This is going to be a casing with a *cough* elastic band *cough* and back-up drawstring.

Sven is not concerned with authenticity and only attends SCA events to support me. He's not interested in this game I play. This is why I'm choosing to add this modern comfort for him. These have never been intended for any kind of competition, and the band will be hidden by tunic and belts anyway.

Studio

2011-05-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

I have determined that I have the world's crappiest light fixture in my studio. That being said, I have beat it into submission and now have light I can work by! Woo! If this house weren't a rental, I'd be adding extra light fixtures galore into this little basement hole of a studio. Thank goodness I have my awesome Verilux full spectrum lamp for doing art and sewing. My newly illuminated room served me well last night though, as I spent a good amount of time digging through my manuscript library looking for inspiration for a new scribal project.

So while I have no updates in my sewing projects, at least I now have a room I can work in. Now if only it would warm up a little so don't have to wear mittens down there...

Chocolate Kirtle - Flemish Syle

2011-05-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

After a long day of work yesterday, I arrived home, cooked some amazing pork souvlaki for dinner, and then had to head to Officer's Meeting, as I'm currently the Exchequer of the Barony of Gryphon's Lair. This meant my evening was pretty shot as far as starting on my kirtle goes, particularly since the lightbulbs in my studio require replacing and cutting fabric in the dark isn't really an option. Well, that and discovering that Season five of Doctor Who is now available on Netflix...

So I have nothing new to report on progress, but I can share more details on the different looks I intend to obtain by using this chocolate kirtle as a base gown. I'm not sharing these looks in order of my intent to finish them... I will likely finish whatever is fastest first, since the camping season is upon me.

The painting Market Woman by Pieter Aertsen shows a Flemish working class dress that I've been lusting after for many, many years. What can I say? I'm a procrastinator. By adding a front-lacing overgown, partlet, sleeves, and an awesome hat to my chocolate kirtle, I will finally have my Flemish dress.

Project: Kirtle

2011-05-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

For quite some time I've been planning to make a chocolate brown linen kirtle, side back-lacing, like this beauty, painted by Orazio Gentileschi:

I Plan to use this versatile garment in a number of different ways by dressing it up with different accessories. A variety of parlets, sleeves, jackets and overgowns will make this a staple in my wardrobe. I have two or three different fabrics that will make splendid camicias and/or partlets with little hand-work involved. These will be ideal for the camping season, where nature can be detrimental and disastrous to certain labors at times. I would hate to spend dozens of hours hand-couching a partlet only to have it destroyed by a stain while camping.

I spent time yesterday with Serafina, who helped drape a pattern for me (one of these days, I really will get a dress form so I can do such things on my own, but for now this is an excellent excuse to go visit my lovely friend). So, with bodice pattern in hand, now I can start the process of garbing myself for the summer.

Custom Tarot Cards - Eye Candy Edition

2011-05-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

In a bright and glorious spring of 2005, the ever lovely and (disgustingly) talented (then Lady, now Mistress) Bethany of Windermere offered up her talents for a fundraiser at an event I was helping out with. I've done a great number of collaborative works with Bethany, and let's face it... she makes my work look good.

The autocrats decided to do a fighter auction of sorts, wherein the winning fighter's "owner" would receive a prize. The caveat was that in addition to buying fighters, you could purchase tarot cards that did specific things to affect the fights. For example, if you purchased the "Death" card, your fighter would be replaced by the well-renowned fighter, and King at the time, Sean Kirkpatrick Tarragon for that fight. You could choose when to play your card. Each card had a different function. If I remember correctly, the "Fool" Card replaced the opposing fighter's great-sword with a half-length great-sword.

These are the four cards that Bethany designed and painted. Those who purchased the cards got to keep them as keepsakes - they were on canvas board, and these images do not do them justice. They are published here with her permission.

The Sun. A tribute to Aldwin "Scruffy" Longwalker, and a tip of the hat to our former parent Kingdom, Atendveldt. There is a Grant level award named the Golden Sun in Splendour, in honor of Scruffy, may he rest in peace.

The Empress. Her ever graceful and inspiring Caryn von Katzenberg; who was Queen at the time of this event. There is very little that can be said about Her Grace; she is legend.

Death. If you are at all familiar with Duke Sean's device, you will recognize the tabard on the card. Sean Kirkpatrick Tarragon was King at the time of this event, and has always been deadly on the field.

The Fool. This card is inspired by Maestro Don Niccolo Gianfigliazzi Genovese, who single-handedly inspired the interest in period gaming (including French Tarots), to Artemisia. He has since left us for Caid, and is greatly missed.

The Flame of Pharos

2011-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

When Gryphon's Lair became invested as a Barony, the new Baron and Baroness asked the populace for input on award names and ideas. Their plan was to use a theme of "light" to try to be consistent across all awards, be they for Arts, Fighting, Service, etc. After some research, I provided the below proposal, which was subsequently chosen as the official service award for the Barony.

Company/Order of the Flame of Pharos. Pharos (Pronounced Fare-us) was the first lighthouse ever built, and still was functioning when the Arabs conquered Alexandria in 642 AD. More info on Pharos: The world's first lighthouse, the Pharos was built to warn sailors of the treacherous sandbars off Alexandria, one of the busiest ports of the ancient world. It consisted of a three-stage tower, decorated with sculptures of Greek deities and mythical creatures, atop which stood a lantern with a giant bonfire whose light may have been focused by mirrors, perhaps made of polished bronze, into a beam visible 35 miles out to sea. More than 300 feet tall, it was among the tallest man-made structures until the completion of the 1,050-foot Eiffel Tower in 1889. The lighthouse was still functioning when the Arabs conquered Alexandria in A.D. 642, but the lantern was damaged by an earthquake about 50 years later. The Pharos was hit by another earthquake in 1303, and by 1349 it was in ruins; in 1480 Qait Bey's fortress was built on the site.

Built to warn sailors of the treacherous sandbars off Alexandria, the world’s first lighthouse, Pharos was both grand and essential, displaying its light to far reaches. Without its crucial radiance, Alexandria would not have been one of the busiest ports of the ancient world. In fair Gryphon’s Lair, there are individuals whose light of service support the activities of all others; those who are beacons for all to follow, illuminating the dark of night with confidence and strength, granting peace of mind to those seeking to find their path. Thus Thorvald and Bianca, Premier Baron and Baroness created the Order of the Flame of Pharos, to recognize such service.

Proposed scroll text:
"Let it be known to all and sundry that we, Thorvald and Bianca, Premier Baron and Baroness of the Barony of Gryphon’s Lair recognize that the fire of service burns strong in the heart of Meraud des Belles Feuilles, always omnipresent when there is work to be done. It is therefore our desire and honor to name her the Premier member of the Order of the Flame of Pharos, that she may continue to be a beacon to all gentles of the Lair; a foremost example of selfless sacrifice for the good of all. In witness thereof we have set our hand this 16 day of September, Anno Societatis XLI, being 2006 in the Common Reckoning."

I was lucky to be selected to help create the premier scroll. I did the calligraphy, and the illumination was done by Lord Grifon de Radonvilliers.

SCA New Year

2011-05-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all SCAdians. We've made it through another year! Everyone toss some confetti in the air. Please note that it is now Anno Societatis 46, (A.S. XLVI) and all scrolls should reflect the new year.

Happy scribing,
Jaquelinne

Shibori

2011-04-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Shibori is a Japanese term for a method used to dye fabric - to tie dye fabric. Shibori is an ancient technique used as early as the Nara period (710-785 AD), which is rumored to have come from India, and then to Japan through China. The basic idea was to create a design that resists dye by tying, folding, sewing, wrapping, etc.

There were many ways to accomplish this, and my purpose of writing about Shibori is not to give a history lesson or a tutorial on how this was done, as there are plenty of books on the subject and dying is not a skill I intend to delve into. My purpose today is simply to share the eye candy that this traditional technique can create.

It is interesting to note, however, that one technique of shibori was banned during the Edo period as being immorally wasteful, for a tier of spending about 30 years tying one garment.

After dying, threads used to tie the garments are carefully removed. This is obviously a delicate process as even a tiny tear could ruin months of work and the entire 12.5 yard bolt of fabric.

The below images were taken from a company that made shibori in a traditional manner, back when I was researching Japanese textiles and clothing about seven years ago. I believe this company was based out of California, but being terrible about such things, I didn't save their information, and can no longer find their website. If you know who they are, I'd love to be re-educated so I could credit them with their gorgeous work. Until then, enjoy the eye candy.

Studying the Past

2011-04-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

As a scribe, one of the most important things I did was create a tool for self reflection. I recommend that anyone who does scribal arts keep a record of every piece they do - scan it, take a picture of it, do whatever it takes so that you can look back and not only see a visible way to track your personal growth, but also to learn from your own mistakes.

I keep images of most of my work (not all - it's nearly impossible to get everything, particularly when there's a large number of on-site scrolls to be done in the SCA), in a Photobucket album. I also print these out in color and keep them in a binder for demonstrations and examples for others who are learning. It can be somewhat relieving for new scribes to look back at some of my old work and realize how far I came from my own "starting place."

So let's analyze some past mistakes, shall we?

This is a piece based on the Visconti Hours that I did five years ago. I had to digitally splice several scans together in order to get the whole image (it was too large for the scanner), which is why the corners look odd. The original looked quite normal, I assure you.

There are several things I would do differently, if I could do it all over again. The medallions around the border, for example, are sloppy and uneven. I should have created a clean, measured model and duplicated that rather than "eyeball" it, particularly the blue flourishes around them. The straight red lines around the border were all free-handed. This wouldn't have necessarily been a problem because historically I had a very steady hand, but unbeknownst to me, I was showing some of the first symptoms of Graves Disease which include shaking hands. The second I noticed the wobbling lines, I should have used a ruler to ensure the lines were nice and straight.

I am still quite happy with the freehanded red flourishes and would do another piece like this just because doing those was so much fun.

TheVisconti Book of Hours was made for Gian Galeazzo Visconti, ruler of Milan, c. 1370-1389. The text was written by a brother Amadeus,and the illumination is by Giovannio de ‘Grassi, whose work is distinct for hisarchitectural features, and his careful representation of animals and humans inwhich pink and blue tones are predominant.

Crinelli,Lorenzo Treasures from the Italian Libraries.

Thames and Hudson Ltd., Londonand The Vendome Press, New York,1997. pp 102-103

Sewing Helpers

2011-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

It seems that most of the people I know who craft/sew have animal "helpers." I don't anymore, in that Sim-Sim would just as soon do a hit and run rather than hang out with me. I'm okay with that, given cat fur and fabric don't get along... and yes, I'm speaking from experience.

For as much as having furry intruders interrupting my work was disruptive and cost both time and frustration (hello, cat fur on everything), I still miss my babies.

Graphic Design

2011-04-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

I think I'm done futzing with my blogger design for a while. I changed it so much recently I feel silly, but I wanted to put something up that was done by me, for me, rather than borrowing someone else's graphics. Being new to CSS and all things bloggery (yeah, it wasn't a word until now), it took me some time to make final decisions and get things set up in a way that makes me happy. The true test will be when I start looking at this thing from various computer screens and resolutions and find out how it looks on each. I sort of took a guess on the image size and hopefully it won't wrap all funny-like.

If you experience any odd things with my layout and background, please let me know so I can fix it!

If Only...

2011-04-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

If I had a reason to, I'd love to make these dresses:

Jean-Phillipe Worth evening dress ca. 1910 via The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seriously. Go to the Met's website and zoom into the crazy beaded details of awesome.

Dress ca. 1888 via Abiti Antichi

Golden Maple Leaf - Maysun

2011-04-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to share this little gem. When I say little, I mean it. The overall dimensions (which I'm estimating with my poor memory), were about 3" x 5.5" or so. This was my first piece ever done on real parchment, and it was a scrap that I trimmed down to a rectangular shape. It was an interesting experience as parchment has a bit of a texture to it, which I wasn't necessarily expecting.

This is done in a pseudo-Arabic script, but is actually english. It reads: "Maysun nura al Ishfahani al Samarkandia is hereby made a member of the Order of the Golden Maple Leaf. So say We, Tummur and Saige King and Queen of Artemisia. October 16, AS XLV." (signed Timmur, Saige).

This wasn't based on any one specific piece, but extrapolated from several historical sources (see below) to obtain the correct feel, but more realistic for a fast turn-around and tiny work space.

Princeton University
Christie's
National Library of Medicine (This page in particular)

I found many sources, and found it interesting that the pre-16th Century documents looked the same as the post - the traditional styles have not changed, at least not based on my very preliminary observations. I'd like to check into this further.

The above piece is very rudimentary and simplistic compared to the inspiration pieces, but my hands were a bit tied on the matter. I have, however, done a piece more accurate to the style, though the photograph of it does it no justice. Below is the Award of Arms for Ashlyn. The pseudo-Arabic script used for Ashlyn's is far more fantastical and crazy - Maysun's Maple Leaf is much more realistic.

Collegium

2011-04-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Collegium this past Saturday was lovely. I got to hang out with my chickies, steal and snuggle babies, and learn fun new things. I had Serafina take pictures of my final product of the ginger linen dress, complete with sleeves. I'm now wishing I'd bothered to look in the mirror first, but here they are anyway.

And of course, for the world's viewing pleasure, is a photo of the spontaneous button-making class that Serafina taught.

Award of Arms - Lianor

2011-04-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

This post is about four months late. I'm trying to be better about adding content, honest. Knowing that the lovely Lianor da Costa has an amazing knowledge and application of Spain and Spanish dress, I was disappointed in my own personal knowledge and inability to provide her with a scroll that would be more fitting her persona. This Award of Arms was done based on a page from the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, though I did use colors with Spanish influence. This piece was presented at Solstice Court in Loch Salann in December 2010.

I layered Holbein brilliant gold gouache to give an appearance similar to gold leaf over gesso. This adds both a hint of sparkle as well as some texture to the piece. All other paint is Winsor and Newton gouache. Click the image to see it in more detail.

Sleeves Done!

2011-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Ginger dress is done at long last. Last night I opted to sew additional lacing rings to the shoulder straps, rather than sewing ribbons directly on it, so that I can change the color of the ribbons if I choose. This decision was somewhat based on the fact that I didn't find any fluttery ribbons on my quick jaunt to Hancock, let alone ones in the color I wanted. I was hoping for a springy color like butter yellow or salmon. I ended up with some eggshell twill tape. Not quite what I wanted.

At any rate, I can wear the sleeves now, and for some reason I have yet to take pictures of them. They are reversible!! I will be sure to obtain pictureness at Collegium. I will also be sporting my new laurel medallion which I commissioned from Deb at Time Travelling Traders.

I picked up some red coral beads as many portraits I've found are sporting lovely Italian beauties wearing coral bead necklaces. As jewelery making is outside my realm of expertise (and while I love it, I have to draw the line somewhere in my pursuit of hobbies), I will be commissioning the lovely Aine to help me come up with a way to wear said beads. She is brilliant, beautiful, and disgustingly talented. Everyone should go buy something from her right now.

Ginger dress revisited

2011-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

With Southern Regional Collegium coming up this weekend, I thought I'd better ensure I have something to wear. Weight fluctuations have rendered my garb wardrobe as a topic of annoyance, at best. So last night I pulled out my ginger and teal dress to find that I never did attach lacing in order to tie the sleeves on (oops). The one time I did wear this dress, I wore it Campi style with my smock sleeves rolled up.

Tonight I'm off to the fabric store to find some suitable twill tape or something, so I can finally call this project done. Oh, and yes, it still fits (woo!).

I will be doing a test-run on my new shoes at this event as well, which means I should go about finding some insoles so that I don't whine incessantly about foot pain by the end of the day.

In other news, I'm looking at getting assistance in building a tape double so that I can work solo instead of constantly dragging friends into my projects. Also, Sven's cousin will be visiting us for a month this summer, which means I'll need to make a tunic for him for Baron's War. Guess I should stop slacking, hm?

Gryphon's Bits

2011-03-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have oft pondered over the various names of awards in the Kingdom of Artemisia, and while I hold great respect and reverence over what they are and represent, at the same time I can't help but smile at the irony that the awards inevitably dissect our beloved Gryphon. The latest installation of this occasional artist is one such award: The Gryphon's Heart.

Having watched Giovanni aka Rat grow in the society and develop into a gentleman (a flirtatious one, but one nonetheless), has been a pleasure and it was thusly meaningful for me to be asked to create his Gryphon's Heart.

I didn't have much lead time on this piece and therefore needed something that would pull together very quickly. I also wanted something that was a little more masculine than the typical flowers/ivy borders that are quickly put together. When I found an oak leaf border in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, I knew I had to do it (oak trees are strong and manly, right?).

I used Windsor and Newton Gouache in shades of green, and Holbein Brilliant Gold gouache for the acorns. Ideally those would have been done in gold leaf, but I had none available, and no time to procure any.

I used Higgins Eternal ink for the text, and it's all done on Bristol vellum finish hot press.

In other, somewhat unrelated news, I had a flood of sorts in my art studio (kitchen sink was directly above my bookshelves), and while I was lucky to not have any significant damage to my beloved books, the room needed serious work. I had to relocate everything out of the room so that the ceiling could be fixed, carpet torn up, disinfected, padding replaced, relaid, and cleaned... on and on. It's all done now, and I have a room once again, which has been greatly improved through the process. I also have a brand new set of shelves that is begging to be put together which will help my storage needs!

Recent(ish) Scrolls

2010-10-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

The text in this blog will be pretty short. Mainly because I honestly don't remember many of my references for these pieces and don't have my library at hand at this moment to refer to...

This is a Golden Maple Leaf scroll made for Allegretza. It was a back-scroll assignment done with Windsor and Newton purple gouache, Holbein brilliant gold gouache, Higgins Black Magic ink, on Bristol vellum finish hot press. I'm thinking the border on this was slightly modified from a border from the Winchester Psalter, but don't quote me on that. I'll have to check my references and edit this later.

Here we have a Gryphon of Artemisia Scroll done for Duchess Caryn. This was based on the Hours for the Use of Paris in a style that I've just loved for years. Most pieces in this style have a sort of "patch-work" look, but the more organic shapes here drew me in and told me I had to do this piece. The white cat is based on Caryn's device or Coat of Arms, and I admit that I arbitrarily chose to do the Gryphon in white - mainly to see if I could, and to match the cat.

Latest Projects

2010-06-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

I have not been sitting in the dark since the gold brocade gown, though that may seem to be the case. After the announcement that I would be sitting vigil for elevation to Laurel, I depended on the lovely Serafina Basso, who did my gown with the assistance of several people in beading and jewelery. I was utterly pleased with the results, pictures of which can be seen all over the web, but here are a few of my favorites:

I take pretty much no credit for that gown, save perhaps the design and fabric choice (a fabulous green/blue shot silk taffeta imported from Thailand). But, of course, I had to share.

Since then, I have created a Golden Maple Leaf Scroll, a Norse tunic, and a norse rectangular cloak.

The latest project was a ginger colored linen gown, with aqua linen guards. It was originally intended to be a middle-class Open-front Venetian, but ended up more of a Campi-style working class, with a dropped V-waistline rather than straight. This all happened accidentally due to an error in seam allowance, but it all worked out rather well, I think.

The dress is quite comfortable. The bodice is interlined with cotton duck and the front, along the hand-sewn eyelets, is boned with four pieces of 1/4" spring steel boning (2 pieces in each channel, 2 channels on each side). The guards were hand sewn, and the apron was added at the last minute with a scrap of grey linen and some red cotton cord from my stash. The apron was 100% sewn by hand.

I'm overall quite pleased with how this project turned out, though I do intend to create matching sleeves for days I don't want to be quite so "dressed down." I now have camping garb that both fits and is in good repair. It is a momentous occassion!

Gold Brocade Venetian Gown

2009-12-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

Sadly due to a camera loss incident, I don't actually have many pictures of my creative process on this project, and those I do have are poor camera phone photographs.

This project started out with the girls hanging out at artsy night discussing Solstice Court dressmaking plans, to which I bemoaned the fact that there was no way I would be able to afford fabric to make a new gown. Serafina, being the amazing, generous lady she is, promptly handed me a bolt of jaw-droppingly gorgeous gold brocade that has a shimmer to it that no photographs can properly capture.

After futzing with my new corset for waaaay too long, I finally finished it and was time to start getting fitted for the new gown. All my old gown patterns are now useless due to some recent weight loss (which also happens to render my SCA wardrobe into a state of dusty pointlessness). This is both an awesome and annoying thing. Luckily Serafina is also amazing at draping and fitting and is always willing to help people.

I decided I wanted a gown done in the style worn in Venice, c. 1560-1570ish. I wanted the fabric to do most of the speaking on this because it says things so much better than embellishment can (typical for Venice at this time, actually).

I decided that while putting guards on a brocade gown was not extremely common, it was in fact done, as illustrated here. Guards are handy in that they can add a contrasting color while also hiding lacing stitches, as well as making hems clean and easy. It took me a while to find a fabric to choose for my guards, but after much contemplation, I chose a lovely pine green satin.

After stitching the guards down 100% by hand, I moved on to the skirts. All of my previous skirts have been a separate garment on a waist band which is hidden by skirting elements on the bodice. So this was a new thing for me. The most important trick was to grade the front of the skirting down to account for the "V" in the front of the bodice. As always, Serafina educated my brain and all went smoothly.

I also had to be cautious of lining up the pattern elements on the skirt - something I've never had to pay attention to in the past. I proceeded to cartridge pleat the skirts and attatch them to the bodice by hand. This was then followed up with the careful application of a hem guard.

This image is of my pillow wearing my gown. Doesn't it have a lovely figure? At this point all I had left to do on the project was to make a new camicia/smock and sleeves. A grand idea was concocted to make a shirt with starched standing lace for the collar. The shirt went together smoothly, as shown here, but after the starching part was complete, I decided that some modifications need to be made to this kind of neckline for a standing collar to work. I ended up wearing an older high-necked smock instead of my new shirt.

Solstice Court (Images all blatantly stolen from other people, mainly Serafina):

At the end of the day in court, I was called forward and asked to sit a vigil for potential elevation into the Order of the Laurel. Dig the "meep!" face I have here. I'm still shocked, to be honest.

Two New Scrolls

2009-09-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

Actually, it's just taken me far too long to post these, so let's get down to business!

I was approached by Dame Varia to do Dame Annys's Laurel scroll, as there was rumor that she enjoyed my work. I was terribly flattered by the compliment, and of course accepted. I didn't have a ton of time to complete the piece, so I tried to find an inspiration manuscript that could be done in minimal time but still look amazing and have a touch of the "wow" factor (i.e. sparkle). Having done a piece from the Stephen Lochner prayer book before, I was thrilled when I found copies of several more pages from which to pull inspiration.

I spent hours upon hours trying to find the perfect set of supporters and a way to integrate the Pelican that Annys already had into the piece. I couldn't make it work the way I wanted, so I opted to do a standard mantle with the pelican in her piety, with the laurel wreath surrounding the coat of arms.

The gold flourishes are all done in gold gouache, but emulates what shell gold would have looked like. I'm saddened that this piece did not fit on my scanner bed, which resulted in this scan being cropped in a very sad way.

I also learned a very valuable lesson when doing this piece: double check your blazon before you do anything! If you know much about heraldry, you'll notice that the blazon in the text does not actually describe the image of the coat of arms. It's backwards. I learned (too late), that the blazon I was given was incorrect. I was able to paint the image to look as it should, but the text is wrong. Le sigh.

I was unable to be there for Dame Annys' ceremony, but I do hope that she had a memorable time, and that she enjoys this part of it.

The second scroll was created for Jean-Richard de Holloway, who is one of the most talented artisans I know. He has taken to studying and recreating many Japanese things such as armor, clothing, and more, so I felt it appropriate to finally delve into my passion for the East, and give Sumi-e a try. I'd been wanting to try this out for a long time, and finally had the perfect opportunity.

Let me first point out that this is done in English. I found a pseudo-script which I used as a guide, and converted it to my slightly more elaborate version you see. If this resulted in any actual kanji characters, it is by pure accident, and I cannot be held liable for what rude things it may say. It can be read starting at the top right, reading downward and to the left.

The first line reads "For embracing the virtues of the dream." I'll let you try to read the rest on your own, if you dare.

To create this piece, I used authentic sumi ink, which I ground by hand into an inkwell. It is written that this part of the sumi process is vital, as it is part of the meditative mindset, and I'd agree. The consistent pressure and circular motions help your mind focus. to achieve the different shades of ink, I had to separate it into different wells and add water.

I must admit I'm not 100% happy with the result, but I have a new respect for those who have created masterpieces in this elegant art form. I would defintely try it again.

Reserve Champion Scroll

2009-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Firstly, the blackwork'd caul in the previous post is still in process. To be fair, I haven't touched it in weeks. Alas, other priorities have surfaced, this being one:

HE Mistress Cassamira asked me to do the Reserve Champion scroll for Kingdom Arts and Sciences. I didn't have much time to complete this piece, so I kept it very simple. The border is based on the Winchester Psalter, in Winsor & Newton Gouache, and the hand is Gothic Textura Quadrata in Higgins Eternal ink.

I've also been working on a special scroll for Quest, so I should be able to post that in about 2 weeks. For now, I'm also working on a Peerage scroll for Uprising. Sometime I also need to work on some new garb for myself - none of mine fits. Or rather, only my ancient stuff fits, and it's horrid. I made it all before I knew how to properly sew anything. Bleh.

Blackwork'd Caul

2009-03-31T12:02:00.001-07:00

This weekend I got a bit of a wild hair to make a new caul - this one blackworked in black silk on linen. I found a scrap of lightweight linen in my stash that would do nicely, but it was not an even weave. In order to get nice, even stitches, I opted to use waste canvas for the first time on a project such as this.

I found a "filler" pattern that I liked in some photocopies of a book on blackwork. I will have to find a copy of that book, just for reference purposes. Whether it is an authentic pattern or not remains to be seen, but it does have the right "feel."

Between the larger motifs on the pattern are little X's, which I may or may not convert to a colored X or into spangles. I haven't quite decided yet.

All of this activity is simply a project to keep my hands busy while my brain percolates on a larger project. Pictures are forthcoming.

Gryphon of Artemisia II

2009-03-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

This, the second Gryphon of Artemisia scroll I've done was prepared for Sir Sagan von Ostensee. Only knowing him by way of stories/legend, and sight, it was somewhat difficult to select an inspiration piece. One day I'd love to actually be introduced to him and converse with him. Master Corwin Breemore's story/poem called The Teacher is inspiring and beautiful... and was written about Sir Sagan. The man IS a legend, across several Kingdoms.

Anyhow, I decided to do a piece that is inspired by the Visconti Hours, in that it has architectural elements within the Versal. That is about where it ends though, as Visconti was well known for using pale colors - pastel blues and pinks. I chose to use more bold colors, in order to make it more masculine.

I easily spent over 3 hours on the white-worked acanthus leaves alone, but I think the effort was well worth the time spent.

Gothic Textura Quadrata in Higgins Black Magic ink, using Braus nibs on Bristol Vellum Finish paper. Winsor & Newton Gouache, and Holbein Brilliant Gold Gouache in the illumination.

Gryphon of Artemisia I

2009-02-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

I was digging through my pictures and found some progress pictures of when I did the Gryphon of Artemisia scroll for Vilhelm. Since I added a "back entry" for Bethany's Key Cross, I figured why not add old stuff again.

I began the Gryphon by writing out the text and sending it to my friend Anika, a cute German gal whom I met online. She and her boyfriend set to translating it into German for me. When I got the text back, I was frustrated and had many questions. Not being the polyglot I wish I were, doing scrolls in other languages is extremely difficult. This was my first experience doing one in German. For those of you who speak German, I'm sorry; I cannot vouch for the accuracy or correctness of the translation.

After getting the text questions answered, I chose to go with the Moses manuscript from Mira Calligraphiae because of Vilhelm's amazing Heralding skills. In the SCA, the heralds are known by a badge consisting of crossed trumpets, so the use of trumpets in this piece made it speak to me. Obviously it is used in context of Moses being the voice of God; I used it as Vilhelm being the voice of the Crown.

My spacing was a little off when doing the layout, but I had to run with it because I had no more black illustration board. Yes, that's just illustration board. I did not have the time nor funds to track down another form of black paper. Before doing the text, I tested some white ink I purchased, and was sorely disappointed in its performance. I opted to use titanium white Winsor & Newton gouache for the calligraphy. While not perfectly opaque, it was one hundred times better than the ink.

I had to go over some of the words again to make them more opaque, and if I were to do this again, I'd try permanent white instead of titanium. I filled viney-scroll work between several of the lines of text, as done in the original, and then proceeded to work on the "J" cadel. I found that my hands had begun to shake when working on this, so the "straight" lines are far more wobbley than I would have liked. I later found out that this was due to a health problem, which makes me feel a bit less guilty, but the perfectionist in me still groans at times.

After finishing the cadel, I proceeded to work on the emblazon. I later found out I broke certain manteling rules, but c'est la vie. I'll have to watch that in the future. I had a difficult time deciding what color to do the manteling, and opted for a dark purple; subtle, and matching well with the shading which would happen later in the clouds. The double-headed eagle on Vilhelm's arms turned out a bit sloppy, but it was really quite tiny. I need to work harder to get my tiny-scaled work to be cleaner.

After the emblazon was completed, I moved on to the clouds and trumpets. This was an interesting experiment in reverse-shading. I've never done anything like it and just kept adding layers until it looked right. It was a lot of fun, actually, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. All in all, I was pleased with the overall effect of this piece, and more than that, the recipient appreciated it. It was given out on March 3, 2007.

Projects, Etc.

2009-02-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

I do have more projects in the works that I will be posting here but there are a few things going on in life that have hindered that.

1. I'm moving! Thusly everything I own is being systematically boxed up and relocated. It will take me some time to get settled and into the groove.
2. My camera is the dead. Actually, I think it's just the battery, but for the cost of a new battery, I can get a better camera. So I was holding out until I could save up and get something nice. Luckily my super generous and hot boyfriend gave me a new camera for Valentines. Best valentines gift I've ever received. <3 We actually had to order it in special, so I go to pick it up tonight.
3. The scroll I'm working on must be given out before I'll post it here. So there.
4. Making garb right now is not really going to work, speaking responsibly. In a few months I'll reassess my garb situation.

The super good news is that my new flat has THREE bedrooms! This means that perhaps I will be able to set up my sewing table all proper-like, instead of using the dining table for such activities.

Key Cross - Bethany of Windermere

2009-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

This post has been two years in the making. A dedicated website project has fallen by the wayside due to time constraints and other obligations, but I felt compelled to share my journey in the creative process that was Bethany's Key Cross. I documented the process in a private journal, so much of that will be copied here.

November 1, 2006: The piece I'm inspired by/reproducing is: Graduale I. kötete It is a Hungarian scroll, c. 1510.

After multiple tests on various types of paper, I finally secured a paper in which to do this piece that could best withstand the amount of paint necessary, and not warp and buckle too badly.

In order to get a cool drop shadow effect with my gold lettering on a blue gouache-painted background, I tested several dark inks on a scrap paper. This was the same paper as that which the main piece is made of. It was likewise painted blue, with the same paint as the piece. Two inks worked well: Black Pelikan 4001, and Dark Blue Osmiroid. I decided to go with the black Pelikan ink, as I have a lot of practice with it, and know how to get good sharp lines using it. I tested it further by laying lettering over the top of it in gold gouache, to make sure the ink wouldn’t reconstitute and make the lettering a gross mucky gray.

I readjusted my layout so that there is a line of music above every line of text. The text is not quite as poetic as it once was, but c’est la vie.

I took my black Pelikan Ink, and began to carefully letter the piece, and it bled out all over the blue surface. I cannot figure out what is causing this – none of my tests behaved this way. I suspect it was because of the larger area of gouache - it behaved as if I was trying to do calligraphy on a paper towel. I was forced to paint over the black mark and start again. This time I skipped the black shadow letters and went straight for gold gouache. This is working alright, although it is a pain to work with, and the sharp lines just don’t exist.

After the first line of text it became abundantly clear that I couldn’t do the proto gothic hand well enough to do it without guiding lines, and since I can’t put guiding lines all over the blue surface, I painted over the gold letters in blue, and started from scratch again. I reverted back to my gothic textura quadrata (GTQ) hand, which I can do in my sleep. GTQ is more blocky and narrow than the inspiration scroll, but there isn’t a terribly clear difference to those who don’t study this stuff. Ironically, GTQ is still earlier period than the inspiration scroll... which is to say that either the Hungarians were extremely behind the times, or they preferred to follow Italian trends. In the 1500's, the Italians were starting to write in hands that would one day become our modern typeface - much rounder and friendly to the eye. GTQ is French. In looking at this website, it appears that the inspiration scroll's text was very similar to Gothic Rotunda. None of my calligraphy books have a good guide for this... which means one day I'll have to find one that does, or some up with a guide of my own.

I got all the text laid out, with only one spelling error. I may paint blue over that word and give it another go later. That's the one nice thing about doing calligraphy over a dark painted surface. It's simple to "erase" things and start again. I also began painting in the staff lines in red. For the record, red is a nightmare color: it is not opaque, and when painting over blue it becomes a nasty color – not purple as one would expect. This will take several coats of paint to make them look red, and it is tediously boring.

November 6, 2006: I finished laying out the red staff lines, and painted blue over my misspelling. When it dried, I re-did the calligraphy to correct the error. I then painted in the gold music notes on top of the staff lines. From a distance, it looks like I’ve written in Hebrew. It’s very strange, and I’m not altogether happy with the result. Unfortunately, there’s not a way to fix that, because that’s how notes looked in that period. The next painting day, I spent hours laying in the outlines in gold and red.

Problem: my gold gouache looks like craft glitter on this paper. It’s so porous; it just sucks in the gold colored pigment and leaves the gold flecks on the surface. It’s fairly luminescent, but it looks kind of weird to me. I’ll try multiple coats to see if there’s an improvement.

I penciled in the borders on three sides of the scroll, and began painting the bottom section. I have the angels mostly done. They are cute little saucy things that show a lot of leg. I can’t do the serene facial expression that is dominant in Renaissance artwork.

I mixed a nice pinky-peach color for the background of the lower right hand field of swirly flowers, and thought when it dried it would lighten a touch to match the original piece. Ninja fail. I then looked at the smaller scale version of the piece, and it actually looks more tan than coral. It was WAY too bright. I laid a white wash over it to tone it down, but I think it's still a touch too coral. I'll have to paint in the flowers before toning it down or else I'll lose everything I penciled in. I'll probably blend in a tan color over the top, so it looks like the flowers are glowing coral, and the background will be more neutral. It also was a lesson in how much paint to mix - this paper soaks it in, so I have to mix much more than my instincts lead me to believe.

The right hand border is covered in little frolicking cherubs, which I don’t feel confident in reproducing. I have not drawn them in, and it looks a bit empty. Since it’s for Bethany, it would be appropriate to replace the little guys with cats… perhaps winged cats, or foxes. Her personality is a bit whimsical, so flying cats could be fun. The problem is I’m not very confident in my skills painting furry critters either.

November 7, 2006: After taking the pictures, I exiled myself to my dark cold basement and painted away. I added a dark green background behind the angels, and a gold border around the key cross, to make it pop off the green background better. I painted in their cute little toe cracks, and started to paint in the flowers on the lower right. I also mixed a mauvy-maroon color and painted the lower left section's background. Unfortunately, it's much more opaque than the peach was, so I can no longer see my sketch under it in order to paint in the flowers. I'm not quite sure how to proceed there... I'll have to paint freehand or draw in pencil over the paint (ewh!)

November 9, 2006: I got back to work after one evening off. I painted in the base coats for the flowers on the lower right field. I started the shading on said flowers, and I impatiently did a little highlighting and whitework on a select few of them. I hate seeing flat colors - they must have depth!!

I also had an "oh shit" moment, when I realized that the top fields are supposed to be the same color as the bottom two, only reversed. I'm all out of the heinously bright coral color, and it will be extremely difficult to match it by mixing a new batch. *sigh* I have plenty of the mauve paint, but it will have the same problem as before - it's too opaque. I'll have to be tricky to get this to work better than the last time.

November 13, 2006: Thursday night I added detail to the bottom right flowers, and base coated the bottom left field of flowers. Friday was a holiday (yay!), so I got a lot accomplished. I added detail to the bottom left, and did the top left field in its entirety, as well as the base coat on the top right field.

Saturday I completed the top right field, started the Versal miniature, and added some details to the peach/coral fields.

I had to reposition the recorder in the Versal (It's a painting of the recipient wearing the Baronial Bardic Cloak, holding her instrument), because the way I had her turning her head looked like she was trying to shove it in her ear, This has in turn made the position of her right arm to look strange and pointless; she's holding it up for no reason. I may have to try to cover that with greenery and reposition her arm. *sigh*

Sunday started well - I worked on cleaning up the Versal miniature; fixed shading, added details, and filled in the gold background on it. Then things went downhill. I spent about three hours on one section of the right side's column. The bottom features a vase with perching cherubs holding shields. This is only about two inches of the whole column, and it took me that long. I'm really disappointed that it didn't go quicker. I'm convinced it's because of the cherubs and my lack of confidence in painting them. The poor tiny buggers have deformed hands (like all my paintings *grumble*), and have rather concerned looks on their faces.

The original manuscript has eight cherubs on the right hand column alone. I have already replaced two with a pair of winged cats, and have plans to do another set of cats at the top. That leaves two empty spaces, and I'm completely devastated at the idea of doing two more cherubs there. The positioning of the tall vase/acanthus would leave them doing a full frontal frolic, and I just can't bring myself to paint tiny jumblies. *chuckle*

November 17, 2006: I worked on the Key Cross last night, so I have a couple of progress shots. I did the the cherub section Sunday - from the bottom grass up to their little heads, including the blue vase. Last night I did the winged cats, acanthus/flower details, and the frame for the center miniature.

Anyone who knows the relationship between the recipient of this piece and myself, will chuckle at the cats. They are obviously my kitties with wings. Most people need to see my kittie's collars to tell them apart - they happen to be red and blue: Blue = Kyoko, Red = Godai. So I did the wings with those colors to make it clear. I had to do this because Bethany is the one who gave me those cats. They are the adorable offspring of her cat, Widget. Mind you, she doesn't have Widget anymore, but the reality still exists.

The very top of the acanthus tower is going to be her baby, Tabuu (Boozer). I think I'm going to put One-Eyed Jack on the opposite side of Boozer, but I can't remember which eye he's missing. o_0 I'll find out, but it should look nice and balanced because they are almost identical aside from the eye, a few years, and a bit of old man fat on Boozer. I also sketched in both column's central miniatures. They both have meaning to Bethany, which I will explain as I complete them.

November 21, 2006: I completed the central miniature and the upper sections of the right hand column, then filled in the background with the brilliant gold metallic gouache. This stuff is still acting strange and looking like craft glitter, but it does add an interesting aged look to it. After adding the gold, all definition was lost along with the loss of contrast between the white and the bright colors. I ended up outlining everything in a dark brown to help bring that definition back. I haven't yet outlined the outside of the red miniature frame - I'll have to do that soon.

The center miniature is of a tree with two larks in it. The significance is that the Baronial Award for Arts and Sciences for the Barony of Loch Salann is (or was, as they have since changed it to the Order of the White Lark) the Laboring Artists Recognition Company, often called the L.A.R.C. By a complete accident and fluke, Bethany was awarded this twice - hence the two L.A.R.C.'s in the tree.

I also started painting in the center miniature on the left column, but it's far from finished, so I don't have a closeup shot of it to share.

November 27, 2006: The evening of Thanksgiving I painted the left center miniature: An angel holding a small branch sporting two golden colored maple leaves. The Golden Maple Leaf is the AOA level Arts and Sciences award for Artemisia. Through a complete fluke, Bethany received two of these awards, just as she received two LARCS.

Friday I painted up the bottom of the left column. The original piece is very deteriorated on that side, so it was extremely difficult to replicate. Rather than the Mermen/Flower men on the bottom, I placed images of Bethany's daughters. Since Jordan and Ashlyn look so different from one another, it is quite easy to tell who is who. Ashlyn's Persian Coat is a bit too dark of a color, but I don't really want to redo it.

Saturday I finished filling in the gold on the bottom left, and painted the upper left details. I replaced the two lower cherubs with images of Bethany's two sons. It's hard to tell the two boys apart, especially since I decided not to differentiate between all the children by size. Hopefully Bethany will be able to tell by their clothes at least.

Sunday I finished up the upper left column with details and painting in the gold. I have learned the importance of gum arabic in a major way. It helps that gold gouache behave much better than it does with just water.

I can almost finally see the light. Maybe I will have time to make a new hat for myself for Solstice Court after all...
Still left to do:
* Center top miniature
* Gold Filigree Work in Bottom Miniature
* Gold Filigree Work in Mauve Fields
* Shadows in Mauve Fields

November 30, 2006: Last night I brought myself to look at this project again. I worked all evening, and got more accomplished than I had anticipated.

I completely did the top miniature, which is a candle under an arch. I chose this image for two reasons. The candle under an arch is the badge for arts and sciences in the SCA. Excellence in the arts is why Bethany is being given this scroll. Secondly, the candle is the symbol for the Cero e Luce (candle's light), the Baronial Arts and Sciences award for Gryphon's Lair. Bethany was chosen as the Premier of this order - an honor that is rare and extremely special. I was even honored enough to do her scroll for that award too.

Finishing the miniature left me some time to begin the filigree work. One thing I may not have mentioned is that this is called a Key Cross because that is the name of the award she is being given. The style of the cross the angels is holding is called "key cross." I would have done her personal device, but she doesn't have one yet. This was a reasonable substitute given the circumstances.

December 4, 2006: This weekend I buckled down and finished this project. I began by adding shadows to the peach and mauve fields, using a technique called trompe l'oeile. I feathered them out using water, then began adding the gold filigree work on the mauve fields. I have to admit, I find the filigree to be too gaudy, but it's too late to take it back.

I examined the original piece and determined that instead of filigree on the peach field, they used metallic gold to highlight the green leaves.

The final task was to add shadows to the gold calligraphy. This was evidently done on the original piece, and would help one to read it if not in the perfect light (to have the gold reflect). Rather than outline the gold, I did a drop shadow style effect.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. It will be given to Bethany at Solstice Court on Saturday, so I managed to finish it with a few days to spare.

New Pelican!

2009-01-12T14:17:00.001-08:00

The holidays were lovely - spent in the very strange Oklahoma. The weather patterns there have no pattern. That place is ruled by chaos! :P But it was a wonderful time.

While there, I recieved a phone call from Baroness Bianca, with the news that I was to start on the scroll that I've been itching to do for years - Vilhelm Silverhammer's Pelican. I knew it was just a matter of time; he is such an amazing man and embodies everything I want to be one day.

Unfortunately, with me being in another state, I wasn't able to start the scroll until I returned - giving me a week and a half to get it done. While thrilled for him, I was disappointed that I couldn't do something extremely elaborate (as he deserves) because of this time constraint.

I searched through my library for a piece that would be somewhat masculine, potentially have a layout and design that I wouldn't have to rearrange much, and still show the important elements that had to be in there.

I chose to go with Plate 16 of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, as it has a pelican in her piety right in the border. There is a combination of acanthus and ivy, and a couple of drolleries that would provide me with a little challenge, but not so much as to kill my deadline.

The Hours of Catherine of Cleves is speculated to be from about 1430. The scan I took unfortunately has two things wrong - the scanner washed out the color a little bit - the yellows are more lemon than the rich gold I used. The other issue is that it didn't quite fit on the scanner bed, so the edges are cut off. Rest assured that there was a sizable border on the original, with plenty of space to accomodate matting and framing, if desired.

The trembling in my hands, a symptom of Graves' Disease, is mostly gone, but it comes back a little when I strain them with tight grips. Unfortunately, that means that when doing calligraphy, by the end I'm pretty shakey and my hand hurts. I do try to balance this out with squeezing a rag in my left hand, and it helps some. I also have to take frequent breaks when the text is long. That's something for me to work on fixing.

I will also note that using red gouache for the blazon was a delight! It was smooth, crisp, and opaque. The quality of paint is a huge factor when using gouache in a pen nib, and I took the time to load the reservoir with a medicine dropper, which helped considerably compared to the last time I did calligraphy with gouache. The down side is that it took a while to get red paint out of my dropper - an important step since I use that dropper to wet all my paints with distilled water.

Solstice Court

2008-12-16T08:28:00.001-08:00

I was once again reminded how much I love court events and seeing everyone in their finery. Everyone looked fabulous and a certain few were absolutely glowing.

I finished my little Italian Bonnett in time, and even attached the feathers. I couldn't find my box of brooches though, so the aiglets I used to sew the feathers in place were in full view. Ah well, at least they were the fancy filigree ones. These caps were worn all over Europe, and were particularly popular in Spain, as seen here.

The bodice wore fairly well, though it felt loose and had wrinkles that made me sad. I'm not 100% certain how this is happening, becuase during the fitting phases, it was just fine. I speculate that the corset was tighter at the event than during fittings, and I probably lost weight in the last week. I know, a few pounds shouldn't make that big a deal, but my weight fluctuates on epic proportions, and when doign fittings, it's very likely that I was retaining water. I know, TMI.

I am in love with my new high necked smock, though the sleeve ties drove me batty. Anyway, further work will be done to tweek the bodice into behaving properly.

My camera died during opening court after one picture (d'oh!), leaving me sans photos. Fortunately Seraphina (Noelle) has awesome photographing skills, and snapped this shot of me during the lovely and talented Bethany's ceremony. Bethany was absolutely gorgeous, and I was incredibly honored to speak for her. I'm so proud of her.

I got to spend the day chatting with THL Eneas, Mistress Bengta, and trying not to drool on Aine's copy of Moda a Firenze. I must get a copy of this book. It shows up close, detailed images of Italian portraits, in color. There are several of the images I wasn't familiar with, and was extremely pleased to become so.

Navy & Green Gown

2008-12-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

... I think I'm going to become known for only wearing Green, Navy, and Gold. I simply must do something about that soon.

So, as my previous post indicated, I've been sewing like mad. The first thing on my list was to do a new bodice, because the last green one I made never did fit right. That was my first 'Bethan after all, so I've learned a LOT. Noelle helped me with fitting this one, so it should be even better than the Navy one, which makes me giddy.

The bodice pictured is when it was under construction. It is lined in white trigger and has trim couched on in a traditional pattern, as seen in the Photo of an Unknown woman here. A similar pattern is on Queen Elizabeth I's Pelican Gown.

The gold trim with navy velvet intertwined is German, and I've been saving it for years for just the right project. It asked kindly to be used, and I was happy to oblige.

The trim makes the fabric appear to be more wavy than it is in acuality. I hope.

The sleeves were made from the navy brocade, and beaded with amber colored glass 4mm beads. They are flatlined in trigger and fully lined in gold silk dupioni.
I'm extremely pleased with these beads, which are made by a company called Halcraft, in a line they call "Regal Beading Guild." I bought them at Hancock Fabrics and love they way these glow when light hits them.

The completed bodice is lined in black canvas linen which is flatlined with canvas trigger. The whole thing is hand-bound in commercial 7/8" quilting bias tape. The tabs around the waist and shoulders (not pictured) are lined in silk dupioni. There is also about 8 pieces of spring steel boning throughout, including the two in the back to balance the lacing eyelets. Speaking of which, the lacing eyelets were punched by hand using an awl, and bound with upholstery thread. All in all, this bodice turned out to be extremely heavy and stiff. I'm intrigued to see how it will wear.

The smock is an open loose weave light weight linen, with trim attached to the collar and cuffs which looks like couched cord. I did a TON of hand-sewing on this outfit, and am more than pleased with myself that I actually finished the inside seams of this smock, all by hand. I still need to finish the seams around the armscye, but it is wearable, so that will happen after this weekend's event.

There are neck and underarm gussets, and gores along both sides of the smock. It will be worn open (not fastened at the neck) as I can't stand tight things on my neck, save small necklaces. My neck is actually very short... almost nonexistant, to this tall collar with the ruffle would probably just look silly if worn closed.

The forepart is the same brocade as the sleeves, beaded in the amber glass, and currently flatlined with trigger. I sewed on a stripe of silk and couched the german trim fromt the bodice across the seams, a few inches from the bottom hem. This will soon be lined in navy broadcloth and attached to a petticoat to be worn under the green velvet skirt, which falls open in the front to view all the pretty sparklies.

The entire outfit will be worn with a corset and farthingale I previously made, and no bumroll. The skirt was sewn several years ago, before I'd made a proper bumroll, so the hem will be off if I wear it. I'm not too worried - my natural figure provides a bit of that look anyway.

I have navy blue silk Indian shoes that I bought at a bellydance festival with goldwork and spangles that would match smashingly, if I wear either nylons or no stockings. I'm loath to do either from the cold and dealing with nylons under a 'Bethan. I'd also hate to get that nasty no-sock foot smell on these pretty little shoes. For the day I'll probably wear my long socks and black ballet flats, and might consider changing for court. Maybe.