Italian Chemise

 

 

I have made the Chemise for the Italian dress.  The binding does not lay as flat as I would like, but when worn under the parlett, it shows up very nice. 

final push #4

I've finally put all the pieces on.  I'm up on the coffee table we use to mark the hem.  This is my husband's least favorite thing to do for me.  But he is very experienced at doing it by now. 
I was hoping I had figured enough material to do the pleat around the bottom that you see in the Pisa Dress.  Janet Arnold also documents this in her books.  I have not figured out why they did this.  Maybe to add weight to the skirt, so it hangs better.  Or, that if the bottom wear, there is extra material to fix.  Maybe The dress is made to a certain length, and if the wearer is shorter, they take it up this way. 
I may put this question out to the Hive on Margo Anderson or the Elizabethan Costumers facebook site. 

smocked apron

 

Needed to take a break from "The Dress".  Will begin work back tomorrow, when the snow is falling,

I decided to make a smocked apron.  I had lots of beautiful white linen I bought at Pennsic.  So since it was out on the cutting board, why not.  I also wanted something to present at the Athena's Thimble Guild meeting at Birka.  Smocking is a category I do not have.  I like the Honeycomb smocking.  So I cut one out Sunday.  The directions I had called for 1/4" pleats.  I though on that and said, Too small.  That would be OK if I was doing a different smocking stitch.  I went with a 1/2" pleat, and so like the look.  This is perfect.  All I have left to do is the hand stitching on the waist band and ties.  I machine stitched the side and bottom hem.  The smocking is done with Linen thread.  I have lots of that for my Bobbin Lace.  One tip I read said "use Linen because it will not slip while smocking".  This made perfect sense to me.  When I make Linen thread Lucet cords for my dresses, the Linen is tough to pull because it does not slip easily.  Also Linen is correct for period. 

Back to my Mundane world.  Making a hugh pot of Spaghetti Sauce - Italian Sausage/onion.  Using jars of tomatoes I canned last summer.  This will make a wonderful sweet sauce.   Also have 6 pds. of hamburg/pork/and ground turkey.  This will be mixed up to make Meatballs.  I have always dusted them with floor and pan fried my meatballs.  More work, but the crusty outside of the meatball makes them hold up well when added to the sauce.  Most of these meatballs will be bagged in 1/2 dozen batches and frozen.  So won't lot of the Sauce.  So come bad weather days, it's go to the freezer time. 
This is my Bobby favorite thing I cook ahead.  When I'm away at events etc he is all set.  He LOVES spaghetti  and meatballs. 

Final push #3

The camera is back in working order.  We had left the battery charger plugged into a hotel wall last October, and had forgotten all about it.  So we had no way of recharging.  Thanks to "you can find anything at Amazon.com" we got a replacement kit, and are now all "charged" up to take pictures.

Back tracking.  I can't remember if I covered the Farthengale problem.  I am wearing one with this dress.  That is not period for Italian, but to give this dress the fullness and line I like, instead of making a heavy full Kirtle, I decided for the hoop.  I have used this farthengale many time. I made it several years ago.  For the hoops I used spring steel.  This was a 75 foot snake from HomeDepot.  I simple snipped off the end and cut to lengths.  In order to protect the material from the edges, I incased the steel in water tubing, the kind you buy for ice makers in the refrigerator.  The hoops are held together with brass fittings. Works great, has lots of support for the heavier fabric, and is light weight. 
So the problem was that the hoops showed thru the velvet.  I have never had them show up before.  I can only think that this was because the velvet skirt is so heavy it is "laying" against the hoops.  My solution was to make a padded overskirt for the Farthengale.

 

I finished it with white satin blanket binding.   These pictures show it with the bottom edge unfinished. 

The Parlett is finished.  I may make another one, now that I have the pattern figured out.  The Parlett is based on a portrait in Moda...   It is very frilly, as I said before.  My version is simplier, not as many rows of frill.  I wanted the blackwork to show thru, and the frills would block that.  But I pinned extra rows of the frilly trim onto the Partlett and Liked it.  So I may make another with more frill, but will need to find more of this trim at another JoAnn's before I can do that. 

The dress is now 90% completed.  The Chemise is all together.  I put it under the dress to see if the arms were long enough when Plucked thru the sleeve spaces.  I made them 12 inches beyound my finger tips.  Seems to be OK.  I also made the Chemise extra long.  For no reason, just because I have lots of fabric.  But the Bottom is not wide enough to go all the way down.  So I am going to have to shorten it, or Split the side seams open. 

Final Push #2

The new Parlett came out nice.  It is Frilly.  The one it is based on is edged in gold with gold chains on an off white, even goldish color, veil material.  The portrait is "dark", maybe due to age.  This makes the parlett look rich.  My Parlett is white.  In order to make the collar "stand up" I used two things.  I inserted a band of Buckrum and the top has a wire.  The collar is thus free standing when worn.  It works.  The only spot I am concerned with is the width from neck to shoulders.  I may have short changed myself and I'm afraid it may pull out at the shoulders.  I can always pin this in when wearing to ensure no accidents. 

Cutting out the Chemise next.  Just finished washing and ironing 10 yards of the beautiful handkerchief weight linen I bought at Pennsic.  I have enough for several different smocks. 

A side project I am cutting out now also is a Smock Apron.  Do I have enough time to do this before Birka to present at Athena's Thimble.  Got to get off Keyboard and get cutting   

Happy Days are days spent creating your dreams.

Final Push - #1

Well the holidays are over.  All the guest have come and gone.  Had a wonderful 12 days with my sister and her husband.  We were here in Attleboro for the 5 days over the Christmas holiday, and then we all flew to LA to go to the Rose Bowl Parade.  Had a great time.  Now I need to get back to serious work to finish the project.

The Camera is having battery problems.  Parts on order.  That is a good thing.  I don't need to post pictures of my failed first attempt at the Partlett.  My theory didn't stand up.  I wired the edges by loop stitching the edges of the partlett over the wire. It sticks out like I wanted, but will not stand up, flops down.  I would have to add more wires as a support structure. With the sheer fabric all those wires, yeck.  That look would not pass my standards.  So this will be disassembled.

Working on a new Partlett.  I want something sheer, so the beauty of the material shows up, and the blackwork shows thru.  In "Moda a Firenze" on page 121 there is portrait showing a wonderful frilly partlett.  I am using this as the base for my next partlett.  I will frill trim the edges of the collar, and down the front, but I am leaving the areas to the sides without the rows of frill as shown.  (don't know what to call it but frill trim)  This will allow me to get the delicate look I want and show off this sheer fabric I have which accents the dress so well with it's pink flowers.  In order to ensure that the collar stand up on it's on (it will flop down) I am adding Buckrum to the collar.  Stiffeners were used in period.  I have used buckrum to make hats.  So why not use it to do a collar.  Just starching the collar would not be enough I think.  So an insert of buckrum should do it. 

Now to go downstairs and see if I can make this work.  All Projects in my head look wonderful. 

All together now

Just realized it has been a month since I have posted.  The dress is now together.  The skirt was Cartridge pleated and then sewn onto the Bodice. 

The skirt is so nice and full.  Downside, it is heavy.  I have always worn my farthingale, made with rigid tubes, under my skirts, and the ribs did not show.  For some strange reason they show through with this skirt.  I think because the skirt is so heavy it is laying against the ribs and not just flowing out.  So I have come up with a solution, which is most likely not period.  Instead of making a heavy underskirt, say of wool, which would pad the farthingale, and be heavier still, and hotter.  I have bought some light weight quilted material.  It is cotton on both sides with a light padding between.  I am making an over skirt for the farthingale to cover it.  This will hide the ribs, and support the heavy skirt.  I actually saw this done for costumes from a movie site.  The movie was Elizabeth with Cate Blanchette.  I was looking at the back stage pictures, and the skirts of the dresses were all hiked up (probably to protect them) and under what showed were these hugh quilted Skirts.  These were much bigger then I even plan on doing.  Of course that was theatre, but in many respects what I'm doing here is theatre also.  In period, the ruling party, and especially Elizabeth, dressed to the nines to show off.  I read that Elizabeth would come out every day onto the upper Walkway (ran between two of the Palace buildings).  She would parade in one of her beautiful gowns.  All the people could come and watch, wave to her, and at time talk with her.  This was one of the qualities that endured Elizabeth to her people.  It was theatre, for the people.  But I'm wandering off, where I like to go. 

The Partlett is coming along quickly.  It is simple, in a way.  One layer of this wonderful material I found at Loraine fabric, in their Discount loft no less (1.99 a yard).  It is Cotton lawn.  Embroidered on it is a white and pink pattern. 

The edge is done with a Pearl piping.  Can't see that too well.  Then I am going to wire this with Milliner wire so it stand out and frames the neck/face.  I see these standing partlets in Moda a Firenze and like them.  If this works I may make a more elaborate one with ruffles on the edge, not pearls. But I wanted a simple yet eloquent look for this partlet, and feel I will achieve it.  This material will be sheer enough so that the blackwork on the Chemise underneath will show through. 

As to the blackwork neck edging.  That is 90% done.  A couple more sessions with the needle should finish it.  Then I plan on tuning the edges. and then Gathering, or pleating, the linen for the chemise to it.  This will be a very full chemise.  The sleeves especially will be extra full, so I can Pouffe out the material.

After that is the Hem on the dress.   Closing fast now.