Greet's Middle Ages

Versatile gown, other images and self-criticism

I've updated my 14th c European page with the latest pics from Gulf Wars, but here's some others showing my teal linen fitted kirtle.

Here's what I looked like at Saltare:

I know, it's dark and I'm standing funny.

UPDATE: Well, I hope this is better.  I need more modeling practice, clearly.

 

Composite parts: 

White cotton t-tunic shift. 
Blue linen versatile gown based on patterning from Cotte Simple, cut 6" long in back to 'puddle'.   Machine sewing on long internal seams; handsewn eyelets (with fabric's thread); handsewn silk facing, dyed to match, with fabric's thread; linen hem facing handsewn with decorative linen thread, and fabric's thread.
Yellow lace (luceted on 0000 knitting needles with crochet cotton).  Reproduction brass tip from Historic Enterprises.
Green leather apprentice belt with pewter furniture from Maudey.
Drawstring pouch.
Black poulaines from Boots by Bohemond.
Unbleached linen hose, machine sewn since seams don't show.  Or green wool hose from Historic Enterprises (size L).
Smocked apron modeled on Luttrell Psalter.
Hair sewn up in braids as in this effigy.
Headwrap is a square of white linen, wrapped and pinned on.
Hood is made by Lord Eoin, and modeled on the 14thc one in Textiles and Clothing, Crowfoot.

Successes: The whole thing looks pretty right, although the colors are very matchy which does remind one of an illustration.  Particularly nice with wooden bucket as accessory.  Muddy hem contributes to effect.

Improvements yet to be made on this ensemble.
Linen shift, possibly cut to start support process.
Finetuning of fit through bust - not quite snug enough underneath.
Self-fabric buttons on sleeves.

Variations to try.
Add surcote.
Change headdress to fillet & barbette with veil, and wear necklace for court.

Improvements for the next versatile gown, or a buttoned cote.
Wool gown.
Regularize pattern pieces: the centerback seam isn't quite on my spine; the sides aren't quite at my sides, etc.

Post-deed pics

Well, I look tired, and this is what a linen kirtle/Gothic Fitted Dress looks like, now that it's sort of done.  A wool one looks better.

I'd like to put buttons on the sleeves, the fabric for the sideless surcote is still on the loom/spinning wheel, and that's just plain cotton yarn lacing it inadequately.  (Sign of an A&Ser - apologies and excuses about area of specialization.)  But this is a very cheerful picture, despite the tired/unfinishedness/wrapping paper.  (I'd just gotten a lovely present from THL Theadora Perplexa.)

Thanks, THL David le Ymagour.  (To see more of David's pics of The Deed, a 14th century challenge at Gulf Wars 2008, go here.)

To Line or Not To Line?

The following is excerpted from my response to an email question from a sewing pal.  The context is that age-old question:  When constructing a supportive cote (Gothic Fitted Dress, Versatile Dress), should it be lined?

My reading says that we don't have extant ones that are lined.  We have illustrations of ones with another color on the inside, but there's a popular medieval fabric weave (iridescent twill) that is one color on each side, so that could be that answer.

My answer is 'do what works'.  My blue linen cote isn't; but my figure is very different from other ladies who wouldn't dream of not lining. We don't have surviving linen female cotes.  I think a wool lining on a wool cote would be more successful than two linen layers, because the wool will felt to itself over time, and the linen will just stretch on the bias differently.

Why is my answer 'do what works'?  Because this is a game.  People who lived at our latitude didn't wear cotes, so it's a nonissue.  If I want to wear a cote here, it will be made of linen with a wool overdress, because the climate dictates that choice, and I don't have that much tropical weight wool yet.   Because I am slender, and because I'm for damn sure going to wear a proper shift underneath, I don't bother lining.

Do I think a non-lined cote on a full figure with no shift will look bad?  YES.  Will a wool cote, regardless of lining, look good on any figure worn with a full shift?  YES.  Pick something in between those two.

(Related: Do I know how to deal with that annoying bias stretch differential between two linen layers that are sewn closed all the way around?  NO, and that's one big reason I don't do it.  The sag looks bad.)

Linen hose

Above-the-knee linen hose.  Made of the same stuff as my smocked apron.  I haven't finished the top edge yet - not sure how and where to cut them off.  I'll probably work on it at Saltare, where I plan to wear them.

A quick recap of 14thc garb, linen version:

Hair - Sewn-up doubled plaits, as in AOTC listpic.  CHECK.
Shift - Still wearing my very first 'made from a diagram not a pattern' cotton shift.  Must replace soon with a linen version that has a smooth hemline.  But daggy hemline doesn't show.
Hose - Almost CHECK.
Shoes - CHECK.
Pattens - Still to make, but have all materials.  Not needed until Gulf Wars.
Gown - CHECK.
Apron - CHECK.
Pouch - CHECK.
Veil - CHECK. But not necessary, according to AOTC listpics of 14thc sewn-up doubled plaits.   I want to look further into this- because although it's a good rule of thumb for beginners to always cover heads - the illustrations don't bear this out.  Where and when were heads not covered?  Must assemble pics with references.
Surcote or cyclas? - Not made yet.  I'm holding out on this for my weaving to be done, because I want to use that fabric.  Also a Where/When question: lots of 14th c illustrations don't show a doubled gown.  I'd like to figure out a rule here.
Mantle (wool) - CHECK.
Hood - Wool-look (mumblepolarfleecemumble) chaperon.  CHECK.
Dropspindle and distaff - CHECK.

So, I think I'm ready to go a-wandering in the 14thc, at least as long as it isn't too cold.  I want to duplicate the gown and hose in wool (not knitted), but I want that wool gown to have the grande assiette armseye, so I'm not there yet.   It will probably take the rest of the summer to finish my spinning/weaving (at the rate I'm going now, sigh), so it's too much to expect for this winter.  I'll get along like I did last year.

Spliced cord

I'm getting ready for Saltare, and using the event as a deadline for some new accessories.  This here is a new drawstring pouch, which is more appropriate for my 14thc versatile gown than my leather pouch.

(Also the leather pouch won't work on the dainty loveliness that is my apprentice belt.  I think the leather pouch has been Overcome by Events, and didn't even last a year.  Oh well.)

I used the wool bits I got out of that thrifted men's wool blazer (remember my detachable sleeves?) and some blue wool/silk embroidery floss that I originally thought I might use on the bluebonnet gown.  (The color wasn't a great match, so just as well.)

Aside on color matching - I'm kind of on the fence about this.  My bluebonnet gown is a Gown: it has a train, a fashionable neckline, and is an intense color.  Therefore a garment belonging to the Quality, who could afford to have it redyed as a piece when the dyes inevitably got a bit worn.  However, different fibers take up dye differently, so the silk neckline facing, and any wool embellishments on the linen would look a bit different after 'dyeing as a piece' even if by some miracle they all started out the same color.  Natural dyes were abandoned for manmade ones because natural dyes vary from batch to batch, year to year, fiber to fiber.  However, this blue is so off the bluebonnet linen's blue, that I just couldn't bear to use them together.  Also I'm still not sure about using wool and linen in the same garment, unless they're woven that way, as the Coptics did.  The bluebonnet isn't Coptic.

I did have a bit of an epiphany about cord braiding: just splice 'em.  The length of round cord I can braid using the fingerloop technique that Mistress Marion taught me is limited to half my armspan.  (I tried advancing the shed with my toes, and I'm not happy with the results - I can't supervise the regularity of the braid when it's that far away.)  However, I can just sew the cut ends of the cord segments together for a longer length, and the splice behaves like a slightly stiffer piece of cord, with the same diameter.  It's very secure.

The splice is in the first picture, too, and I can't tell except at 3" where it is on the bag.  I figure that's Just Fine.

I originally thought I might lucet a cord for this bag, and started a length.  But in a two-hour movie, I only got about 6" done, whereas on another night I had both segments braided and spliced before the movie quit, so I don't think I'll be luceting at this scale any time soon.

From left to right: Ruler, fingerloop cord, lucet cord, and 0000 needle used to lucet it.

RE: Saltare prep - I also cut out a new snood, but after figuring out how to arrange my hair a different and more secure way, I decided not to use it.  Snood goes to Gold Key.  Today I'm going to sew up a pair of linen hose, and then I think I'm done for this weekend.  Just as well, I have more weft to spin, and two more socks to knit.  And Daan's cote to finish.

Fitted cotehardie tricks

This is a little collection of tricks I'm learning as I do mine and my husband's cotes.  I'll probably be adding to it as we go along.

Fabric needed for Greet's versatile gown: 5 yards, 60" wide.
Fabric needed for Daan's cote: 2 yards, 60" wide.

FITTING SOMEONE ELSE, MALE

• Pin the four panels on them, starting with the shoulders, and overlapping Enough at the center.
• You might need a gore at the center back (Daan needs a back gore 12" wide at hem).
• After the whole thing is pinned, use chalk (I like schoolboard chalk better than tailor's) to draw the sewing lines while it's still on the body.  Draw both sides of the seam.  Crosshatch where the ends of seams are - the ends of the side seams, the gore point, etc.  Don't forget the armseye - right up into the armpit.
• Unpin the front, and take it straight to the sewing machine.  Baste on the chalk line.  Use a small stitch at the beginning of seams and the longest one you have for the bulk of the distances - you're going to be taking this out.  Now's a good time to use up all those colors you never use anymore and can't remember buying (they must have been mom's).

GENERAL TIPS:

• 30 handsewn buttonholes take 2 days.  Don't expect to do much else.  Two strands of embroidery floss look clumsy, one is better.  Stitch in every pick space - sometimes twice.  Use magnifying spectacles and good light.  (I dread the sleeves - perhaps we're not that fashionable yet.)
• Stay-stitch, with regular sized stitch, the neckline shape, finished line, BEFORE you cut it out.  (The neck wonkiness shown here is because I forgot this basic mundane tip - it's been oh, a decade since I made a dress.)
• Use tabby silk ribbon (check an embroidery store, white might have to be dyed) for a neck or armhole facing, per Crowfoot (London) pg 158.

FITTING YOURSELF, FEMALE

• Baste a zipper into the centerfront seam for fitting purposes.
• Set the points of the gores 1/2" higher than you think they ought to be.  (You should see the wriggling that goes on to get out of this dress, even WITH the zipper.)
• My hem circumference is 7 yards.  Right.
• Stab stitch is apparently named because you will stab your left thumb in the cuticle every other stitch.  But it does go faster than running stitch.  Must figure out how to sew without thumbs.

(NB: I am really loving the GFD.  I like the way it looks on me, I like how it goes together.  I'm thinking about actually designing a mundane work blouse based on the torso of a GFD.  However, it will have a permanent zipper and snap tape on the cuffs.  And it probably won't get finished until next winter.  Oh well.)

Bluebonnet basted!

Look what's coming along...

(You knew I couldn't stay away from my kit for very long, right?)

Hey, it's even better than this...the sleeves are jointed and set in!  I'm taking the whole thing to Project Night tomorrow - hopefully someone will trim the points off the gore hems, which will make walking MUCH easier.

I'm discovering I know how to walk in a train already - those ballet steps!  Ronde de jamb and tomber work quite well (I'm sure I'm not spelling them correctly) to kick the baby train out of the way so I can change direction.

This is going to be SUCH a pretty dress.  I modeled it like this for Daan last night and got The Look.  Heh.

I've also fitted Daan for a cote, and need to cut that out tonight and baste it together so we can fit sleeves when I see him next on Tuesday.  I hope.  I really don't think I'm going to make it on his cote for next Saturday...but I'm going to TRY.  It's the button holes that are going to kill me, I think.  I wonder if I should just sew the buttons on, and stick a zipper behind them for now?

(slaps self)  See, I told you what would happen if I fell off the handsewing bandwagon.  Jeesh.  At least all the other stuff for him is done.

Chausses for Daan

Finally got a basic pattern, a piece of time, and my husband in the same place.  So this weekend we got a chausse sloper made.  Now I can figure out what pieces of fabric to use.  (It's clear from our fitting exercise that I will have to fit the actual leg fabric also - but I'll do the braies first so he can be wearing those.

I'm using the La Fleur de Lyse pattern you can buy here for a basic starting point.  However, I notice several things:

The hose leg was just about perfect for Daan right off the paper.  He's 5'-10", 156 pounds, and very athletic.  No extra fabric in the pattern at all - in fact I may have to add a bit at the heel so the leg can slip off over his high arches.  According to the illustration, baggy ankles are expected.

Speaking of baggy.  Now, the braies pattern, the small, has a leg panel girth of 24" (x2) plus 18" gained from the crotch panel.  I measured myself (my hips are a bit bigger than Daan's, but we can wear the same pants) sitting down, and my biggest measurement is about 45".  So the Pattern Peasant has short skinny legs and a bigger waist than my Daan's of 30".  Hmm.

I like all the parts in the Accessoires Medievaux, and they have the added bonus of being in French. [end sarcasm]  They are translated into English, but the translation is kind of funny, so it's a nice culture lesson.

Poulaines!

These are from Boots by Bohemond, and they're very nice.  The leather is quite soft and supple, and they fit snugly to my bare feet.  I wore them around the house yesterday, and learned to keep my toes pointed forward.  They arrived with a Care and Feeding sheet which seems helpful - I'll put it in the shoe polish bin.

Quick question - neckline

As I still don't have my own copy of Textiles & Clothing, by Crowfoot, Pritchard, et al, I have a quick question:

Should the cardwoven edge I'm planning for both the neckline and the lacing edge of the bluebonnet be of wool or linen?

I currently have on borrow the color card from Rainbow Linen, so I can order any of these colors - my preference is to match as close as possible, but perhaps that's erroneous?  I will use drawn threads for the seamwork, eyelets and buttonholes*, I think, but for cardweaving I'll need longer threads and the strength of a plied thread.  Which these are.

If I use wool, obviously I have much more color precision.  I made up a little linen bag with wool cardwoven edges and tried tossing it in the wash, with good results, so I think the wool will wash fine.  In fact, I think wool will be more durable, because it WILL felt a bit, than a linen cardwoven edge.  But I have no source to consult!  Help.

*I have not tried eyelets and buttonholes with a non-plied, i.e. single thread yet.  It may be a terrible idea.  I will give it a whirl on the Eyelet Redo.