New 15th century Italian dress

Since I don't need to make new clothes to go to events, except for shifts and hose occasionally, I only make new outfits because I want to.

Like this late 15th century Italian outfit made from brushed cotton.

Ever since I started reading about cotton in Europe in the Middle Ages, I've wanted to make something from brushed cotton, since that was used as a cheap substitute for wool in medieval Italy. (My article on cotton in medieval Europe can be found in the left hand column.) But to my surprise (well not really) it is not as easy to find in fabric shops as it was in the 1980s. So both the green and the red fabric is from charity shops. In fact everything except the lacing cord which is from a factory museum , is from charity shops.

I am going to wear it at the SCA event Double Wars, which starts this Friday.

A green velvet 16th century Venetian gown from thrifted materials

 I have finished the gown that I have been working on on and off since before christmas. AND I have finished a page with loads of information about how I made it. And more pretty pictures. That page is here.

This gown is made from old velvet curtains, sateen bed sheets, pieces of sturdy cotton, vintage bobbin lace, and other stuff gotten from charity shops. I like making things from thrifted materials: not only is it much better for the environment, it is also much cheaper.

Diagonally striped like it's 1336

 My striped gown inspired by a fresco by Buonamico Buffalmacco in Pisa is not only finished, but has its own page here. 

I feel incredibly pretty in it. Now I just need to make a matching kirtle, instead of using the one from my Bernardo Daddi outfit.

Hanging upside down

When I make costumes with modern tools and techniques, and my green Venetian is definetely one of those because I am not going to hand sew a gown made from second hand velvet curtains, I have a few tricks that I use. One is to sew the lining and skirt together at the hem and then let them hang for a week, to ensure that any stretching is done before I start pleating the skirt to the bodice.

So here you can se 3,5 metres of skirt hanging. The lining is a thrifted cotton sateen bed sheet.

My plan is to wear this at Drachenwald's Spring Crown Tourney in Hamburg in April. It doesn't take a lot of time to finish it, so even including me working on the opposition for a viva at the Unviersity of Iceland, and going there in the end of March, that shouldn't be a problem. However, I am currently working hard to lose some weight, so I can't start on the bodice yet.

I will probably start making a lace partlet for it, because that is also less size sensitive.

Progress on the striped gown

I am terribly busy these days: I am evaluating a manuscript for a PhD thesis and writing a report about it, I have a class at Drachenwald's Online Kingdom University, this time in collaberation with the Kingdoms of Atlantia and Lochac, so it's actually the Tri-kingdom University next Saturday, which is far from finished. My apprentice Alfhild de Foxley is not only the University chancellor for the Drachenwald Online University, but also was theone who took initiative to make this an intervcontinental event - I am insanely proud of her. I am also doing calligraphy and illumination for Nordmark's Coronet Tournament, and I have started a knitting project. Having a really bad flare in my psoriatic arthritis, and sinusitis doesn't help at all.

But I have hand sewn the body of the striped surcoat. Next Step is ironing and felling the seams.

But first more writing.

Another Italian 14th century gown

As you might remember I got tipsy from mimosa in Hans-Gunnar's market tent on Tuesday of the Medieval week. And ended up buying this fabulous wool fabric from Historiska Rum.

I had first planned to make a pretty straight forward late 14th century gown with horisontal stripes, maybe buttoned. But then I remembered this fantastic gown on a fresco by Bonamico Buffalmacco.It is from the Piazza de Miracoli in Pisa, an dwas made  between 1336 and 1341.

And the idea wouldn't go away. This gown had been a part of my life since I was a child in the 1970s. Because in my mum's "Housewives's lexicon" in four volumes there was an article about fashion history. There were modern drawings of clothing from different eras, and one of those representing the Middle Ages, was this one. Though I didn't realise this until maybe ten years ago.  

So the idea to make a diagonally striped gown kept living in the back of my head.

I knew that I would have to be extremely careful when cutting out the fabric, and test carefully if it was even possible to fit it on the fabric. This is a little unusual for me - I usually freewheel a lot of my cutting. But I now I had to actually make a full size pattern, and a full size mock-up. After fitting the mock-up I unpicked the seams, so that I could use them as pattern for cutting.

That wine red linen is actually going to be a non-medieval dress.

There was enough width to make a diagonally striped dress, and enough remnants to make short , hanging sleeves. After I have made mock-ups for that too.

I am not particularly good at focusing on one project at a time, by the way. I have finished one of my cut work sleeves, and I am working on the other one. I am also knitting a fair isle slipover; because why not?

A headband for my 14th century Italian Cocharelli outfit

 Like any normal person I had started on/prepared for two hand sewing projects for my New Years Eve celebration.

The first was this headband made from a piece of vintage metallic trim, faux peaels and glass beads, and thrifted vintage grosgrain ribbon on the inside.

This is how it is supposed to look:

I realised when I was going to take the photo that the braids should have been made in a way that covers the ears. But by hten I wasn't interested in re-doing my braids just for a photo. For the next event, well, that is different.

As a very 1980s barbarian princess look.

And yes, I started on the sleeves too, after all: we had the whole "Chicago" and "Gentlemen prefer blondes" to watch through before the clock struck twelve.

Happy New Year everone! May it be better than the last one.

Third time's the charm? - another green Venetian 16th century gown

 So the 16th century Venetian that I made this spring is too large. Not by itself, it has taken some effort to lose some of that weight.

And the one that I made in spring 2019 is (still) too small.

So here we go: another green Venetian gown. This time from second hand cotton velvet curtains. The inspiration is this fresco by Giovanni Antonio Fasolo, from c. 1560-65

Since I have white cinquefoils (five petaled flowers) on green in my heraldic arms (for the SCA) I tend to be drawn to anything with white flowers, especially on green. 

The fresco isn't detailed enough to show how the flowers were made. It appears to be the same fabric as the gown, just with added decoration; so I think we can exclude woven pattern. That leaves embroidery/applique, and cut out patterns. Both are known techniques from the periodm but I have decided to go for the cut out patterns, which is very common in portraits.

This is my trial, on scraps of red cotton velvet.

Yesterday, when I really needed a break from reading up on the Cold War for a lecture that I am holding on Friday, I constructed a sleeve pattern and cut out the sleeves. First in white silk dupion (of the even kind), and then from the green cotton velvet.

And today, having another break from the Cold War, I started marking where to cut the flowers. With the help of a gingerbread cutter.

Now I will return to the Cold War, but this will be an excellent hand sewing project while I watch costume films with my neighbour, as we do every New Year's Eve.

A mi-parti Italian gown from the first half of the 14th century

 Yes, indeed: another old gown getting its page. Though not as old as my husband's outfit that I just posted about. That one was from 2004, this one is only from 2016.

I wear it a lot, so it is strange that I don't have more photos of it. Or haven't done the page until now. But now it is here.

Venetian gowns are cool

I don't do much 16th century these days, and when I do I rarely wear them. 

I did, however make a fantasy Venetian gown from synthetic taffeta for my Halloween photoshoot in October that made me want to go there again. 

This is some of the fantasy photos.

So I need a new one, because not only is my Venetian gown that I made in 2019 way too small for me now.

And I will probably never be that thin again. 

But the one that I made this summer is too big already, thanks to quite a lot of effort on my side.

So I will make another one, from the same pattern as the fantasy gown. And I will get around to wearing it. Maybe for Drachenwald's Spring Crown in Northern Germany in april next year.

My plan is to make it from green thrifted cotton velvet curtains, inspired by this painting.

Yes, I do love green.

Photos from the Medieval Week: Sunday to Tuesday.

 This was my first medival week on Gotland since 2016, when I was over for three days. My last whole medieval week was in 2010. I used to go (almost) every year between 1993 and 2010, and we always camped. And often brought our children. So this was a very different week: The first time I stayed at a B&B, The first time since 2003 (except for those three days in 2016) without children. They are now 30 and 21, so they have their own lives.

I had a marvellous time. I have not yet decided if I miss camping at Visby. I can camp at Double Wars, which doesn't require bringing a car and trailer on a ferry. There is also much less stuff to take care of afterwards. I have washed the linens, spot cleaned or hand washed the wool and silk gowns, cleaned the shoes and greased them. No big tent to dry,

Anyway: Photos!

Sunday: Arrival by plane, and getting to the B&B. Took a walk down to the market, where I met Hans Gunnar from Eikthyrnir , got a nice  beer, and bought some seriously pretty shoes. With a rubber sole attached so I won't slip on the cobblestones and die. Or at least hurt myself.

Wearing my 13th century wool cotte, that I made in 2004. And have worn at practically every camping event since then. 

Look at the pretty fringe that I sewed to the bottom of the new striped gown. And the sexy red shoes. The hose are my very patched linen hose from 2005. Also used A LOT. I might have to make new ones, because they are falling to pieces.

Early bed time, because I had fallen asleep at 1 am that morning, and woken up at 3 am.

Monday: Sara and I went to the market. Which is quite fabulous. Some not so period trinkets and fantasy clothing, but also awesome things like fabrics from Historiska Rum, The Historical Fabric Store, Medeltidsmode, and Korps/Ravencraft. The two former are all about reproduction fabrics, while the two latter are cheaper, and you can still find really good stuff. And reproduction pottery from Krohns Krukmakeri etc etc. There were sellers of plantdyed fabric and yarn, of armour, of musical instruments, of black smith work, and of many other things. And entertainment. This is Arkadia.

I wore the striped gown, and Sara took a photo of me in the botanical garden.

The bwlt is tied high, early 14th century Italian style, and the knitted cap is also Italian from this period. I made a post with both documentation for the style, and a knitting pattern. it is here.

Hollyhocks.

Then Sara and I went to watch what turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of the week: "Sveriges medeltida landskapslagar - the musical". Yes. It is a musical about the Swedish medieval county laws. Yes, it is fabulous. 

* Note: If you for some reason have a need to read the Nordic medieval laws, but don't read the Scandinavian languages, there is a quite new series of scholarly translations published by Routledge. You can probably access them through a university library, at least through ILL. My old supervisor Prof. Thomas Lindkvist did the one on the oldest Swedish one: The Västgöta law.

After dinner made by Sara she had a lie down, and I went swimming in the sea, and for an evening walk.

Tuesday: Tuesday meant mimosa breakfast at Hans Gunnar's market tent. There were lots of us, both from the SCA, and other people. A great time was had.

This was before the market opened, so we could have our orange juice and bubbly bottles on the table.

I wore my printed wool gown from the early 14th century.

And afterwards I bought three metres of striped wool from Historiska Rum (link above)  that I have lusted after for months. It might have been the mimosa, but I am happy anyway.

Then I went to a three hour workshop in high medieval music ( I sing, I don't play anything well enough for this) with dr Karin Lagergren and Gustav Näsman Olai , who also plays in the medieval ensemble "Medeltidsbandet Själ". It was so much fun. I really miss singing medieval and renaissance music. Of course the workshop was held in a medieval building.

Then we had dinner, and it was evening, and I went swimming and walking again. It was windy and fun waves.

Here I am wearing my handspun, handwoven cotton dress. It ought to be a half linen/half cotton weave, but I couldn't get both that and handspun and hand woven. It is an Italian style from c 1300, where half cottons was used a lot for lower class clothing. You can read about the dress here. Because, if you didn't know this already: I rarely make anything without documenting the shit out of it.

Wednesday and Thursday will be the next post.