Progress on the bodies and the needlelace cuffs

 Seems like I've been working on this pair of bodies for far too long. I've got one of the front sections complete and all of the tabs bound on the back as well as one of the straps. Just keep plugging away it and it has to get done eventually, I guess. My finger tips are not enjoying the leather binding.  I like the clean finish it makes however. Another couple of days on the binding and I should be able to move on to all the eyelets for the front fastening on on the tabs in order to attach the skirt so it is actually a petticoat.

I took a little break from the corset yesterday in order to try out an idea I had to make the free standing cuffs I talked about back here. Since then I found a couple more pairs of cuffs. This one is in the Royal Ontario Museum and besides having adorable animals, it has beads! They have it dated between 1566 and 1599.

Image from Wikipedia

The Met has a more square pair that are Spanish that have some similarities to the Italian ones as well. There are a number of other similar pairs dated 17th century, but with no more exact date, so I am sticking with linking the 16th century cuffs. Three extant pair found quickly and easily made me feel pretty confident that this wasn't an idea out of left field. Every Italian dress I've seen done by someone else seems to just have a bit of lace tacked to the edge of the bottom of the sleeve so I hope I'm not making a big mistake here. I know the English certainly had stand alone sleeve cuffs. The portrait of Margaret Layton wearing her famous jacket (waistcoat) has a lovely pair. I was actually thinking I could add my cuffs to the list of items I can swap into the English outfit to be made later.

Anyway, back to the idea that was niggling at the back of my brain. I got the cuffs cut out to the shape I wanted. I cut bits from the scrap left after cutting the stomacher, so getting the figures centered wasn't happening. It is most certainly reticella though and I think the look is fine. There is also the brown spot on one of the birds/dragons/gryphons/whatever which is what made this table runner the deal that it is (in addition to broken brides.) I figured I'd try a little bleach on the one spot later and, at the very worst, the spot is under my wrist so won't really be seen.

My original plan had been to handstitch the cuff edges for stability. Then I looked at all the other handstitching projects I had going in the next two months and laughed myself silly. Yeah. Not going to happen. I still wanted cuffs if I could manage it. So, my brainstorm was to try a similar technique with my sewing machine to how machine embroiderers make freestanding lace made from nothing more than thread.  I hand tacked the cut lace into place on a tear away stabilizer and used a satin stitch along the lines of the edges. I think with a couple of washes the cotton thread should blend a bit. I still need to do the handwork: bars for the fastening and tiny pearl buttons.

BTW, some machine embroiderer should totally digitize some of the lace designs in the modelbuchs. Can you imagine being able to buy custom lace that was the real pattern rather than something that sorta kind looked okay?

Sent in my update for June

I kept hoping to finish more to have it to report so I've been procrastinating my update to Bella for the IRCC II but I finally just bit the bullet and sent it in today. Figured I should do some updating here too. Most of the last week has been spent working on a pair of Effigy style (ish) bodies for the petticoat bodies. I drafted them correctly the first time with the long angled seams in back, but it wasn't working with my body so I adapted the back from my side back lacing bodice pattern and put a seam at the side, then kept the shape of the Effigy from there forward. It doesn't have the dramatic shaping from the back seam, but since most of my intent is for smoothing and structure I think this will work just fine.

The fabric choices are kind of funny. I've been dithering over what I wanted to use and have gone shopping several times and come home empty handed. I actually pulled this canvas from my junk pile for use as a mock up. It was a $1.50 table find. I made it into a coat awhile back, but it has issues with fading when washed. Since the corset and silk skirt won't be washed in that manner I think it actually works great for this project. The firey orange silk was a gift from Maestra Bianca da Ravenna a couple of years ago. It's one of those fabrics that doesn't quite go with anything so it has been sitting in my stash, but it somehow matches the crazy red and orange of the canvas. I'm going to do wide guards to tie it in further. I've got the stays boned (130 bones/two packages of 36" duct ties later) and am cutting the binding now. I'm using a really soft red pigskin suede that I had originally planned to make embroidered Rus boots with. That keeps getting back-burnered so I decided to go ahead and use it rather than hoard it and replace it later if I got around to the boots. Working on the binding is this week's project and then I'll move on to stitching the far too many eyelets for the front lacing and the points at the waist tabs to tie on the skirt.

As you can see, work on the fan continues. I pulled off the clay ring from the bottom and intend to replace it with an eyebolt screwed into the wood armature so it will be more sturdy for hanging. I got the Apres sculpted in in the center medallion and blocked in the gryphons on the side. I've been fiddling with the Amazon a bit, trying to figure how to make her work on the back of the handle rather than just being plopped down on the front. The last attempt got pulled off, but I think I'm getting closer. The armature is just too wide, but it is too late to fix that so I'm adapting to it.