Lazy S pattern for the camicia

Plate from Vavassore "Corona di Racammi" originally published in 1530

I love the 100 or so books published in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries jam packed full of embroidery patterns. After spending a couple of years collecting links and hard copies of them it is always exciting to have a project to use them for.  I considered just selecting a random pattern from one of the modelbuch published before 1545 to embroider on the cuffs and neckline of my camicia. I was seriously tempted by several from Engelnuff. (Yes, I do have a favorite modelbuchlein. Yes, I realize that says something about me.) After taking the excuse to browse through modelbuch for a few hours, however,  I went back to what was depicted the portrait. I was actually a bit disappointed by that. Here's a reason to utilize all this other data and I'm just squinting at the portrait?

The camicia has a simple scroll pattern of Ss on their side. There are quite a few lazy S and simple scroll patterns in the earlier books and I had originally pulled 5 or 6 to look at with various levels of simplicity, including a couple that added a flower or a heart and a few that omitted the acanthus style flourish. After looking at them a time or two I decided not to use them. This one from Vavassore is pretty much a dead ringer for the portrait and once I'd decided to do the S style, it only seemed right to do the exact pattern. But you have to admit, being able to find the exact pattern is at least sort of a good use of far too much research, right?

Closeup from Anea's site

The biggest reason for settling on the lazy S was balance. The pattern is actually rather plain and compared to the hundreds of other choices. It is just an s on its side with a tiny amount of flourish. I think with the overblown presence of the dress fabric, that's probably a necessity visually. If the embroidery was polychrome or more figural like several of the borders I was tempted to do are, it would get lost against the dress. The camicia is a contrast to the scrollwork and texture of the dress. It is simple. The sleeves aren't even gathered at the cuff. I was surprised to notice them coming out of the bottom of the sleeve floppy and a bit rumpled looking with no cuff or gathered frill.  I think the counter balance of the organized pattern and the informal finish helps sell the dress. it's also refreshing to see in all the uptightness of the mannerist portrait and I like that.

The best view I can get of the top edge of the camicia is from the Detroit Institute of Art portrait, There are two versions of the double portrait, one in Uffizi Gallery in Florence, one in Detroit. There is also a third portrait of just Eleonora in the dress painted posthumously. It is in the Wallace Collection in London. The Detroit portrait isn't quite as finely done as the Uffizi. If you are interested in finding out more about the differences between the two double portraits and seeing how the workshop of Bronzino was more involved in the Detroit version, there's an interesting article from the Journal of the American Institute of Conservation authored by Serena Urry comparing the two portraits and pointing out paint burs that show how the background was done and the faces left for the master. It also points out mistakes in the pattern of the dress fabric as well as looking at the simplification of the embroidery so it looks less three dimensional as compared to the Uffizi portrait. The Detroit loses the acanthus flourish and is a great deal more boxy. The extant published modelbuch, Furm-oder Modelbuchlein by Schonsperger published in 1523 has a pattern very similar. (Top one of the 3, although the bottom is a nice lazy S as well.

I like the Uffizi version via Vavassone a  bit more I think. What I don't like nearly as much is that either way, the cuffs and top edge are my least favorite blackwork type-- counted and reversible. I rather detest counted blackwork and have sworn off it. The cuff is turned up with a fully visible pattern showing in all 3 portraits, however. It is most definitely reversible. Sigh. I guess getting the correct look for things is why I embroider in the first place.

Spot printing and embroidering over it.

When I started this outfit in the past, I decided to do a plain camicia with embroidered neck and cuffs. I embroidered them with a pattern of griffins and mermaids taken from Giovanni Ostaus' Perfection of Design. While I love the cuffs and collar (and they still haven't found their way on to a camicia yet,) I think it is wrong for the outfit. The original plan was to have this be my Disney Challenge dress and to have the dress read as Ursula the SeaWitch. Therefore I was going to have the underdress be more purple and less pink. Since I'm going back to having it read like the portrait, the deep purple and green in the cuffs just seems a bit stronger and more noticeable than what I want to go with the pink painted on gold I'm now planning. Therefore, the new plan is to do a camicia with little spot motifs embroidered in gold.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O20024/panel-unknown/

As I'm currently playing with block printing, I think I will use the blocks to transfer the design and make certain it is consistent. This is an approach used in the 16th century. There are some examples of printed fabrics sold by printers for embroidering on. The two in the V&A show a variety of patterns. One is spot motifs that could be for embroidered slips or they could be used as is on a shift. The Vand A also has a smock with similar animals embroidered on it.  The other extant example is a coif that has been printed with flowers to shape with the printing visible. There is also a matching panel with the same design

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O20024/panel-unknown/

that has been embroidered with black thread in a speckling stitch with added spangles.  

My plan is to use a small heartsease (pansy) stamp all over the linen for the camicia and then go back in with gold to match the spot motif in the portrait. It isn't quite the same pattern, but I like heartsease and they were a popular embroidered flower in the period (one of Elizabeth I's badges as well.)

I also happen to already own the cute little pansy stamp pictured first. I purchased it from Blockwallah on Etsy.
Using a supply already on hand wins in this case. Although I have to admit I am very temped by some of the cute animals in the extant panel. Or possibly a seeblatt.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O364616/coif-unknown/

I do have a small heart with some interior detailing and I may use that alternating with the pansy for the cuffs and collar. Or, possibly something more geometric. I'm going to have to do some tests to see what I like. I figure the spot printed camicia will make a nice project to work on at events, sort of like the little printed cross stitch kits I did as a kid that were my first exposure to embroidery.

Foxy lady (well, Baroness actually)

Photo by Gwen Kelly

I am not a counted blackwork fan. Let's just get that out of the way. Actually, I love it and lust after people's pretty work, but I am rather hamfisted,with bad eyes and counted work makes me grumpy. I never do pretty TINY regular blackwork. I am, however, willing to do the sort where I can draw things out. But I'm not really known for my blackwork, so the fact that I embroidered this still makes me laugh.

I was supposed to help the current Baroness of Gryphon's Lair with an Italian dress she wanted made for 12th Night. She changed her mind as the event got closer and decided to have someone else make her a different dress. When I saw her next, I was still standing there with my helium hand up and she asked if I'd make her a camicia. Sure, no problem. Then she asked me to do some blackwork rabbits to match a suit that was being made for her husband. She was super excited because she'd never had any blackwork done before. Hmmm. Ooooookay, sure. Blackwork.

Did I mention that this conversation happened at Solstice which gave me less than a month until 12th Night? I started working out patterns immediately. Nothing really clicked. And then I stopped and thought about Her Excellency and asked if she would mind if I substituted foxes and guitars. She's a Laurel for her music as well as for her illumination and foxes are her personal badge. She became very excited about that idea and the ideas worked better for me.

I ended up doing a very simple fox face, a guitar, and a few musical notes for the cuffs.

Since the camicia band is pretty long and I was rushed for time with the holidays all stuffed in there, I simplified it even more and did just the fox face and a repeating diamond for that.

The camicia itself is done in a hankieweight linen. Rather than doing an insertion stitch, I got lazy and just inserted some antique bobbin lace in the seams. I tried out Margo's Italian underthings pattern which I got from her Kickstarter project. It really isn't a pattern, just directions. Which is understandable since all it is is big rectangles. She credits Bella from Realm of Venus in the intro, and that is all this really is. The same stuff I've been using on all my other camicias.

I guess I could do a little review of the pattern. It is very well written as all of Margo's patterns are, but I wasn't really that impressed. Nothing new or interesting here. The camicia isn't even a pattern, as I said. The pocket pattern is nice I guess, but drawing your own is just as easy as cutting out or tracing hers. The underbodice pattern is for an odd piece that is documented very late by one painting and I don't think I'd ever have a use for it. The partlets are nice, but already available on Margo's website for free. Having a drawer pattern for someone other than myself might be useful, but they've never really struck me as something you actually need a pattern for. I am probably just a grump though. I know many people, like my sister-in-law for instance, who require a pattern to make anything. I got this pattern specifically to be able to give to people doing Italian for the first time. I think it'll be wonderful for that as it brings together information available in a variety of places. I'm glad I supported the Kickstarter though. There's been a bit of delay getting the other two patterns out,(for the dresses and zimarra)  but I'm looking forward to them..

50 seems like a nice round number

I still have loads to do on the mermaid bands for the camicia neck and cuffs, but they are coming along.  I have about fifty hours in to them at this point. I still have about a gryphon and a half to go with the backstich in the purple silk. Then there are four mermaids to do in the green silk. Then I've got to do some satin stitch and couching in gold. I have absolutely no idea how much more time it is going to take. I played with the gold on one cuff just a little in order to decide on whether to plan for gold, but I am nowhere near finished with what I want to put in. I'll probably put some gold on the centers of the mermaid tails and maybe some in their hair. The design looks a bit bare and I think it needs some bands on the edge, but there's not enough space on the linen strips, so those will need to be worked once they are attached.  It probably needs some lace as well.

I think this is needlelace with gold woven through

screen shot of the zoom of  16th century Italian camicia at the Met 

I am still without camera, but the embroidery is starting to come along.  I've got about 30 hours into it so far and the base work is done on the cuffs.  I've got loads of gold couching to do still, however.  Not to mention the neckband. Since I was feeling accomplished, I decided to go stare at one of the inspirations for my camicia, an extant shirt in the Met.  My first thought was that it was bobbin lace, especially because of all the color in the head or foot or whatever it is called.  Zooming in (after the pity party where I kicked stuff because I don't do bobbin lace) makes me think that it is actually needlelace, however.  I'm certainly seeing
what look like buttonhole stitches. The gold seems to be woven in.  It might in fact be something I can do. And now I'm wondering if I have a chance at finishing the dress sometime this year since I keep complicating the underwear.

Another lace camicia

I really did intend to make a different sort of camicia this year.  Honest.  I just truly love wearing the one I made last year with the lace inserts. I made a plain one this winter and I never wear it, opting instead for the lace. I was really impressed with all of the embroidery and such on so many of  the other competitor's camicie but nothing spoke to me as much as crazy amounts of lace (I used about 50 yards.) I did do an integrated ruffle and cuffs on this one rather than using the twill tape and mounting lace on that. It also has a more tightly pleated neckline so it is smaller and doesn't have the problem of going down my arms like last year's was doing in the pictures of the corset and petticoat. Those are about the only differences other than my use of a different lace pattern.  Oh, and this one is linen/cotton blend rather than the cotton batiste of last year's/

Camicia ideas

I've been trying to get excited about the camicia. The two I currently own are nice, and I especially love the lace insertion on my first one. I had planned to make another with lace, as it is my favorite to wear. It just seemed that this was the opportunity to do something different, rather than making more of the same.

The problem is that I think the lace or plain camicias are what I need for the new gown, but it isn't what I want to make. What I want to make is a camicia with black points like this one painted by Bartolomeo Veneto.

Here's another similar one, again by Veneto, this one in a portrait of Beatrice d'Este from the early 1500's

Here's more of the cute little bows, this one by Raphael's "Woman in a Veil" (1515, and in the Pitti Palace)

And this one is Andrea Solario's "The Lute Player" about 1510 ish as well.

So, camicia I think is interesting. Wonderful. The fact that the style is far too early for my dress-- not so wonderful.

I think what my solution is going to be is to make it anyway. My next dress is going to be an earlier style and I have the two other dresses from the 1530's so it will get worn. I think I will remodel the plain camicia I made this winter and make it much less full so it can be worn under the gold dress I'm making and more wearable all around. That isn't a new item and won't count for the competition though. The black pointed one would be entirely new and I'd just swap camicias and wear it with a different dress. Hey, I swapped petticoats for my other dress. My gold one now goes under the Lotto gown and the salmon linen one I made for it is now worn with my red dress.

I'm going to sleep on it though. Maybe some brilliant idea will hit. Either way, I know that I eventually want a black pointed camicia.

Camicia

The cut of my camicia is based on an extant piece held in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK. I based my pattern off Dorothy Burnham's examination of it in her book Cut My Cote with additional information provided by Annabelle Wake in her article "How to Sew a Venetian Camicia" I also consulted Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4 where several Italian camicias are discussed. Because I am quite a bit taller and larger than women in 16th century Italy I chose to be much more generous with my widths of fabric, rather than following Ms. Wake or Ms. Burnaham's recommendations.

As my last camicia was a rather fancy one with a lot of lace inserts, I made this one very plain. It is also in keeping with the portrait I chose to base my ensemble on. The portrait has a plain camicia with integral pleated ruffle at the neck and cuffs. I followed the instructions at Realm of Venus for a gather pleated neckline, pleating and then backstitching over the pleats. In period fine linen would have been used. I also used a lightweight white linen fabric, but it is not of the fineness of linen in period as modern commercial linen does not approach the thread count of fabrics from the 16th century. Assembly was a combination of machine and hand work. I finished each panel and the gussets with machine hems, but did the insertion stitches to connect them by hand and hand pleated the neck and cuffs. After wearing it once I decided that the backstitch I did over the pleats to secure them needed extra reinforcement and did a decorative machine stitch over the top of the pleating.