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?

Reticella reticence

I've been staring at vintage lace all day trying to make myself cut into it. I bought a table runner with some staining and broken brides with the intention of upcycling it and now I'm having second thoughts. I know that the linen is only from the 1930-50's but cutting into something someone spent so much time making is rather agonizing. I was actually disappointed that it was in better shape than the auction described.

I also have about 6 yards of edging that is going to be soaked and sunned to see if it will approach white again. Then I can agonize over whether it will be part of the camicia, the apron, or if I have enough for the ruff. And I can feel guilty about plans to cut it too.

But, back to my table runner. The plan for it is to turn it into a stomacher (for lack of a better word.) In looking at several of the open front Venetian gowns, there is something going on in the V that looks either like lace or embroidery. It is especially evident in this Montemezzano.

There's no denying that that is a lace overlay covering either a red undergarment, possibly a stomach band, or a red insert. There are several others that are not as visibly lace but certainly have the same look.  Veronese's "Lady with a Heron" and the super yummy seashell ultimate extreme dress, Veronese's "Woman Holding Gloves," both have something that sure looks lacey-ish. While these don't have the falling ruff and shoulder ruffs I want for my dress, there are some woodcuts that seem to have something other than plain white camicia happening in the open front, so I'm hoping I'm not mixing up decades too much.

The other plan for the table runner is to make some cuffs. This is probably my Russian persona showing, but the thought of just taking lace on to the bottom of the sleeves, as I've seen many recreations of dresses do, has never set well with me. Cuffs and collars are ornate, removable, interchangable and very much separate in my world. Therefore, I was beyond thrilled when I came across this pair of 16th century Italian lace cuffs at the Met. (Thanks to Ashan Ekins and her Pinterest board.)

In looking at a variety of portraits, many of the straight sleeves for the open front gowns have buttons along the lower arm. I rather like the idea of delicate buttons on sleeves and on lace cuffs. We'll see how they go and if they're more bother than they are worth. I'm certainly going to be doing buttonhole stitches for the next little while as a fix brides, create new edges for old lace, and make little button loops. Should be fun.

Just to prove that I actually have gotten a few things done, here's a look at my new necklace. It's just a strung selection of goldtone beads and a rather interesting blue jasper with gold veining. Many of the open front Venetian gowns have 2 or three graduated necklaces. There is the ever present pearl choker, sometimes a medium one and then a longer one with a large pendant either free hanging or pinned to the open lacing (or closed bodice depending.) The majority are either pearls or gold chain, but there were a couple of woodcuts and a few paintings that seem to show something other than that. This is sort of loosely based on Moroni's Portrait of Isotta Brembati.   Hers has the colored stones and rice shaped gold. I had the seashelly flourishes that I substituted for plain rounds. The pendant isn't as large as I would have preferred, but it matched. I've got some silk ribbon I'm going to use for bows on some earrings and I am considering making a little bow brooch for use to pin the necklace onto the bodice like Isotta's.