A couple of quick cauls

I'm working on a working class dress to wear this weekend for Quest for Atlantis in Barony of Gryphon's Lair, so the IRCC isn't getting all that much time, but I'm determined to keep plugging away. With that in mind I made two quick cauls out of pre-embroidered fabrics. They're just simple circles gathered to a fitted band. This one has a pattern of eyelets done in brown thread. I cut the circle far too big and it hangs lower than it should so I cut the second one smaller. It has whitework circles on it. I'm considering adding pearls but we'll see. I'm going to wear it this weekend (assuming I finish the dress.) Hey look! I got the feather's curled. The white one isn't cooperating much. I might remove it. Considering making a hat jewel as well.

The dress for camping this weekend is a blue/green teal linen with spice guards. I had intended to do only minimal boning/interlining since that is the more correct look. My vanity got in the way, however. As a super fat person who has had 4 children I really like the smoothing and support of a boned bodice. So it has 2 interior layers of canvas and one of wool felt and not as many bones as my court gowns but still quite a few. The bodice is assembled, just needs eyelets done and guards attached. The guards are today's project. Eyelets will probably get done Friday since we're planning a trip to my husband's brother's graduation and it is a good car project.

Since I'm planning to machine sew the drawers, they might get started today too. Not sure yet. I got the fabric stamped and after counting over 300 of the stamps that I'd need to go back in with gold I decided to be lazy and leave it as is. I like the stamping a lot. I think I'll try it again for an outer garment. Then I'll go through the extra work of adding additional colors. As a first attempt I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Makes a really nice tablecloth too.

First experiments with block printing

I think it is going to look much better once I paint the gold into the center of the blue outlines, but I'm relatively pleased so far. Lots more stamping to go. Yet another one of those times that I wish I was smaller and needed less fabric to make things in my size. At least I'll get lots of practice.

New plan-- back to daily updates, and on to some printing.

Block printed linen in Victoria and Albert Museum.  Italian 1350-1400 

 

 

 I just haven't been doing as well with accomplishing things this time around and I'm beginning to think that it has something to do with not having all the mini deadlines. So, that is my new plan. Regardless of if I finish something or not I absolutely have to find something interesting to say and post a picture every single day. For every day I do it I get a dollar towards buying Moda a Firenze.  There's less than 100 days left, but if I'm close I get to buy it anyway.

Cappotto is basically stalled with the second guard to go. I think I'm going to put it aside for awhile and actually finish something before I get bogged down in it. I was going to do the corset next and start the dress so I'd feel really accomplished, but I have lost 13 pounds in the last 3 weeks (YAY!) so I'm going to wait as I had originally planned and do it really close to the end. I know that isn't the best plan and puts me in danger of not finishing the dress, but I really don't want a dress that doesn't fit when I'm through

So, tomorrow's plan is to try some block printing of fabric using the instructions from Cennini's Il Libro dell'Arte. He discusses block printing on fabric in chapter 173 "The way to work on cloth by printing from a shape in color (lavorare colla forma dipinti in panno.)"  The linen is stretched on a frame and then the color is applied to the block with the palm of a gloved hand. The block is brought to the fabric from the bottom and burnished by another board on top in order to make the impression. Once the outline is in place the fabric is removed from the frame, spread out on a table and other colors "without body" are applied with a brush.  I think my Q-snap quilting frame that I use for large scale embroidery will make a good substitution for the wooden stretcher frame. I had considered carving a block, but I might cheat and use some large stamps instead. 

The plan is to print enough blue linen to make drawers. Cennini specifically says when using light blue fabric (biava) to use biacca or white lead for the outlines rather than black. He follows that up with basically says to mix your colors with the grounds as you fancy and feel go together, "one thing will teach you another, both by practice and the knowledge given by your intelligence. The reason? that every art is in its nature ingenious and pleasing: che ne piglia se n'ha (he that takes, hath). And similarly the contrary happens."

I will be doing white (not lead) for my outlines and then adding some gold for color. Guess we'll see how it goes. The way I figure it, if I do a terrible job, they're drawers and really won't be seen much anyway. I've been dieing to try printing fabric and collecting documentation on it for quite some time now so figured now is as good a time to start as any.

Drawers are done

Still haven't gotten around to doing an embroidered pair. Maybe for next year's IRCC? As I have a lot more colored linen than white linen in my stash I went with a pale blue. Since the petticoat is already orange/coral it seemed only right to alternate the other color. I also had a short length of vintage embroidered trim with waterlilies on it that I thought would be fun to use. My last pair of drawers were a straight leg. I like them but thought I'd try a different shape and went with the more full leg gathered into a cuff. I had just enough of the trim for cuffs and then added a simple lace. Rather than a lacing point I put a button on the waistband.

The general shape is very much like the embroidered pair I want to do eventually.

It's a later pair, being firmly early 17th century, dated about 1630. They're held in the Museo del Tessuto, Prato and written up in a number of sources. Go look at the link to Realm of Venus and check out the graphed embroidery pattern and extra pictures. I feel like drafting my pattern for the shape at least puts me a hair closer to making them. My cuffs are more elaborate than the narrow binding and ties of the extant pair because the trim dictated it. I used the trim as the front of the cuff and linen as the back, then added eyelets for ties rather than having them be self tying.

The legs are more full than they need to be and the waist a bit larger. I think its a reaction to my pink pair being a bit tight. Since its the holiday season I'm going to hold off on altering them until my New Year's weight loss resolution gets going.

Pink underwear with hearts

I never got around to the pink linen embroidered drawers that I was so very excited about at the start of this.  I decided against the silk Venetians with diagonal floral trim that had been my backup plan because I want to use the orangey/red silk for my Artemisian Costuming Challenge where it can actually be seen.  I still wanted drawers for comfort reasons though.  I considered just plain white ones but decided there was no fun in that, so I needed something a little jazzier.  I decided to go ahead and use the pink linen I'd originally planned to embroider on because my green stockings were decided on to go with the shocking pink and, even after using some to line a Persian style coat for Baron's War and make these, I have loads of it left.  It was bought on clearance last year for $1.97 a yard.  Pink isn't one of my favorite colors but the price was right and it has turned out to be a great purchase.

Since I was using bright pink I decided to add some hearts as sort of a joke.  I had just enough of this palmette designed wide lace to do an insert up each leg at the seam.  I put them in "upside down" so they're more like the krin motif I babbled about ages ago. The lace trim at the hem is the same lace on my chemise hem and cuffs, around the edge of my handkerchief, and on my partlet.  I got several lengths of it in some grab bags at the lace store.  I've only got about 6 inches left and they don't carry it any more which makes me sad.  I'm almost out of lace and trims of all types to be honest.  Thank goodness this is almost over since my stash is pretty depleted.