Progress and a saccocia

I spent yesterday sewing round and round my petticoat, attaching the lining, sewing two cording channels and putting three rows of trim on. I'm planning to take it to fighter practice tonight and have someone help me mark the waist so I can trim the top, pleat it, and add the waistband. I think I solved some of the problem I had with my last petticoat by making it quite a bit shorter and less full. That should solve the issues my gold one has with slipping down and showing. There's also more fabric in the petticoat than the skirt of the dress so the red skirt doesn't hang as well as I would like. Part of the issue is that I made the gold one intending that it could be worn separately with an Elizabethan jacket. The new one is just a plain old petticoat. I'm sewing it by machine rather than by hand like the first one. I even did the cording channels and trim by machine in the interest of time. I'm not really that pleased by it, but it should be functional. Its at the bottom of the picture. Salmon colored linen I bought for 97 cents a yard at Handcock's last year with the rest of the chestnut linen I used for the lining of my gold petticoat as lining. I corded it with the cotton clothesline rope I had left over from the gold petticoat. The trim is green cotton ribbon that I sewed down with the honeycomb stitch on my machine. The ribbon is actually ribbon yarn. I bought it on super clearance at my favorite knitting shop for 99 cents a ball several years ago. One of the cheapest ways to buy really nice trim is the have a look at novelty yarns. Even really expensive yarn can be very cheap trim once you calculate the yardage.

I also spent some time working on the sleeves for my zimmara. It's the blue and yellow fabric with pomegranates in the picture. I cut it out in January (or maybe February?) with the intention of doing a loose gown to wear with my blackworked coif. Its cut using the diagram for the "Learned man's gown of cloth" from Alcega dated 1589 as pictured on page 6 of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion. Since then, I've read several reviews of people using the giant bag top sleeve in the Reconstructiong History pattern (which is basically the Alcega sleeve) and HATING it. I got rather worried by that. I didn't have enough fabric to re-cut the sleeves into the round sleeve that I would have preferred for the zimarra, but I had plenty of leeway to futz around with the top of the sleeve I had cut. I ended up trimming some of the sides away so it wasn't as unstructured and cutting the top section in panes. I still need it to have quite a bit of fullness as it will be worn over the puffy baragoni of my Italian gowns and I think it should have it this way. I guess we'll see how it works. At present I have 2 somethings resembling either badly drawn trees, tentacled monsters, or possibly cubist squid. The panes are cut and sewn to the interlinings and I'm trying to determine if I'm going to catch the panes at intervals and pull out false puffs or what. I'm also staring at a silver fabric for lining and trying to determine preferences. A deeper blue or possibly a crazy yellow are also in consideration.

Then we coma around to something I actually did complete. I made a giant saccoccia. My previous pockets have been much smaller, mostly because I just don't have much to put in to them. I have to carry a diaper bag with my twins anyway, so I haven't had much need for a small bag. Decided to try one out anyway, especially as I will be attending Solstice and 12th Night by myself. This is closer in proportion to historic examples, although the shape isn't as long of a teardrop. For that matter neither is my tasseled bag. I just prefer a broader bottom and a more blunted shape. Not sure why, but that's what keeps coming out. Looking at the various pockets we have from frescos and paintings as well as the extant Spanish example (assembled for easy viewing by the fabulous Anea)it seems like one of those items that is decorated to the wearer's taste, and the Spanish one is shorter and more blunted.

I absolutely don't have time for embroidery right now. I'm already doing blackwork garters, couching cord to sleeve panes, and stitching pearls to the mantellino so something pretty for the pocket just wasn't going to happen. I looked instead to the trim application of the gold and black saccocia that is most often reproduced. Since I'm using the orange silk of my dress I considered making piping from the blue silk but then I found about a yard of crazy orange and gold trim a friend had sent me. It really wasn't enough to do much with, so I figured this would be the perfect project. I laid it out, matched it up, and the trim determined the pattern. I like the trillium effect the tiny triangles near the bottom of the opening create. The pocket is lined in a navy linen and I had a package of brown bias tape so that's the strings for tying it on. Looking forward to trying the larger size out at the upcoming events.

Sorry, I got distracted

I was hoping to have good progress pictures of the mantellino by now.  I spent much of last night sewing together the lining and its really yummy.  My partner in craft/crime Davey came over with lunch yesterday and brought the most beautiful chocolatey brown shearling hide.  He'd bought it for vague projects.  I instantly stole it and decided I should use it to line my muff and make a Russian hat.  After a few more thinks I decided to line the mantellino in it too.  I cut out the mantellino lining right then which took most of the hide so now I need another for the muff.  He's been sent back to the leather store (not that he wouldn't have gone anyway.)   Its just buttery soft and lovely and a pleasure to work with.  I'd never seen such a pretty color of brown either, being more used to the goldish and white that is usually seen.  I now want to line a silk caftan in it.  Yum, yum, yummy!  Not to mention, with his wholesaler's discount, its actually cheaper than many fabrics.

Anyway, the new lining had me re-think the embellishment on the mantellino.  I decided to not do the flowers and do some cutwork instead.  So, the silk is becoming an intermediate layer between the shearling and the velveteen in both the cape and muff.  I'm shaping the cutwork to be basically the krin symbol.  I've seen some cutwork that is basically floral and stylizing the heart and fleur motif wasn't too difficult   I'm just doing it as a border around the edge rather than over the whole cloak.  I got the shearling sewn and attached to the silk and 8 of the cutwork motifs cut.  20 more to go around the bottom edge. 

Today's plan was to finish cutting and start the hand sewing of the shell to the lining and silk.  Instead, I lost my cell phone and got distracted by pockets.  I wear skirts by preference and rarely have pockets in them and thus have a tendency to hold my cell phone in my hand and put it down on random surfaces.  Then, my 16 month old son has a tendency to pick it up.  That's when the trouble begins.  So, I've been thinking about making some tie on pockets to wear with my everyday clothes.  Goofy, I know, but practical.  Then, I found this giant database of hundreds and hundreds of pockets of the 17-19th centuries.  So that has been what I've been doing instead of cutting and sewing.  I've been drooling over embroidery and patchwork and applique and all sorts of beautiful and plain pockets. I'm a total patchwork addict and many of my skirts are patchy so those are my favorites.

I'd say I'll get the mantellino done tomorrow but I'm eventing over the weekend, so who knows.  It is a handwork project, however, so I'll at least pack it with the very best of intentions of working on it.

There's a Wocket in my pocket

The vintage fur I bought for my zibellino got here yesterday. It is HUGE! I wanted something a bit larger than a mink just to make the proportion better, since I'm 6'1" tall and so I found and bought what is probably a fisher. I may have overcompensated. I think it'll probably be okay though. The pose of the portrait has him up on the shoulder. I took another trip through portraits with zibellini. Antea certainly has a large one on her shoulder. Its also by the same artist. Granted, its supposed to be more of an ideal/allegorical portrait, but there are others. The color of the fur is a deep and gorgeous brown and that makes me very happy.

He does not, however, fit into my pocket. I think its the perfect size though. I made it from a piece of upholstery velvet I had left over from the scholar's robe I made for my husband for Winter Solstice Court last December. I was a little worried about the red clashing with whatever red I end up getting for my velvet, but its such a pretty fabric and will be hidden under the dress so I went for it. Its lined in red linen scrap. I considered doing some pearling or something, but I really like the gold print so after several attempts at finding trim or beading it up I just left it alone. Besides, it was supposed to be a quick project to have something to show while I worked on visually boring lace. I'm pretty happy with it.

Speaking of lace, I have two yards done. Not too shabby. I should get lots more done over the weekend with four hours in the car both ways and lots of family party once we're down there. Not to mention grandmas who want to hold and play with babies. Yay for having my hands free!

The biggest news on dress progress, however, is that Seraphina Basso is AWESOME! I went over to her house and she drafted and fitted my bodice pattern. I really wish I'd thought to take pictures of the mockup. I felt instantly beautiful even in half sewn ticking pinned to my tank top. The thought of how great its going to look as a real dress had me doing a little dance while driving home. I'm planning to draft the sleeves once I get back from the weekend of holidays. I want to make a trial bodice as soon as possible before moving on to the velvet to try figure out how construction works. I've decided to not do the corset and do a felt lining for support instead and want to play around with that a bit.

Lots of stuff swirling around in the back of my brain. More laundry to do so we can head out of town. Two disks of Project Runway to spend today watching and more lace to make.