Playing catch up so I can do my wrap-up

I just realized how much stuff I don't have reported to Bella, in addition to all the items I haven't shown pictures of here.  So much for keeping on top of things. . .

So, I guess we'll start with the most recent thing (because I'm most excited by it) and work backwards.  My sweetbag!  I have wanted a 16th century sweetbag for a very long time, but the time commitment required for the embroidery has continually put it on the backburner. Then I found this!  The Metropolitan Museum has several Italian drawstring bags with the unique style of tassels that get them grouped with sweetbags.  The other two are embroidered, and they are all listed as 17th century, but the first one that caught my eye is listed as macrame or punto a groppo.  Knotted lace is much more my style, not to mention more easily done with materials I had to hand.  I was lucky enough to snag 3 yards of a beautiful thick reticella border/trim on ebay a while back, and wanted a way to display it, since it seemed too lovely to just use it on the edge of a random clothing item. 

There are a couple of extant sweetbag sets with a knife sheath and pincushion all matching the main piece.  I was particularly interested in the one in the Manchester Gallery. (I'm having some trouble with their site right now and it doesn't want to link.)  I decided to go for a full blown sewing kit with some pieces based on the extant ones and a few more modern takes on the theme.  I decided to adapt the knife sheath into a holder for my stiletto, go ahead with the pincushion and main bag, add a needlecase with sliding cap sort of based on the Italian one I talked about here, do an additional more modern needlebook, and a modern style scissor keep.  I've also got some gold shell threadwinders I intend to add to the set.  When it hangs the pincushion, the needlecase, the stiletto case and the bag will show, and the more modern pieces will be hidden inside the sweetbag.

I tacked the reticella into place on a gold wool fabric, and lined things in a peacock color silk.  The pincushion is stuffed with wool stuffing, the needlebook has wool felt pages. I rubbed a little gold enamel paint onto the pewter badge I got for completing the Artemisian Costuming Challenge so that it would blend with the gold of the set, but still show the amazing detail Mistress Giliana Attewatyr included on the pewter piece. The part that was both most time consuming and the most fun was doing the tassels and beads and all the buttonhole rings to attach everything.  I hope to eventually find smaller wooden core beads and do the tiny beads/buttons in silk more in keeping with the extant types, but I wanted to at least do the right shape and style of tassel since that seems to be the identifying factor for sweetbags.   Thirty-three buttons, thirty-one tassels, fifty-two loops, and a couple of yards of interlooped trim later, it is done.

Bouquets of buttons

Just in case you wanted to see what a hundred or so hours of button making results in. Doesn't really seem like much. . .

Still need to finish making all the frogs that match them. One day I really will finish this loose gown. I hope.

Teething corals and other kid stuff.

Getting nowhere fast on projects. I'm managing about 5 buttons made in any given day (not lack of time, just boredom with it) and have tied a few frogs. I'm supposed to be working on a fairy dress for my daughter's eighth birthday party. She also put in a request for a detective hat today. So, mommy's stuff is being put off for a bit.

If you're looking for something interesting to read (and it just so happens kid themed) I came across this rather interesting article on corals and rattles and other children's jewelry. Beautiful silver mounted pieces of coral, like this one from the Walter's Museum of Art, dated 1475-1550, more usual with red coral, and gold mounted wolves' teeth were part of upper class children's dress. Their aesthetics beat modern binkies hands down and the associations of the materials with keeping away bad luck is intriguing. I'm teaching a class on apotropaic jewelry (jewelry intended as charms against bad luck and for good health) at the end of next month and I'm sure these will find their way in. Really wish I read Dutch, the museum catalog looks fascinating. There is also a page at Wikipedia of some of the portraits with corals in them and once you know what you are looking at its amazing how frequently they are encountered.

Finally found the super zoom so I can see how to tie the frogs

The inspiration for my overgown is another painting in the Prado's collection and I've been taking advantage of the super duper zoom feature. It's a portrait of Catherine of Austria (the wife of Juan III of Portugal.) I saw it first in Janet Arnold in one of the little portraits above a couple of loose and academic gown layouts. The two things I found most interesting were the full sleeves, slashed open and then buttoned closed, and the fact that Catherine is a larger woman. Always nice to see how something fits a bigger body before embarking on its manufacture.

This project is actually supposed to be my mock up for a more extensive version down the road. The inspiration portrait has all that lovely goldwork. I didn't think about it too hard when I started this, but grabbed a blue and yellow cotton upholstery with a pomegranate print I had in stash. That was over a year ago. I'm still working on it and thinking I should have considered harder. This has become a lot more than a quick mock-up, quite obviously. Thankfully, I don't have anything against the fabric, but it is probably not the most accurate choice. With the bright colors, its certainly going to turn out to be much more whimsical than the inspiration. 300 yards into making trim and dozens of buttons later its staying those colors though. I better like it once its done. Like it a great deal, or I don't see myself doing the goldwork, let alone a bunch more buttons in order to make the "real" version.

I stitched on several of the buttons, just to see how I wanted the layout to be. Not particularly thrilled with it. Hoping I'll like it once I get the frogs tied and stitched into place. There are loads and loads of those to make. They don't seem too bad. Just a 4 loop configuration and a knot with a bit of tasseling fringe on the end. Only issue is the sheer number with a pair for each button. Each sleeve has 9 slashes. The inspiration has 3 buttons per slash. I was trying to do less, in part because I have two sizes of button and wanted to use one size only for the sleeves. I alternated 2 on one and then 1 in the middle of the next. Doing that leaves the openings too large. I was going to just fill them with a poof of some sort, but I'm not seeing that sort of treatment on a zimarra with the buttons and frogs (the sleeve on this portrait is unusual enough)so I decided against it. I also have no idea whatsoever what fabric I would use for the puffs. I got 3 opinions on alternating the slightly smaller buttons with the large ones I've already added. The consensus is that it will look just fine as long as they are done in a consistent pattern. I'm going with that. Just need 27 buttons per sleeve. I have around 50 of the buttons done, so that's not too bad. I'm not even going to count the slashes in the chest and the front opening yet. I'm not going to like the totals.

So, I guess I'm going to take a break from button making and switch to tying frogs for a bit and keep experimenting with this sleeve. Doesn't really look like its getting completed this month to be honest. It takes me approximately 25 minutes to make a single button and the whole thing is consuming more time than I'd hoped.

Its almost a muff

Fur and the red gold scrap I used to make the pocket I posted yesterday inspired me to make a muff. One thing about having a Russian persona, I have no lack of fur in my stash. The trim is one of my favorites. I was sort of thinking about using it on the dress rather than making my trim, but I think its too wide for the dress. I love the sheen of the gold in person though. Its not plasticey and overly shiny, in a bad way, like a lot of trim. I've actually pulled this trim to bits a few times and used the cord for doing my own goldwork when I'm being cheap and haven't purchased passing thread. Its kind of a fun effect and makes for nice couching practice. So that's fabric, fur, and trim pulled from the stash. Seemed like the perfect quick project. What I didn't have in my stash and needed for the muff was crystal buttons. I didn't have anything I liked at all. I spent more time looking for something to work than I really should have. I finally decided to just make some. At least temporarily I did some quick basketwoven threadworked ones. The loops are buttonhole stitched bars. I still need to do the two in the center, which is why its almost a muff. I have a jam packed day today though so it was either post it now or not post today.

I got about half a yard of lace made in the car, so that's plugging along. Probably won't get much done today with the family party and festivities, but I have found some really interesting info on the subject of my portrait and the accompanying portrait of her husband, so I'll probably share that tomorrow.