French Kirtle Finished

When I left you here back in July I was up to cartridge pleating the skirt of my red kirtle and attaching it to the bodice.

I decided to finish the bottom edge of the bodice with some poly fleece bias binding rather than hemming in order to give it a tiny bit more length. It's just a little bit shorter than I had intended and I didn't want to sacrifice any more length by hemming. And since it is an underdress the visual aesthetic doesn't really matter.

Before attaching the bias I put the bodice on, laced it up and then tried to adjust the three layers (outer wool, canvas interlining and cotton lining) to minimise any wrinkles. I dig this by tugging and stretching and pinning. The wool layer was the one that gave the most. It's more of an art than a science and it's still not perfect but to get rid of those last wrinkles under the bust I would need a corset.

Bodice layers adjusted and pinned before attaching bias.

With bias attached

Next was the skirt.

I finished flat felling the seams

And hemmed the top and bottom edges

Next I used chalk to mark the top edge at equal intervals (i think they were an inch apart)

Then I used some strong upholstery thread to sew two rows of  running stitch using the chalk marks (only one shown)

Gather to the desired length.

Pleated skirt front

To attach the skirt to the bottom edge of the bodice, I layed the pleated skirt over the bodice, right sides facing each other, and spread the pleats out evenly. I only had a really limited amount of fabric for this dress so the pleats aren't really close enough together. But again it's only an underdress.

Using upholstery thread again, I used two or three firm stitches to catch each pleat (half way between the chalk marks) to the bodice.

View of wrong side

View of a side seam/skirt opening

View of right side

Completed dress - front view

Completed dress - back view

As worn at Rowany Yule Feast, Dec 13 2014

I learnt a lot of things that I will be keeping in mind as I make the overdress. Particularly giving myself enough length in the bodice to finish the bottom edge (the bias is really obvious in photos). It's also really really tight so I need to remember to add a little mit of ease for the over gown. And definitely need a nice full skirt.

Thank you again to Lady Christine Duvant who told me last night that half of Ireland has this amazing pattern now :)

Late period chemise

About a month ago I made a deal with a friend. She gave me a whole pile of leather in exchange for me sewing her a flemish outfit. Win win if you ask me.

So yesterday I made the chemise. From start to finish it took me about 8 hours including drawing up the pattern. I still have to finish the neckline but I need her to try it on first as I don't have a dress form or anything. If I tried to finish it now chances are her boobs could end up falling out of it or it might choke her. So I'm waiting.

I based the pattern off this one here.

Flemish chemise pattern by Vanessa Agnes Nessayem

I hadn't used this pattern before but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Last time I made a chemise that wasn't a big poofy Italian style one it turned out a bit retarded. The arms were too short and tight and the shape was just all wrong. To be fair I wasn't very experienced in pattern drafting back then so I probably made heaps of mistakes. But I think I did allright this time around.

I wanted this chemise to be pretty versatile as my friend doesn't have a lot of garb. She could wear this with any later period style I think. I also wanted the sleeves to be able to be rolled up so I changed the sleeve pattern to be a straight and gathered into a cuff. That way they are nice a fitted when she wants to wear sleeves, but can be rolled up out of the way if need be. It's also only knee length. I made a floor length chemise once and I hated it.

So this is the pattern I drafted for Morgaine's measurements.

Flemish chemise pattern

So if you are the the exact same size as my friend (whose measurements I included above just in case someone is) then you're in luck! I've drafted you a free chemise pattern! If not I'm sorry. Get your calculator out. Or you can plug your measurements into Drea Leed's smock generator but that's what I tried to use last time and came out with something strange. I find it helps to understand how to draft a pattern so that you can make the necessary adjustments for yourself that a generator or a commercial pattern won't do. My body shape in particular doesn't like "choose the bigger measurement - bust or hips - and make that the width of your body piece" because my shoulders aren't as broad as the rest of me and if I follow a pattern like that my sleeves end up attaching half way down my arms. But with this pattern I can make my shoulder to shoulder measurement the width of the body piece, and add the extra room in for the bust/hips using the gores. So yeah I'll be using this one from now on.

I finally got to benefit from my large aldi sewing table too. It made rolling out fabric and drawing pattern pieces so much easier. And I love how medieval patterns have so little fabric wastage. All up I used about 2 metres of linen.

Pattern pieces cut out, and tiny pile of scraps

I didn't actually take many photos of the construction as it is pretty similar to a standard t-tunic. Join the two body pieces at the top. Sew the sleeves to the body. Add the gores. Cut the head hole.

That's something I always struggled with when I started my costuming journey. How big to make the head hole. And how to get it the right shape. Many times I cut a head hole way to big or too small or off centre. I've made every mistake in the book. But I eventually found a way that works. It's just big enough for my head and more importantly puts me head in the right spot. When I've got it on I trace the neckline shape I want in the mirror. And incidentally it is ten times easier to mark out the head hole before you sew up the side seams.

Head hole shape

Sew the side seams. Gather the sleeves up. Attach the cuff. 

I included photos of this as it can be fiddly folding everything the right way so it sits nicely.

Start by machine sewing the gathered sleeve onto on side of the cuff but don't sew the 1.5cm seam allowance at each end.

Machine sew the gathered sleeve to the cuff,
leaving 1.5cm at each end open.

Fold the raw edge of the sleeve over twice and pin

Fold the cuff SA over and pin.

Do it to both sides

Fold up the bottom edge of the cuff 1.5 cm and iron flat

Refold the SA on the ends of the cuff

Fold the cuff in half so that the ironed edge meets up with the row of stitching,
and the corners match up perfectly

Pin in place

Before you hand sew that together, work out what type of cuff fastening you want. I chose buttons and luceted button loops.

Pewter fleur de lis buttons

So I needed to stop and lucet the button loops. It didn't take too long as they are only about 3cm long each. I used linen thread so they were nice and thin. I also left nice long ends on my luceting so I could use the ends to sew them in place. I don't know if you've ever tried to sew through a luceted cord but let me tell you your fingers will hate you for it.

Unfold the end of the cuff and sew your button loops in

Refold and pin

Whipstich edges and along the cuff

Sew the buttons on

Finished Sleeve Cuff

Hem the bottom. And at some point when I see her next, finish the neckline.

So this is what it looks like at the moment

Front

Back

It might be a few weeks before I see her again to mark and finish the neckline. I'll update with finished photos when it's done. I'm even thinking of setting up an etsy store to sell them and other things later down the track too. So stay tuned ;)

Catch up time!

Well after losing my phone last month my insurance replacement finally arrived. Which means now I can take photos again! I've still been working on various bits and pieces in the interim but it didn't seem worthwhile posting anything without accompanying pictures. So today I am hoping to catch you all up on what I have been working on.

My red kirtle bodice is basically complete (except for the bottom edge). I forced myself through the torture of the silk facings and to be honest once I set my mind to it I got into a bit of a rhythym. It still took a couple of days but boy was I happy when I finished!

Kirtle bodice finished

Next it was the eyelets (which were already done in the above photo). All 40 of them. For those who haven't sewn eyelets before there is a pretty good tutorial here. I did the buttonhole stitch eyelets that she describes, but I have the buttonhole stitch side on the inside (I don't think it's as pretty as the other side) so there is a lot of turning the fabric over when you pull each stitch tight to make sure it sits where you want it to. Next time I'm going to try the satin stitch ones and see if they are any easier.

Reverse view of eyelets showing buttonhole stitches (if you have really good eyes!)

Before that though, you need to work out where you are going to sew them. Spiral lacing seems to have been much more common in period than cross lacing, so now whenever I make garb I spiral lace. It really doesn't make a difference functionally but it feels more accurate and it uses less cord (which means less time luceting!). There is a really good article on the Festive Attyre site which explains all about how to space your holes to get the right look. I think my eyelets on this bodice are 3/4" apart (apart from the extra one at the top and bottom) and 1/2" away from the edge. To work this out I measure the total length of the edge where the eyelets will be and try dividing it by something to get an even-ish sort of number. Then I get some big berry pins and go along and mark the spots so I can see if they are too close/far away from each other, and even too close/far away from the edge of the fabric. I pin out a couple of different waysand then pick the one that looks best. It's often a different configuration on each piece of garb.

The Zen of Spiral Lacing Spacing from Festive Attyre

Now I have done plenty of hand sewn eyelets before but the last lot I did through a canvas interlining ended up so small I could barely get my teeny tiny (read thin) lacing cord through them. Luckily I was a bit wiser this time. The trick is to do as few stitches as will hold the hole open, and keep reopening the hole with the awl. My first few eyelets (way back when...) I went around three or four times to make sure I covered the ENTIRE edge because I thought that was what you were supposed to do. They ended up so tiny and I had no idea what I had done wrong. And over here at The Renaissance Tailor is where I learnt that the holes will close themselves up as you sew if you let them. I was not going to let that happen again. I stabbed those suckers about 5 times each! And now they can even fit my normal thickness of lacing through (luceted 8 ply crochet cotton) so I'm quite happy. (Note: use something solid as a base to rest your awl on and push your fabric down onto it. I had quite a sore knee, and then a dented wooden chair until I discovered the kitchen bench worked quite well.)

After that I finally got to cut the skirt pieces out. The back skirt piece is a plain rectangle while the front is shaped slightly as that was what was done in the time period I'm working in (according the the authors of The Tudor Tailor anyway, which is good enough for me).

Skirt pattern from The Tudor Tailor

The sides seams of the skirt have been sewn up by hand using back stitch, leaving about an 8 inch gap at the top where the bodice laces. I'm up to flat felling the seams which is a period technique to finish the edges of a seam so they don't fray. The wool I'm using has been felted so it probably wouldn't fray much anyway, but the skirt isn't lined and I'm a bit OCD about the details like that. I know they probably wouldn't have bothered in period but leave me alone! I hate raw edges! I've finished one side and started pinning the other one down to sew. After that I just need to cartridge pleat the skirt and attach it to the bodice. I haven't quite worked out whether I should finish the bottom edge of the bodice before I do this or not? Any suggestions?

And that's where my kirtle is at. Yay for progress!

I'm still plodding away at the blue and brown sleeves (one is finished).

One sleeve finished

After finishing the criss cross inkle leg wraps (which totally don't stay up by the way. I really need to do the proper thick spiral ones) I rewarped my inkle loom with some thin red and white crochet cotton so I could experiment with pick patterns. I pretty much just plodded along following the instructions here until I knew what I was doing. Then I wanted to steam ahead and do a stags head for my husband but I didn't make my band wide enough. Next time though!

I am also fairly determined to build this floor sized inkle loom so I can weave lots and lots of braid at a time and then sell it but I will dedicate another post to that.

I reorganised my sewing room and have plans to install some fabric storage drawers/shelves.

I started knitting some socks but I've only done a few rows because I started reading a book in bed instead. I've finished it now though so it will be back to sock knitting before sleep.

I'm also researching menus and other things for a weekend long camping event I hope to run in November. There will definitely be pancakes and waffles!

The Pancake Bakery by Pieter Aertsen 1560

I learnt how to make lace at the last A&S day which was pretty exciting. I came home so determined to try this amazing pattern and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and start it. But I couldn't believe how easy lace making is. It's really just made up of different combinations of crosses and twists! I will get around to trying that pattern but I need to finish up a few other things first.

So that's what I've been up to. Hope you guys didn't miss me too much. Actually that's a total lie. I really hope you were all devastated by my blogging absence and you kept refreshing the page to see if I had put up a post yet. I am that vain. But lets pretend I didn't admit that ;)

Viking Pants Progress Aids Kirtle Facing Procrastination

Sounds a bit like a costuming news headline.

So when I last posted, I had almost finished the neckline of my kirtle. Well that's done now and it looks pretty awesome. I plodded away and got the facing sewn onto the lining the same way as I described here. Then I was finally able to invisible stitch the lining to the wool at the neckline. I used the same technique I would use to do a blind hem, and it was only afterwards that I though about using a ladder stitch (which I have only ever used to sew up stuffed toys). I guess it doesn't really make much difference as long as you can't see it after all.

Invisible stitch 1 - Blind Hem

Invisible stitch 2 - Ladder Stitch

I did have progress photos to post, but alas my phone updated over the weekend and decided it wanted to delete thousands of photos (including many of my kids *super upset face*) so I can only show you what it looks like now. Excuse the flash which is making it look pink on my screen.

Kirtle bodice with finished neckline

Close up of invisible stitching. Can you see it?

So I had that done by Saturday night and I was so keen to stitch up the sides so I can start on the skirt when I came to the realisation that I was going to have to do the exact same facing treatment on both sides (including the armhole), before I could sew the eyelets.

Suffice to say I REALLY wasn't looking forward to doing all that work again. I know it's got to be done but... OOH SHINY! Look over there at that linen for Dan's viking rus pants! You know he really does need pants more than I need a dress.

So I got started sewing the rus pants. And I decided I wanted to make them with french seams. I'm really not sure why since it will take twice as long. I guess I just really don't want to do that facing. I think it is also partly because I have never really mastered french seams. It's all well and good when its just a straight side seam, but I tried it once on a chemise and when I got to the underarm gussets or the gores it just became a mess. I was hoping that hand sewing rather than machine sewing might help too.

How to sew a french seam

And it did. Again no progress shots (damn you camera!!!) but here are the upper pants now with all the internal seams complete and the waistband turned down and stitched

Upper section of viking rus pants which will be gathered up and poofy

Inside view of crotch gusset

Detail view of french seams on a corner

I am so happy I finally got my head around the french seams on inserted gores/gussets. It's all about where you stitch to before you move the folded bit. If anyone wants a step by step explanation with pictures (I am sure I'm not the only one who has struggled with this) I can sit down and do it. Just let me know

So now I am doing the french seams on the lower leg section. Then all I need to do is gather up the bottom of each upper leg bit and attach it to the lower leg, and hem. Voila! Instant pants!

I have decided I'm going to inkle weave a drawstring. I found that idea somewhere else (can't recall where) and I will use the colours from this post although probably a more manly pattern like stripes :D