progress

First sheet of filler patterns for the labours of the months. I make this a little over halfway, well, halfway through the fillers at least -I’ll still have the rossettes to do after the fillers.

I decided to do them on several sheets, partly for ease of working, and partly to minimise the amount they would get dirty. then again, even though I thought I’d kept this first sheet remarkably clean by my standards the water still went quite black  when I washed it!

split stitch, wool on manx tweed. Pattern taken from a c13th floor tile,

 

Cat tv

Branston’s favourite show is on his own special telly.

Branny would also like to remind the birthday bat that he is going to be four years old next month, and that he has been a (relatively) god boy all year. He says all he wants for his birthday is a mobile phone (so he can text his monkey when she’s out at work, even though he can’t see why she has to abandon him for hours on end) and an Ipad (he want’s to play angry birds) and an economy sized box of hamsters

 

I might be on a bit of a smocking kick…

Ok, so not my most sucessful effort, it’s a bit wonky, but I wondered what would happen if I tried to translate a german brick stitch pattern into smocking.

It may be wonky, but I’ll wear it anyway, and I really like the white thread against the unbleached linen – even if the wonkiness probably wouldn’t be quite so conspicous if it was natural on natural.

You have to try these things, as my mother always says

 

 

kicking myself up the backside

Ok, so I am also doing anything I can to avoid the washing up…

I did this piece of tablet weave maybe ten years ago. It’s just over two inches wide and about four foot long, and is silk brocaded onto silk with a linen weft – the linen was deliberately used quite thick to give a somewhat corded appearance to the background. If memory serves me right(and I wouldn’t count on that becuase my memory is a most insolent servant) it’s based on a design from ecclesiatical pomp and aristocratic circumstance.

It was intended as a c15th gown belt, which is why I dug it out and remembered that it’s rather pretty, as I’m currently thinking about what to make to go with my velvet gown (alas this will not suit, but it will go nicely with something else). I really need to get round to putting a buckle and strap end on this and using it, even if only to see how this form of surface brocading stands up to being worn – I do rather fear that the buckle will pull the couched threads.

My other c15th gown belt, which is 3 inches wide and made from gold brocaded tablet weave (sometimes you do these things just to prove that you can – I never want to do one of these again!) won’t suit either, as it’s also too red to go with the velvet. I think I need something black and classy. The gold one isn’t doing to badly considering how much it’s been worn – it was bound to get a few creases.

Pretty, innit?

and its mine, all mine!

I got a whopping gas bill rebate and it seemed rude not to spend it on something completely frivolous and unnecessary. this is going to be an alternative underkirtle for my velvet dress, and a pair of sleeves for my other kirtle

Petrus Christus dress

I did mean to leave the actual dress until last, but my plans to start the headdress for this were somewhat derailed by technical problems beyond my control, so I started the dress this weekend.

There is some debate over whether the dresses of the late c15th had a waist seam or not, and I’ve done versions both with and without in the past. This time I’ve decided to go with the waist seam because a) I’ve found it more economical in it’s use of fabric whilst obtaining maximum skirt swishiness (technical term) and b) I find it gives a more elegant fall to the skirt whilst simultaneously allowing a better fit to the bodice.

Also, I’m a right lazy cow, and this method give you a good level hem every time without any effort, and the lining never gives any bother either.

Normally I would start with two long pieces of fabric sewn up the side to make  a square, then cut that into a circle (the offcuts make the sleeves and body with nowt left but the tailor of Gloucester’s “tippets for mice”) but due to the nap of the velvet I made my square from four pieces this time, so the nap will always fall vaguely down

I basted the lining to the outer fabric along the centre seam to stop it shifting. This is invisible from the front and will not be removed.

The whole thing is flat-felled using unbleached linen thread – you can’t see it on the velvet and I’m not really bothered about it being visible on the black linen lining. I then basted around the entire hem to hold it until I finish it, but I used red linen for that.

I love the way the light bounces off this. I haven’t used velvet for over twenty years because I wasn’t able to get anything of a quality I was content with – I would rather use something else and make a different costume than compromise. The more I look at this the more I think that anyone using cotton velvet and insisting you can’t tell the difference must be either blind or deluded.

I still haven’t decided what to do with the hem though, so It’s probably just as well that I need to set it aside for a week or so. The painting has just the tiniest wee hint of a fur lining poking out, so tiny as to be barely discernable – we aren’t talking about the wide contrasting bands often seen at the hems of frocks like this. I’ve got fur for the collar and cuffs, and I do have some more I could use around the bottom, but I don’t think I have enough to line it and I’m not sure I want to since I’ll mostly be wearing it in summer. This leaves me with three options-1) finish the hem by simply folding the velvet and lining together, 2) do  very very thin band of fur around the bottom to approximate the painting (which could look a bit wierd when the dress is lifted), or 3) do a brown silk velvet facing.

I’ll probably go with option 2 in the end, but I need to mull it over for a bit – mostly cos fur is a pain to work with and I always put it off til the last minute like maths homework

Actually, not like maths homework, I don’t think I ever did any maths homework when I was at school.

smocked apron

Before we go any further,  would like to point out that my smocked aprons are basically flights of fancy – there are smocked aprons depicted in illustrations, but what the smocking actually looked like on an apron is pretty conjectural, so I just have fun with it.

 -

THis one is my third ever piece of smocking. I’m not sure my white apron is terribly robust, being worked with silk, so I decided to make an all linen one, and went with unbleached for a change. I like the idea that an all linen apron can be thrown into the washing machine after a muddy weekend, and hopefully it will become paler over time. This has been through the washing machine since I finished it, and a good pounding seems to have done it good.

I didn’t use smocking dots on this one, as the fabric has a twill, so I just did the pleats along the twill, then just did the smocking freehand, which is why it’s a little wonky.

I only wanted enough cloth for one apron, but Anwar gave me a roll-end, so I have enough for two more aprons – I quite fancy trying one with white linen thread for contrast.

Also, I am harbouring an urge to make a proper smockish smock of the kind worn by English farm labourers. I considered making one as a Christmas present for my Stepdad, Peter, so that he could wear it when he helps my mum out with her traditional costume stuff. Then I thought that wasn’t really fair on Peter, since when he helps my mum with her traditional costume stuff he’s really just acting as her Ken doll, so Maybe I should make it as a christmas present for my mum, who could then dress Peter up in it like a big Ken doll. Then it all got very confusing, so now I’m thinking that maybe they’re going to get a smock as a joint present next christmas – after I’ve studied the book on traditional smocks a bit better.