Barricade the sewing room door!

Just make sure I'm inside it!

I've started my A&S submission for Gulf Wars (a new Monmouth cap) and the documentation. I have a sketch of my device proposal for a herald consultation, and somewhere on my harddrive is documentation for my name submission. I picked up some muslin for a quickie chemise, along with bias tape for use on my wool gown and a new box of ball-head pins. I manage to lose pins quite frequently.

Before heading in to work today I want to have all the rest of the body panels cut out for my wool gown. When I come home, I think I'll tackle the sensitive joining-of-the-brim on the cap. This time around I'm following the same method Jennifer Carlson used, but in a different gauge, so I'm not following her pattern stitch-for-stitch.

To add to the maelstrom of ideas pinging around in my head, I'm doodling ideas for a 15th century cap. More on that story as it develops.

Fitted wool gown, part 1

I got the last of my pattern-fiddling done Tuesday and tortured a cut of heavy cotton/linen fabric (not quite canvas weight) to use as bodice lining. Before work yesterday I cut out the four cotto-lin lining pieces and the left front panel, including the skirt length, from the blue wool yardage I bought in December. I've since sewn the lining to the wool and whip stitched over the edge that will run along the center front of the gown.

I'm now off to grab some lunch, then MOAR SEWING!!!

Yarn: Mathilde as Squirrel: Dog

Yep. I'm having one of those episodes again. I've recently come to grips with the fact that I'm weighed down by an unfulfilling job that leaves me with little time or energy to do things I actually enjoy. Deep down I know I should be working on my fitted gown, but I'm finding it so much more convenient to pick up some knitting instead of hauling out yards of fabric, cutting board, and all the other tailoring implements necessary to the project. Not a lot to report on that front, other than my decision that the grey-ish cotton/linen blend I snagged for $3/yd would enjoy lining the sleeves and bodice of the wool gown. Just gotta run it through some laundry torture.

So, specifically, what's the big distraction this time?

Socks. Red wool toe-up socks. I put the pink and grey yarn (I think I mentioned that already ... ?) on the waiting list, because, really, RED wool sockies! That is a must-have item, at least in my book. I snagged some gold/brown patterned sock yarn at the same time as the red, for another future project.

Oh, yeah. And I'm actively looking for a better job. It may involve relocation, but that's fine. I'll definitely miss the friends I've made over the past few years, but social media and whatnot will help us keep in touch while I'm making new friends and starting down a more satisfying career path. And maybe I'll have some babies. Time will tell ...

Ready, steady, go!

Project Fitted Gown is well and truly under way. Today I spent a little time reading up on fitting and construction tips and began drafting my pattern (first onto grid paper, then to muslin). I'm using a double layer of muslin for the two front panels to get a more accurate idea of the final fit once everything is transferred to the fashion fabric and lining. To conserve fabric - yes, I know it's inexpensive, but I really don't want to risk having to make a special shopping trip for that - the back panels will be single layers with strips of fabric basted along the anticipated stress lines at the seams and the horizontal bust, under-bust, waist, and hip levels.

I am also aware that draping the pattern would give me an even tighter fit, but I'm a bit of an isolated seamstress. I find it terribly frustrating to teach my husband how to take photographs while I'm modelling garb; I'm not about to risk massive blood loss by having him baste me into a fabric shell.

Two months from now, Gulf Wars will be in full swing, and I'd love to have my blue wool gown and maybe my parti-colored Gleann Abhann gown finished in time to pack. Hope my musical sewing mice are up to the challenge!

Holiday wind-down

Christmas Revel this past weekend was fabulous - Bacon Bit won both the youth heavy and rapier tournaments, Morgana antler-bombed no less than a quarter of the populace in attendance, and our newest Pelican, Mistress Barbara Sterling was elevated to her peerage, surrounded by old and new friends who cherish this wonderful lady and her decades of service to the Society and our young Kingdom.

April took a few full-body shots of me in my brown kirtle, off-white apron (I don't think I told you about that one), and gold Monmouth cap. I'll get that posted asap.

Alas, I am unable to deliver a project-completion update, as my mundane job got in the way, and I was asked to fill in at a store roughly an hour's drive from home. I can offer you a teaser photo of my grey-brown wool hood in progress, though.



Since taking that shot I've attached the center-back gore and sewn the seam up the back of the head to the liripipe attachment. That leaves the liripipe seam, the buttons and buttonholes, and some seam finishing.

There are no more events this month, and all of January's are too far away for me to consider attending. The next feasible event, Candlemas, will be held near Memphis at the beginning of February. After pulling a five-hour drive from the Gulf coast this past Sunday, the two-and-a-half hours to Memphis seems like a breeze, and I can crash with my sister the nights before and after the event, work schedule permitting. After that, a month-long research and prep fest for Gulf Wars XXI! That's right! Gulf Wars will be old enough to go to the Known World Party. I'm going to do my very best to get three or four days off for War, which means working things out with my boss many, many weeks in advance.

I know I'll need a wool gown for the inevitable chilly nights, and a cloak with a clasp or pin would be really useful. A red-and-black parti-colored gown would be nice to have available during muster and at the Gleann Abhann court, but party clothes come after wardrobe staples on the priorities list.

So, to my three official followers and everyone else who stumbles across this blog for whatever reason, I wish you and your loved ones health and serenity this holiday season, and an optimistic outlook for the new year.

- Mathilde de Metteneye

Skirting the issue

Progress is yummy. Over the course of the past few days I've completed the double box pleating for my brown kirtle. This involved revisiting my maths, re-measuring, pinning, making frowny faces, re-re-measuring, re-revisiting the maths, undoing some stitches, re-pinning, and finally producing an acceptable outcome. Although next time I do something with double box pleats I'd prefer to end on a "peak" rather than a "valley." It's just cleaner that way.

Once all that was done I went straight to attaching the skirt and bodice at the waist seam. I had initially planned on turning the top edge of the skirt under just a bit and sewing the waist seam about a quarter inch up from the bottom edge of the bodice. Once I had the bulk from the pleats in my hands, however, the plan changed to "overlap the pieces flat, with the top edge of the skirt on the outside, and hem stitch." Jean thinks I have Cinderella's mice stashed away in my closet to do all the tiny stitchwork that seems to make its way into my garb ... I wish it were so!

For the kirtle to reach a wearable state, I need to close the front of the skirt and hem it. I'm a little concerned about how the skirt's heaviness may warp the shoulder straps during between-events hanging storage and after washing, so I'm going to grab some ribbon and attach weight-bearing loops inside the waist seam. If I do this right, it will take the stress off the straps and I'll only have to worry about replacing the kirtle if/when my body shape changes.

A side note: even on the hanger the dress has a booty. Period silhouette accomplished! I will post pictures once the kirtle is ready for its debut at Crown.

I'm not a wench, I'm your wife!

The bodice is complete! The eyelets (18 of them) were spread out over 3-4 days, which helped me avoid inventing any new profanities. I've been messing around with the skirt today, though, and I had to revisit the maths. Yech.



Here we are from the front. Pardon the midriff; I'm a bit short-waisted.



From the side you can see that this bodice design does nice - but not obscene - things for the boobal area.



I apologize up front for the poor image quality. My husband is not a natural photographer and I had to have him re-shoot because the first set was done from his standing viewpoint ... and he's significantly taller than I am. I made him sit down and shoot more level with my torso, but I'd already unlaced myself and crawled back into mundane clothes before uploading the photos. So yeah, you get blurry. It's better than "Here's how perspective can make a woman look like she has an unrealistically tiny waist and linebacker shoulders!"

There is still a bit of wrinkling, but it's much less noticeable than the wrinkling in the purple kirtle's bodice (it's unlined *gasp*). Adding the weight of the skirt should take care of some of it, right?

Back on track

Since I was off work today I made my shopping trip, picking up only what I absolutely needed in order to finish my new outfit before Crown.

1 spool dark brown Gutermann silk thread
1 spool tan/natural Gutermann silk thread
1 skein avocado green embroidery floss (for lacing cord)

Before heading out, though, I threw my smocks, apron, and coif into the tub for a quick wash and rinse, then hung them up to dry. The Maciejowski gown and my purple kirtle are getting dunked tomorrow. I also found a 3-ish yard piece of thick flannel in the magic fabric trunk the other night, quickly whip-stitched the raw edges and ran it through the laundry. It wants to be a cloak and maybe a pair of mittens. I'd say things are coming together nicely, and I have plenty of time to spend finishing the brown kirtle and getting my stuff together for the event.

Ruh-roh!

Note to self: always buy at least two spools of silk thread per full-body garment.

After my last post I decided to hit the last steps of the bodice out of order ... I guess I was in the mood to poke things with an awl. I've completed 13 of 18 eyelets, but I can see that I won't have enough dark brown thread to finish the rest of the eyelets and the straps, then pleat the skirt, connect it to the bodice, and hem it.

I've sent out a message to some of my other medievalist friends in an attempt to put together a shopping trip to the nearest decent fabric/craft store, but if that fails, I'll have to find a better justification for driving an hour than a couple of $3 spools of buttonhole silk.

Silver bullet

I've discovered something amazing.

Are you ready?

If I actually spend a little time - not necessarily every day, but perhaps every other day on average - working on some aspect of a project, it gets done pretty darn fast.

The bodice is crazy close to being finished. All that's left is to bind one raw edge (the left side of my lacing panel), attach the straps, and sew the eyelets. That last bit will be the most tedious part, so I'll probably post a photo after the straps are on and disappear for a while with my awl and needle and thread to create some colorful new words.

23 days left until Crown List ...

Lazy Sunday

I learned something today; sewing yourself into a garment is tedious. I got a little bored after doing the reinforcing/topstitching on the linen bodice, so I decided to grab the muslin mock-up and take a few dresser-mirror shots. Do your best to ignore the sloppy bedroom in the background.

Deadline's a month away

Good morning, garb hounds! I'm happy to report that all the pattern pieces for the brown linen bodice have been cut out, the linings are all attached, and the side seams are sewn together. Before I finish the seams and tack on an extra strip of fabric to the lacing edges, I'm going to run some top stitching along the lines (see the diagram from the previous post) from the points where the straps attach to the center-back line. This will add a touch of complexity and a little extra structure to the finished product. 4 1/2 weeks until the deadline.

I also picked up some bleached muslin to make a new smock, and there is some remnant black linen or linen/rayon in my stash that could be whipped into a partlet fairly quickly. I don't have to work both jobs today (oh, I got a new one and am finishing out my final week at the old one, by the way ... ), so it's possible I'll make progress on something tonight.

Pictures coming up soon!

A promise I can keep

Ta daaaaaaaaaaa! After several rounds of tweaking, erasing, recalculating, redrawing, and cheap mock-ups, this is my go-to pattern for straight, front-lacing bodices. At least until one or more of my above-hip measurements is significantly altered. Then I get to do it all over again.

Actual garb update: I cut out all the bodice lining and the back panel (split down the middle) of the outer fabric. I sewed those halves together and attached the lining from the lowest part of the underarm curve, up and across the shoulders, and down the other underarm curve. Snipped the seam allowance, turned things right-sides out, and top stitched around the edges along the same route described above. I'm pretty happy so far.

Skirt panel - success!

I'm back from my mini-vacation, and look! The stripey skirt panel is fully assembled! The next step is to lay out the pattern pieces for the bodice and lining. Six weeks out from my deadline ...

Leave little to the imagination

This is what I'm aiming for with my new brown-and-green front-lacing kirtle.  I'm done piecing together the stripes below knee level on the skirt - over 7 yards of flat-felled seams right there.  Once that's attached to the upper part of the skirt, I'll set that big rectangular piece of fabric aside until the bodice is completely finished.

I'm still fiddling with the smock design.  I'll try to knock out a muslin prototype before leaving for Kingdom A&S this weekend.

The boring part

Putting together the skirt portion of my brown-and-green kirtle involves sewing a little under 9 1/2 yards of flat felled seams before I can even begin to think about tackling the double box pleats or sewing the front seam closed.  As of right now, I have a tad over 7 yards left to sew.

Brown and green kirtle, part 1

Now that Macie is well and truly finished, and I've had some time to relax and recover ...
It's not like I took my sweet-*ss time finishing that gown or anything ...
It's time to get rolling on the next big thing.

Tor an Riogh is hosting Crown List in November and I could use one more utilitarian outfit by then.  I've tested my bodice pattern in muslin and drafted it onto butcher paper, complete with notes.