An eyelet for an eyelet

Finally reached the point where I could stand to touch the Maciejowski gown again, and I've restocked my supply of gold buttonhole silk, so the last of the hem embroidery and finishing micro-stitches are under way.  I had gotten about halfway around the skirt when the first spool of silk ran out.

While I was making a supply run, I also picked up some 1" wide twill tape to make reusable lacing strips, which I hear are very helpful when trying a new pattern for a fitted garment.  As I have several on my "To Do, Sooner Rather Than Later" list, I figured it would be worthwhile to get cracking on the strips.

Some of the stash

Clockwise from the top left:
Dark brown and Kermit-the-frog green linen for a sleeveless kirtle
Cream linen for a chemise (already cut), apron and new Cheater Birgitta
Red and black linen for a parti-colored cotehardie  Gleann Abhann ... Awe Hail!
Red wool/wool-blend hood, in progress
Natural linen for another sleeveless kirtle
Olive linen for a cotehardie/GFD

Shopping

JoAnn recently opened a new store, so I paid them a visit yesterday.  Didn't hurt that they had linen on sale for 50% off ... Not a fantastic selection compared to the last time I went fabric shopping at Hancock, but since I'd been dropped off and didn't want to try walking through the traffic and sketchy weather I stayed put and picked up 3.5 yards of mid-weight natural linen and some matching silk.

Productive failure

I've spent a good portion of the day testing an experimental dye I boiled out of althea blooms.  The dye turned out a slightly-darker-than-storebought-honey color, so I figured it would take a long soak for any textile to show much of a change.  I soaked some scraps of unbleached muslin, slightly off-white linen and white fisherman's wool in an alum solution last night, since flower pigments are supposed to be rubbish on unmordanted fabric.

In my own backyard

Last year I was reminded that I have pecan trees in my yard.  Several of them.  And they're very mature and very productive, by the look of things.  I picked up a nut that had been prematurely knocked off the branch, hull and all, and started to play with it.  In the process I got quite a bit of hull juice on my hands, and I later discovered it is not an easy stain to remove.  Thus began my mild fascination with dyes that can be made from materials that can be found in the garden (or the grocery store, for cheats) at little to no cost.

Need my fix!

It's been nearly a week since I've done any work on a non-test garment ... and I'm getting twitchy.  Popped the off-white linen into the wash today and am quite pleased with its new texture.  Nice and soft with a tight weave and few (if any) slubs.  It will make a very comfy knee-length chemise.

I've got the day off tomorrow, but, alas, much of that time must be devoted to cleaning the house ... or, at the very least, the front hallway and the living room.  And I need to run some make-shift curtains through the sewing machine.

Goals?

I'm officially addicted to hand-sewing.  Especially when I'm using more period-correct materials.  This is going to make my life interesting.

In progress:

Embroidery for Maciejowski gown

Red wool (blend?) open hood

Rust/orange angel-sleeve gown with buttoned front

Dark blue cotton tunic [we'll call it "Norman"]

Turns out I DO have a workable under-tunic

Turns out I'm built EXACTLY like the Maciejowski women

Pretend this doesn't look ridiculous.  I needed an "action" shot!

Green means GO!

The end is in sight for Macie!  Thanks to a kindly challenge from Jean, I finally got around to trimming and hemming the skirt with some temporary whip stitches in a lovely neon green polyester thread.  As I may have mentioned in an earlier post [too lazy to go look it up], I'm embellishing the collar, cuffs, and probably hem with a simple line of chain stitch in gold silk.  Gold, as in "rich yellow," not "metallic."  I'm pretty happy with the nearly-finished product, but I won't get to wear it to Crown List this weekend due to lack of undergarments that meet my oh, so demanding standards.  Translation: my early-period under-tunic shows at the neckline and it looks funny.  Oh, well.  I already have some off-white linen waiting to be transformed into a chemise or under-tunic.  With a bit of conservative cutting there's probably enough to get a Cheater Birgitta out of it, too.

I need to figure out where my new camera's timer is so I don't have to waste time waiting for a bad photographer.

Braies, day 1

I've been researching medieval braies for an A&S class - materials, design theories, how to wear them properly.  Last night I did a quick design sketch and took my own measurements.  The design is not much more than two rectangles sewn into tubes for the legs, a square crotch gusset, and some drawstrings for the waist and knees.

Today I cut a yard off the end of my massive cotton/linen yardage, folded over and whipped the raw edges, and threw it into a hot wash cycle to knock off some of the sizing.

Stay tuned ...