Chemise or camicia nearly done

I managed to get all the hand sewing done on the chemise, or camicia in Italian, done yesterday even though my hands are always feeling so frozen. Just need to attach some ties on the cuffs but as usual I don't have the right sort of riboon for that so will have to remember next time I am at the fabric store to pick some up.

OK so next layer. I have decided to have a go making some Florentine stays, or soft corset, sort of roughly based upon the burial stays of Eleanor of Toledo. Evene though my gown is going going to be a laced front Venetian I think that as it's a similiar era the Venetian and Florentine women probably wore very similiar under garments. The painting is By Allessandro Allori and shows a set of Florentine stays.

I am going to make my stays back lacing so I can wear them will most of my Italian gowns which are generally side laced, that way the lacing won't be in the same place and look messy. I will also cut the neckline to match my current Venetians which have a wide square front.

I have found a couple of other costumers who have done similiar stays and have been reading up on their progress.

I will use a couple of layers of canvas quilted together as the main supporting layer and cover with some white brocaded fabric from my stash. The under skirt will possibley be made from the same white fabric if there is enough left. I think the addition of tabs like on an Elizabethan corset will help the stays stay put and reduce the pressure around the natural waistline enhancing comfort so I plan to extend my usual bodice pattern down by around 2 inches and then slice into tabs, an experiment by if it doesnt work I can simiply tim them back off.

well there you go

I was talking to someone who suggested that the cut work in the sleeves may be able to be burnt in with a soldering iron if the fabric was high in polyester. Well being unable to ascertain with any certainty the actual composition of the velveteen I decided to do a little tester. So plugged in my little soldering iron, clipped off a little of the material, waited until the iron was good and hot....and it didnt work even a little bit.

So I guess the velveteen is mostly cotton which of course will not melt.

so back to hand cutting out the design then.

I did read somewhere about someone drawing the design on in PVA and then cutting out once dry to seal the edges so that will be my next test run. Anything that reduces the number of velveteen fleas escaping from the material is a good thing if you ask me.

I also found in my photos that I took in the Louvre a nice close up of a cut work sleeve :) The painting was in the same room as the Mona Lisa! I was more intrigued by all the Titians etc but did take the time to weave through the enormous crowd to see Mona too.

So will attempt to do a somewhat accurate copy of that cut work design I think.

When I locate who the painting is by, It may be a Titian, and work out how to upload pics off my computer I will share

New outfit...

Well I haven't been sewing very much in the last 6 months or so, but with Novemeber Crown coming up in the Barony of Aneala, I decided I need a new dress, or complete outfit.

As I am still very much in love with 16th century Italian, more so since my recent trip to Italy, I have decided to have another, more indepth go at a laced front gown with cutwork sleeves. So have trawled through many pictures on The Realm of Venus website I have decided to base my gown on Paolo Caliari's, Portrait of a Woman, 1560

I fell in love with some purple velveteen in Spotlight a few weeks ago, and of course had to buy the whole remaining bolt, about 8 metres, so this should be ample to construct this dress.

I want to make the entire outfit so I can count it towards my Quest work.

The construction of the under layers commenced last week and I have almost finished the chemise. I used my Brother Innovis 1200 sewing machine to embroider the neckline and cuffs as I have limited time until the event and many things to get done.

L plate blogger

never done this before so here goes....