Looms and Stitches

Still hunting down the elusive linen loom width info, but here are some starting points:

The St Louis Shirt - An extant garment from the 13th century, with estimated loom width of 24" (what's that in cm?).
14th Century Sewing and Textile Information - wool being woven on horizontal looms at 81-108". The horizontal loom allowed much wider fabrics to be produced than the warpweighted (upright) loom. Silks seem to be much narrower, but this varied by type of fabric and complexity of design. However, there is evidence for tabby-woven linen fabric with a thread count of approximately 20 threads to the centimetre (both warp and weft).

And more sort-of support for using silk facing around the neckline of linen undergarments.

Because I really should be doing work...

I played on the internet instead, and found more useful pictures. In some you can see a fine pleated effect in the gap where the gamurra (overdress) laces up in front - which does suggest gathering. However, on my 'the fabric makes a difference' argument that I was thinking through for the sleeves, I'm wondering if you can get a similar effect by setting the pleats in the fabric by wringing it out to dry (kind of like a cheese-cloth-y look). Okay. I'm going to test this. This camicia will have an ungathered neckline.

Camicia Pattern

It will have gussets in it. This seems to be supported by extant garments, pictorial evidence, and practical experience. I'm still hoping to find out linen loom widths for 15th-century Forence, but the sleeves and body are going to be constructed out of geometric shapes (no tailoring). Again, this is based on extant garments, but also the production of camicias in this period - a definite labour division between professional male tailors employed to cut outerwear, and home or non-guild production of camicias by women. This labour division suggests that camicias were not seen as requiring professional tailoring techniques. I wouldn't use this speculation as my main evidence, but it does support the geometric patterning idea. Length to mid calf also seems to be well supported.

The areas I'm still debating over are sleeve width, and gathering.
The tendancy in SCA camicia comstruction seems to be towards really huge sleeves, but the pictorial evidence doesn't really support this. I'm wondering how much of the really huge sleeve thing comes out of trying to get the puffed-out look in sleeve gaps when working with cotton fabric. Using linen should mean that the fabric will hold creases and the puffed-out look, not neccessarily requiring as much fabric. The 15th century also seems to be a point of transition from the tighter sleeve of earlier periods to the late period big sleeve. I'm still thinking about this.
The gathering issue seems also to be a transition period issue. I can point to strong evidence for non-gathered necklines before the 15th century, and also strong evidence for gathered necklines after, but the 15th century remains debateable. I'm tending towards non-gathered for two reasons - I can pictorially support this, even if gathered isn't ruled out, and of course, it's easier.

I should collect my fabric from the line where it has been sitting for the last week, and get started soon.

More Camicia Links

A 15th Century Chemise Pattern - mainly pattern, little documentation.
Camicia from a 1488 Italian Outfit - contemporary pictures and dress diary.
A Reconstructed Chemise - pattern based on extant 17th-century camicia in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Another Chemise - a simplified pattern.

An English smock c. 1630 - though embroidered with silk, (fine) linen thread was used to construct the garment.

The Incredibly Overdocumented Camicia Project

I'm using this blog as a research tool, to record both the research and the process of making my latest project - a late 15th century Florentine chemise.

Areas I will be looking at are: fabric (I've already got the fabric, as Spotlight had almost light-weight linen on sale recently, and sale=good on my budget, but I want to collate more info on period fabric choices), pattern/cut/design, production (who made them, what might they cost etc) and basically any other information relating to camicias I can get my hands on.

One starting point is an overview of 16th century extant Venetian camicias.

Medieval Dress Diaries

In beginning the research for the "Incredibly Overdocumented Camicia Project" (more on that next week) I came across the idea of period dress diaries:

"In order to discern the intense interest and care lavished on their garments by the rich families of Florence, we only have to turn to their family logbooks (ricordanze), in the pages of which their clothes are lovingly detailed. As a matter of practice in the Quattrocento, the clothes that were part of significant events in the family's life were recorded in these accounts..." (Carole Collier Frick, Dressing Renaissance Florence, p. 79)

Okay, I know that the ricodanze and contemporary dress diaries have different purposes, styles, and media - but the idea of a connection did amuse me.

Here's a good review (and authorial reply) on Dressing Renaissance Florence.

Silk

"If this fabric was human, you'd want to marry it."

I was lured into looking at the Dharma Trading website, more specifically, looking at the silk fabrics. The quote above is taken from the site and is, unfortunately, true.

I need to go away now and calm myself down with the 'can't afford it now' mantra of the credit-card-maxed-out student.

Weekend Work

53cm of brocaded belt - this is the longest piece of brocaded tablet weaving I've done! Now all I need to do is finish it off by trimming the ends of the metallic weft, putting a buckle on one end, and plait the threads left at the other end.
I re-read the bible for broaded tablet weaving, Nancy Spies' Ecclesiastical Pomp & Aristocratic Circumstance, and think I finally understand the bit about turning the brocade weft before it hits the edge of the piece (which is what I have done up till now). I won't replicate the explanation here, but I'm definitely going to try it out when I overcome my hatred of metallic thread enough to try brocading again.

Current project plan: Florentine late 15th century gamurra (light blue cotton/linen), then giornea and linen camisia to go with it (potentially beaded sleeves). Then summer fabric transitional Tudor, with tablet woven trim and belt. Finish these before adding more things to the list.

Today's link - a really good fibre site (which reminds me to rescue my spindle from the car).

Moving Slowly

Well, I'm up and about with some assistance still required, but I have made it as far as a computer with internet access.

I've been working on the brocaded tablet weaving in the last few days, and I can see this piece being finished in another week. I've remembered that the trick to tablet weaving is a) maintain a deep suspicion that is the thread can do something horrible, it will, b) always tying up your cards whenever moving or adjusting the loom, and c) somehow staying confident that it will all turn out right.
For this piece I'm using multi-strand fake metallic embroidery thread for the brocade weft. This works okay for coverage (ie there are no gaping holes in between the rows of the pattern), but the multi-strand aspect isn't as authentic as it could be (medieval brocade wefts generally being single or just doubled). I'm keeping an eye out for something better, but somehow I suspect metallics are always going to be horrible to work with!

The Historical Needlework Resources Website looks cool - not quite enough to make me actually do embroidery, but I think it will be a good place to raid design ideas from for future tablet weaving projects.

Not Going Anywhere

This weekend I had a rather painful reminder that drinking and dancing don't always mix well. At the moment my right knee is swollen up and I can't walk without crutches. My tablet weaving loom has been moved downstairs, so I may get some quality time with it when I'm stuck in bed!

Tablet Weaving

I've been having evil thoughts about my next project. I wouldn't mind doing some more tablet weaving.

At the moment I'm paused on a brocaded piece that will become a baby-size belt, but when that is finished off I'm tempted to try either learning to weave twill, or make a belt to go with the transitional Tudor dresses. Or even double face tablet weaving. Too many options, too much indecision.

Mending

You'd think someone that chooses to handsew outfits for fun wouldn't mind doing the occasional bit of mending. Maybe not.
My mending pile dates back to last summer at the moment, and I have alterations that have to be done by this weekend.
I hate it when sewing becomes a chore.