I started these as learning samples in free motion embroidery. The small motifs are from a 17th-century stomacher at the V&A museum. The original was done in silk and silver gilt on linen with spangles. My samples are in polyester thread on cotton muslin with silver bullion wire and fine silver cord for some of the details.
I have some silk thread on order so I can experiment further with the embroidery.
I’ve fallen in love with free motion embroidery. it doesn’t require a fancy machine, digitizing software, or hunting down designs that might not be quite right. I’ve been working on several different projects trying to push the bounds of what I can do.
A month ago a Facebook post on Elizabethan Costume showed me some inexpensive* shoes (non-affiliated link) that looked very similar to cutwork shoes found in period.
The price was right, but they came in only one color: white.
I ordered 2 pairs, not seeing the FB thread till much later about sizing up (and again if you are a half size). It took about 2 weeks for them to get to me but they were true to size for me with a few exceptions.
I have wide feet, high arches, and a rectangular toe box shape. This makes shopping for shoes online hit or miss. Often the toe box is not wide enough and there is not enough width across the ball of my foot.
When I tried the shoes on they highlighted these issues, but since they are faux leather I knew I could you a hair dryer to stretch them out. I put on thick socks, wrapped my foot in a face cloth, and then managed to get the shoes on.
Then I took the hairdryer and slowly heated the areas that were too tight or rubbing. While doing this I wiggled my toes and shifted my feet around in the shoe to speed things along while being very careful not to burn myself.
Once the material was warmed and my toe wiggling done, I switched the temperature to cool to help set it.
Before I broke out the paintbrushes I prepped the shoes for painting. I used rubbing alcohol all over the surface of the shoe to remove any factory finishing or random grease or oils.
While they dried I got all my supplies and materials together:
I stuffed the shoes with the plastic bags so they would keep their shape while painting and to keep the paint off the inside.
The textile medium calls for 2 parts paint to one part medium. I kept to this ratio, adding a small amount of water to thin the paint out.
For an oxblood color I added only a few drops of black to the Quinacridone red-orange to deepen the shade. I had to remake the color several times as I painted and learned it is easy to go overboard on the black.
I started painting the shoes in with thin layers to start with, wanting to “stain” the material to keep the white from showing through later. After the first three layers of paint (which unfortunately I don’t have photos of) I thinned the paint out less and concentrated on coverage.
This is where the soft brush is very useful it will help keep brush strokes to a minimum, but be sure to watch out for brush hairs getting stuck in the paint. There are a few in mine that I wasn’t able to remove in time.
The last two layers of paint I thinned out again, working on shifting each shoe to a similar color. As I remixed the paint color several times there were some subtle variations in tone.
My last pass on the shoes was around the edges and along the back of the strap. This was to keep any of the white material from being glaringly obvious.
I let the shoes dry for a few days just to make sure the paint was set. The acrylic and the textile medium dried to a glossy shine and also left the shoes slightly tacky (enough that they tried to stick to each other). As I was not able to heat set the shoes as the textile medium suggested I decided to seal them instead with a matte varnish.
I gave them several thin coats which worked well to seal them (no more tackyness yay!) but done very little to knock back the gloss. Once I wear them the gloss may on longer be an issue, but it is something to keep in mind when working with textile medium.
All I have left is some final clean up. I need to clean out the cutwork sections that filled up with paint and take some steel wool to the buckles.
For anyone who wants to paint their shoes with less fuss I have heard very good things about Angelus Leather Paints for shoes but have not tried them.
*These shoes were very inexpensive, there was some loose thread that needed to be clipped and a few specks of glue to remove. They are not perfectly period shoes but would pass the 10-foot rule. For indoor events a few times a year I think they will hold up fine. For outdoor use, I would add insoles and change out the buckles.
This week I finished the silk sleeves, yay! The last few steps ended up being very fiddly, as I needed to change the curve of the underarm section of the armscye and take it in by an inch.
The last few steps ended up being very fiddly. I needed to change the curve of the underarm section of the armscye and take it in by an inch. One sleeve was finished when I decided this, so I spent some quality time with the seam ripper unpicking the main handsewn seams and the prick stitching I put in to control the fraying.
Once I adjusted the armscye all I had left was the sleeve hem. Match seams, finger press the linen down by 1/2 an inch, pin and fold silk down to match.
Done.
Everything else on my worktable has been eyelets this week.
The main project this week was revising my 16th-century sleeve pattern and making up a pair of test sleeves. I was not happy with how my sleeves turned out in the caramel wool petticoat bodies. Some of that was from how thin and lightweight the fabric was, and some of it was from the pattern I used.
I plan on revisiting those linen sleeves to fix some of the issues, but knew I needed a new base pattern that didn’t cause so many headaches.
Over the years I’ve drafted a lot of sleeve patterns. I’ve drafted them using modern drafting methods, using diagrams in costumes books and at least one-time using aluminum foil. Sometimes they have been successful, other times they have been a hot mess.
This time around I turned to Juan de Alcega’s Tailors Pattern Book but instead of breaking out the bara strips, I opened up Inkscape and traced the sleeve shape.
From there I adjust the pattern shape to have less of a dramatic curve and match my arm measurements with some ease included.
I printed out my digital pattern, cropping it to fit on two sheets of paper and taped it together. Then I made a mock-up out of some rough linen, giving myself some extra wide seam allowances for adjustment. It took some back and forth in front the mirror with pins until I was happy with how the pattern was shaping up.
A few weeks ago I ran across a very good deal on some scrumptious silk damask, it was dirt cheap due to a flaw in the weave. Into my shopping cart it went along with some linen to use for various projects. I figured I could cut around the flaws.
When the fabric arrived I found the weave flaw ran all the way down the yardage. The thought crossed my mind to try and reweave the damage, but I decided I was not *quite* that dedicated.
I cut out my linen lining first and then jigsaw puzzled my way down the silk trying to pattern match where I could. Not having the missing thread run through the main part of the sleeve was a challenge as I wanted to use as little of the fabric as possible.
To make everything fit I ended up piecing the upper back of the left-hand sleeve.
It took me at least an hour to cut out the sleeve, due to not wanting to mess up a very nice fabric. I also cut it flat so each pattern piece needed to be flipped over while I triple checked that I did not somehow cut two left sleeves (which has happened before).
Once everything was cut out I sewed the linen lining together using the running stitch with a small section of backstitching at the elbow points to reinforce that area. Next, I sewed the silk together using cream silk thread with the back stitch.
As I handled the fabric it started to fray. Usually, I would overlock or zig zag the raw edges to prevent it. But I was worried about the extra bulk of the threads shadowing through the silk.
Instead, I prick stitched the seam allowance down, taking tiny stitches through the outer fabric, this also meant I did not need to worry about ironing the seam flat.
Once all the sleeves were together I put the linings in and basted along the top of the sleeve cap. Then I tried them on with a kirtle, pinning the top of the sleeve to the shoulder strap and looking at where the wrinkles formed. They needed some adjustment.
That is where I am now. There is a pin stuck in where the underarm curve needs to dip down a little more. I have some narrow bias tape cut from scrap linen to bind the edges and some braid should be arriving in a week or two to trim the seams.
This week I unearthed some unfinished projects while “Cleaning” aka where did I put my photo box? How could it have vanished? I’ve looked in that box three times now and I’m running out of places it could be.
That is the problem when I clean, I put things in a safe place and never find them again.
But, nestled happily in a plastic bag was a half finished pair of linen/rayon hose in screaming red. I think I started these two years ago when I wanted a small project I could work on while watching Netflix. I know I draped a pattern for hose at least 4 years before out of some thin cotton but never got around to the actual making till now.
Socks have never been high on my priorities list, most of the time I wear O Rayons from Sock Dreams under my skirts.
My memory is a little fuzzy but I think I draped my original pattern from this tutorial: http://www.faucet.net/costume/research/hose.html
I sewed the right foot up with dark red Londonderry linen thread using the backstitch. Then referencing Patterns of Fashion 4 I trimmed down the seam allowances along the foot, sewed down the seam allowance along the gusset with the running stitch and whip stitched over the top of the gusset point to reinforce that area.
The fit is good if a little loose. By the way that’s my sleeve form and some quilt batting, not my leg.
I still need to sew up the left foot and may make some adjustments to my pattern.
This post is a tiny bit misleading, I’m smooshing together last week’s missing review in with this week. I was sick last week and while I sat at the laptop with the Edit Post tab open it, it just wasn’t happening. (After typing the week that many times in a row the word has lost all meaning.)
I have one big project off my plate, it just needs a few threads clipped and proper photos taken. Then I can pack it up and sent it off to its new home. It is a surprise for a friend so I won’t be able to post photos until she receives it.
But until then here is what I worked on this week!
I’ve been trying to learn bobbin lace for the past two years. It has been an on and off process. The books I have don’t always explain the whys and sometimes I’m looking for very specific information with no idea what to call it. It is the beginner’s curse of standing on the edge of a mountain and looking at a sea of knowledge below, knowing that you can’t swim very well.
Bobbin lace has a very long and rich history that crisscrosses various cultures and techniques. I know in a round about way there are different styles of lace grounds and different ways to work footsides. There are different ways of holding and working the bobbins depending on who teaches you and where you are taught.
That is something I am not ready to dive into.
For now, at least my interest in bobbin lace intersects with the 16th century and stays there. That means various types of laces usually based on plaits and braids. I’ve found a few resources online, some books that have filled in gaps. Staring at Le Pompe and at zoomed in paintings helps too. The silver lace I made is far from perfect, working with a faux metallic thread is a new experience, my tension is wibbley and I suspect my pattern is too large for my thread weight.
But it stayed together when I unpinned it and that counts for alot.
This week I also made a few test pin cushions. These are made from an inner pillow of linen, stuffed with linen scraps, covered with silk damask and edged in gold cording. They are inspired by the embroidered pincushions that are often found with 16th century sweet bags, but I don’t know if they were ever made of fancy fabric in period.
I might put a few of these in my Etsy shop, they have a nice weight to them and have kept my work table from being covered in random pins and needles.
I also revisited my pouch pattern and streamlined how I make them. Prototype number 2 turned out a little smaller than version 1 but I’m overall pleased with my process for them.
Next week I need to work on the silk taffeta kirtle and there are some silk damask sleeves that need my attention.
This week I finished pad stitching the silk taffeta kirtle interlinings and basted the outer fabric in place.
I popped it on the dress form with pins holding it together to see how it looked. The 3 layers of canvas at the front (which may be overkill) plus the pad stitching gives it lots of shape and structure. So much the bodice stands away from the dress form on its own with very few wrinkles. I need to trim down the edges of the canvas before I put the lining in. I also need to decide if the kirtle will be back or side opening. Side lacing kirtles are easier for me to get into and offer more flexibility in sizing. The trade off is I’ll have to sew twice as many eyelets and my sleeves will need to lace on.
I may also narrow my shoulder straps along the neckline edge. There is a 1/2 inch seam allowance to keep in mind, but after looking at some extant garments the strap is still a little wide.
The silk taffeta kirtle skirt and lining are sewn together, save for the side seams. It is currently hanging on the dress form to let the bias drop. I may baste a lightweight chain to the hem to hurry the process along.
I also experimented making my own cording out of silk buttonhole thread. The gold cord on the far left is from twisting it by hand with the help of a chopstick. I twisted the other cords by machine which was much faster and even. I found making very long cords is an issue. The black cord is the longest I managed by myself, another person to help would keep the tension even and the threads from getting tangled.