I can't sew fast enough!
I cut out my grey wool cote the other night, and I've started sewing on it. I don't know if I'll have it hand-sewn in time for ICW, unfortunately. I've got two gores stitched onto one of the body pieces and that's about it. My goal of one seam a day is looking loftier by the minute, despite having managed to at least sew, if not finish, nearly an entire seam a few days ago.
I'm also running out of thread, so I've placed a wallet-aching order from Vavstuga for linen thread. Hopefully it arrives sooner rather than later. Teffania gave me a generous sample of Bockens thread at Congregatus and I admit, I'm hooked. Unfortunately, said generous sample is unlikely to last me beyond putting the body of this gown together.
I don't know what I'll do if I run out of thread before my order comes in, though. Probably I'll have to run to Spotlight and get some Gutermann linen. Yikes.
(Update, c. 1 week after originally writing this... yeah. I have about two more lengths or so of the white linen thread so I've swapped to a black thread, which doesn't show nearly as much. I am trying to keep seams the same thread color, though, so the eight-inch gap I've managed to leave at the top of one of the gores needs to be done in that white thread.)
I've finished attaching all the gores (jesus there's a lot of 'em) to one of the body pieces, which means....time to line! Maybe. I dunno. I'm really playing this by ear. I have pinned this silk satin so many times my fingers are pincushions. I also did something stupid: I laid out the satin right-side-down, then I laid out the cote, also right-side-down. Do you see my mistake? No? Neither did I, until I started sewing.
The gores aren't the same size or same height, so when I cut the satin out to match....it was backwards. Eff. I was able to work with it, luckily, as it's not too horribly off, but still! Eff.
I've finally finished the neckline, so here it is all turned out pretty-like:
One of the corners does need a bit of TLC but when I sew the shoulders together or when I put the sleeves on, it won't be too hard to fix.
I still have to figure out what I want to do for the outside neck! I've been toying with the idea of embroidering the satin, but hoo buddy that would be Hard. I'm not very good at embroidery to begin with, and split-stitching leaves on satin sounds like hell and a half. It would probably look good, but....effort. So much effort. I do want to embroider the sleeves, though, but that will probably be green or blue wool against the grey, then lined with my satin.
In other news, I ordered an Amish sewing basket a few weeks ago -- perhaps not spectacularly medieval, but certainly created using "Plain" methods, and plausibly period if not for its double-hinged lid. My medieval sewing kit is also my modern sewing kit, so I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of accuracy for something I will genuinely enjoy using. It's finally come in to my mom's house (as they didn't ship to Australia!) and so I'm (im)patiently awaiting it. She'll likely be mailing it to me (well-padded, as instructed by yours truly) as it probably won't fit in her suitcase when she comes to visit me at the end of next month.
That's actually my philosophy for a lot of my kit: it should at least be plausibly medieval. I like to play by the ten-foot rule. I'm not going to fuss over six illuminations with minuscule sewing baskets in them so I can get The Most Perfect Kit Evar!, nor am I going to trawl through thousands of archaeological dig finds for what little can be found. I'm a time- and money-poor college student who irresponsibly spends her money on fabric and books and yarn, and her time on her thesis, not on The Perfect Kit. While getting a Perfect Sewing Kit might actually be tenuously connected to my thesis, that connecting thread is very thin.
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| My precious, unspoiled fabric. May it rest in pieces. Literally. Except it won't rest, it'll be working as a dress. |
I don't know what I'll do if I run out of thread before my order comes in, though. Probably I'll have to run to Spotlight and get some Gutermann linen. Yikes.
(Update, c. 1 week after originally writing this... yeah. I have about two more lengths or so of the white linen thread so I've swapped to a black thread, which doesn't show nearly as much. I am trying to keep seams the same thread color, though, so the eight-inch gap I've managed to leave at the top of one of the gores needs to be done in that white thread.)
I've finished attaching all the gores (jesus there's a lot of 'em) to one of the body pieces, which means....time to line! Maybe. I dunno. I'm really playing this by ear. I have pinned this silk satin so many times my fingers are pincushions. I also did something stupid: I laid out the satin right-side-down, then I laid out the cote, also right-side-down. Do you see my mistake? No? Neither did I, until I started sewing.
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| Lining and outer fabric, pinned together. I repinned it a good four times after taking this picture. Sigh. |
I've finally finished the neckline, so here it is all turned out pretty-like:
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| So pretty! I think I'll need to topstitch (is that the right word?) or backstitchalong the neckline to keep the satin in place and prevent it from slipping too much. |
I still have to figure out what I want to do for the outside neck! I've been toying with the idea of embroidering the satin, but hoo buddy that would be Hard. I'm not very good at embroidery to begin with, and split-stitching leaves on satin sounds like hell and a half. It would probably look good, but....effort. So much effort. I do want to embroider the sleeves, though, but that will probably be green or blue wool against the grey, then lined with my satin.
---
In other news, I ordered an Amish sewing basket a few weeks ago -- perhaps not spectacularly medieval, but certainly created using "Plain" methods, and plausibly period if not for its double-hinged lid. My medieval sewing kit is also my modern sewing kit, so I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of accuracy for something I will genuinely enjoy using. It's finally come in to my mom's house (as they didn't ship to Australia!) and so I'm (im)patiently awaiting it. She'll likely be mailing it to me (well-padded, as instructed by yours truly) as it probably won't fit in her suitcase when she comes to visit me at the end of next month.
That's actually my philosophy for a lot of my kit: it should at least be plausibly medieval. I like to play by the ten-foot rule. I'm not going to fuss over six illuminations with minuscule sewing baskets in them so I can get The Most Perfect Kit Evar!, nor am I going to trawl through thousands of archaeological dig finds for what little can be found. I'm a time- and money-poor college student who irresponsibly spends her money on fabric and books and yarn, and her time on her thesis, not on The Perfect Kit. While getting a Perfect Sewing Kit might actually be tenuously connected to my thesis, that connecting thread is very thin.
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