14thC Wardrobe

I ended up making only two new chemises for Rowany Festival, but I'm glad I took the time to make proper ones instead of quick and dirty ones like I usually do. I followed the basic smock pattern from the old version of the Medieval Tailor's Assistant which has been uploaded as a free pdf online since they published a new one. I cut a big rectangle for the body which got folded in half and a hole cut for the head so there's no shoulder seams, and added gores from the shoulders to flare it. I could have just cut the body as a tapered piece but it's not very economical fabric-wise. I used a tapered sleeve though, so I didn't have to deal with underarm gores. For my second one, I added the body gores from the armpit instead of from the shoulders. Both smocks worked fine, but I think I like the shoulder gore one better and I'll be making more of those. I'd also like to try the technique where you cut each piece, do a rolled hem all the way around and then whip stitch them together, because the run and fell technique I used left me with some places that had exposed edges and sewing over seams which left bulky bits. Eventually, I'd like five of these type of chemise, and a couple of sleeveless chemises for hot days.

I've had some thoughts about refurbishing my 14thC wardrobe. I have a bunch of dresses that are just hanging in the closet that aren't quite right but I can't bring myself to throw them out. My cotehardies are also looking a bit second hand. The pink one is fairly new so it's ok, and my gold one is holding up quite well considering it's the one I wear the most. My teal coloured one is the one I always bring as a backup. The lining has been pulled out of one of the sleeve holes since forever because every time I fixed it, it just ripped out again and now it's all frayed. The hem has all come apart at the back as well. I've been hesitant to spend the time fixing it because I can't quite lace it closed since I put on a bit of weight and it's quite uncomfortable. I think I have the solution now though! I'm going to take the sleeves off and make it sleeveless. Hopefully then it won't pull around the neckline and it will be more comfortable. When I've done that I'll re-evaluate and decide if I need to add any extra fabric anywhere in order to lace it shut. Once that's done I'll make a new pattern and turn some rust linen I ordered into a cotehardie, and then maybe pull apart the parti-coloured linen overdress I never wear, line it, re-shape it and turn it into a lace up kirtle.

In terms of my overdresses, the red one is awesome, the green one needs the buttons all re-sewn because every time I wear it I end up with a button in my hand instead of attached to the dress when I take it off. I suppose it's good that I'm not losing the buttons, but it does get tedious! I wore it twice at Festival and had to do emergency sewing each time to replace the missing button, and it's always a different button! I'd also like to look at the green brocade dress again, I spent a lot of time adjusting it only to have it not quite fit again, but it drapes so nicely that I want to make it work.

I also have plans for a Kampfrau wardrobe. I've ordered some stripey cotton stockings from www.delpstockings.com to get me started before I figure out how to knit my own woollen ones. May Crown is in two weeks and I'm hoping to fix the armholes of my yellow Kampfrau, make detachable sleeves, a gollar and a proper hemd. I feel like this is a bit ambitious since there's only one weekend left and I'm already busy all day Saturday. I'll start by cutting out the hemd tomorrow after work. I'm planning on making a very quick one out of a cotton/linen lend fabric, based on a simple Italian camica pattern, like my polycotton one I wore to Bal d'Aneala but with proper sleeves. So I should be able to run it up very quickly.

I think these projects should keep me busy for a while before I think about working on something new :)