When I first started my original blog, I built this post. I'm putting here for more public access.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll start sewing again now that we've moved, and I'll post stuff about it here.

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Someone just sent me an email about Swabian gowns - and I thought I'd use my spanky new recording system to put up some images, and have a chat about the dresses.

The Goddess Myra first coined the phrase "Swabian", based on one of the images she found. It's stuck since then, although I'm not entirely sure that it would be an appropriate term for all of the beaded sleeve frocks. Then again, she reads a lot more than I do!

Most of the images I found of beaded sleeve gowns were from about 1490-1500. Roughly.


This was the first image I found, and very soon after (about 100 pages in the same book, I think) I found two more. She is "portrait of a lady of the order of the swan, 1500" (although I have also seen 1460s attatched to this image).
I have a theory that this is Beatrix Frangapan. I might go into that later.











This is Ursula Greckin, circa 1500. This is a very different dress shape - Myra's inspiration, I believe? She does a beautiful job: http://www.myra.hem.nu/costume/ (hope she doesn't mind!)








This is Barbara Wespach, half of a diptich showing her and her husband. 1500. I love her hat:

So much so that I made a copy of the bead work. I wish I'd had time to make the black stripes too:

Well, that was a beautiful example of formatting! I wonder what it will look like...

Finally, a tiny black and white image in the back of a German Portraits book gave me a design I liked. A few years later, I found the image in colour, and discovered that the dress was RED, not black!! Boy was I excited!

She's a bit hard to see here. The kneeling figures, bottom right -
In gold: Markgrafin Sophia, Princess of Poland
In red, and parti-coloured black/green: Margarete, Sophia, Anna and Elisabeth, her daughters.
Sophia was the Markgrafin of Brandenberg.

The image is from the REVERSE of the altarpiece in the Swan Chapel of St. Gumbertus in Ansbach - the larger image is here:
http://www.schwanenorden.de/Bilder9.htm





So this is my first version - testing the pattern, and my beading skills. There is a piece that covers the bust - like a brestfluck - and the red 'banner' is felt. It was quite an experience. I've never been happy with the amount of beading though. I always felt that there should be more.

And here's a very bad photo of me, in MarkII.

And here's the sleeve, beaded but still on the frame. If I'd had the time, I would have kept on going. Gold lattice work on the 'land', smaller tendrils on the roots, more spangles. Maybe even more tree. It took 3 weeks to do - that includes about 4 days off school. The banner says "Rowani", which is the name of the SCA barony I live in, albeit misspelt.

There are a few other examples of beading on single sleeves in German artwork that I have found since then.
The Babenberger family tree (as found on Mrya's web site - see, told you she was a goddess!) shows a few women in dresses with beaded sleeves.

For example:

Thoman Burgkmair

1515? I think?

The 6 month update

So, in June, I started a new festy frock. And then I stopped.
I picked it up the other day and had another go - the bodice is only a few minutes off rings time.
Reading over that original post, not much has/had changed. I forgot the straight grain in the shoulders, and had to put it in by hand...when was the last time I did that with a machine? 15 years ago, I reckon. I'm contemplating boning in the opening, and have put straight tape there too to do it. And I'm wavering towards the orange trim.
The trim in mind is a wholesale roll of cotton bias in a citris orange. I'm a little worried that it will just look too cheap, though. Will pin and look.

Also on the go:
A highnecked shirt for me. Still to do - neck band/gathering, cuffs, hem. Ruff? I really do think it should have one.
Fz socks. Perpetually.

Dreaming of:
Another small coat with mega shoulders.
A boy coat with swinging skirts.
A huge coat for me.
At least one more shirt.

Plan for today: get rings on, try on, cut skirt pieces, finish seams on skirt pieces, start pleating.

Movement at the station...

I started a new frock yesterday.
I want more comfy stuff for Festy, and the yellow frock is comfy, so I'm building another. Only this will be a little less 'sheepgirl' and a little more 'wealthy farmer's wife'.
It will have a gapped opening where the lacing shows. It's a part of a theoory I have at the moment about me, my boobs, fitting and comfort. I'm not building sleeves for it either, though if I ever get the urge I could always whip some on.
I was considering a really dark brown wool with black trim, but then I found some navy tabby stuff that had never left its Fine Wools bag. It burns like cotton, smells like wool when wet, and has stretch one way. It's almost black in sunlight. It drapes beautifully. Not quite the warm colour I'd had in my head, but that's ok - the brown will make a delicious coat one day.
I'm running the stretch up and down on the bodice, because it might help me when I'm turning the neckline over. And I'll run the stretch crossways on the skirt, so it doesn't fall oddly. No one need ever know.
It's washed (glad I did - it's roughed up a little, and looks great) and the bodice is cut, side seams together. Boning chanels in, and need to remember to stiffen the front edge as I finish it, and straight grain the shoulders. I always forget that.
I'm going to make adjustments to the shoulders/waist etc. as I go, because I can. And I'll decide later about the kind of trim, because it's not intergral to the building stages. I'm leaning towards simple black velveteen, a few mil off the bodice edge. But it could also look awesome with hot orange.

I have not sewed since Festy. Not surprising really. Might try to get back in this week.

I forgot to mention with the cleaning up:
There's enough light-weight black wool to build a black-on-black late german.
There's enough heavy black wool to make a coat of dooom.
There's at least 2 pieces of two different browns, about 8mts each. One could be a dress, one should be a coat for F. Though I think red would suit the pallette we're building for him.

I tidied the sewing room.
It was good for me - I know have been reminded of what I've got, and little plans are forming in my mind.
I didn't throw much out, but I already knew I'm crap at that.
Hooray for tidier sewing spaces.

Haz Hat

Hat crown, sewn up.

Crown with flat top attached, lining in place.

Finished product. The feather is a stunt one - I need something a little shorter and curlier. Also considering a larger gold thing.

Things to remember:
Applying the velveteen to the brim in two stages was a much better idea.
A narrow piece of felt was put in the top of the crown, around the top, to smooth out the lumps made by the flat top coming over the sides.
The pleats of the crown covering are only held in at points. The majority of the work is done by the hatband, including covering up stuff.

I'm not super-happy with it. It's come out a little rough. And I have no idea how to stick it to my head. Considering a tie, that runs around the back of my head, along the line of the coif. Or hair braids, and a staple gun.

Swearing

Gosh darn it!
The plan to build two velveteen doughnuts, and sew them together, and put the buckram brim inside...looked like cak. The machined seam didn't sit right, I hadn't cut out enough of the curve, and the buckram was twisting funny...and even though I overlooked it all (because perfection is not my middle name) I got caught up with the size of the crown. It was a little too big for the brim.
Swearing, ripping, throwing...god i'm over being sick.
So last night I made two more velveteen doughnuts, ironed one onto the buckram rim (it's a little sticky, so this is cunning) and trimmed out the curve properly. Ironed the curve up and over, and stitched it down. Then cut the curve of the other layer, pinned it to the brim, and I'm most way around the edge with the tiny prick stitches.
Shesh.
I considered a line of pinked silk, sandwiched between the layers at the edge of the brim...but it would have been just too much tizz. I shall bling it up with the band.