Mostly Faire gear this month: I've fixed holes in my linen hose every weekend, and probably should just made new pairs for next summer. Also somehow managed to pull out both gusset seams on last year's smock and got to repair those felled seams. Awkward.
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| Bad enough felling the crossing seams once... |
Knit garters, based on the Typical Tudor recipe for...knit garters. Appropriately worked in garter stitch, with two strands of undyed wool singles.
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| Garters as knit. |
I made mine long enough for cross-gartering, only to find that my knees really aren't the right shape for it. Fortunately, the garters work just as well tied single.
I tried to dye the garters blue (messed up my indigo vat this time, got a pale yellow that dried to absolutely nothing), then red/orange/pink/brown (madder vat, any color would be fine, except that I got a shade I call "world's palest oatmeal"), and finally yellow/green (pomegranate...but instead ended up with darkest brown-black instead). Functionally, this was the only color I was not going for at any point, but they still work fine and it's not like my garters are ever visible under a kirtle.
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| And dyed brown. |
This month's fun antique garment is from LACMA:
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| Two-piece silk dress, c. 1853-5. LACMA. |
The color scheme of this dress is what caught my eye. To date, both original prints a la disposition that I've handled were purple motifs printed on a white-ground, with a purple-grounded border; both were also made up into flounced skirt dresses. This dress is silk rather than cotton, and seemingly used two fabrics rather than a border print, but follows the same color and design scheme. It's makes me wonder if this coincidence or evidence for a trend among mid-1850s flounced dresses.
The oddly flat point on this bodice's front waist also caught my eye. I've never seen one quite like it, and at first was inclined to assume a later remake. Or perhaps that I looking at the back of a postillion basque or a peplum (though the sleeves suggest that we're looking at the front of the bodice). I'd really like to see this garment in person and up close to figure out what's going on with it.
