I Went to Olde English Faire, The Archers and Jousters Were There

I have been severely lacking in the event department so far this year. I think the only events I have gone to include The Festival of Maidens (January), the Candle-Lighting Ball (April) and, well, that is it. We had several other events that we were scheduled to attend but due to various circumstances had to change our plans quite at the last minute. So that is why I was so happy this weekend to be able to go to the Olde English Faire!

David and I left the children with my parents. I felt a bit guilty leaving them behind but I did offer all of them the chance to go with us. They all, of course, declared they would much rather go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and in the end, I was glad that they did since it was a very hot day and it would have been difficult keeping them all hydrated and in their woolen clothes. Plus it was nice to be able to walk hand in hand with David, just us two. Time alone so rarely happens for us and it was good to have some hours with him where we didn't have to continually focus on children asking a million questions an hour, or screaming and whacking at each other, or endlessly requesting to go potty.

The Faire seemed smaller this year but the quality seemed better. The location in the park was different than last year and was much easier to navigate. There were plenty of shade trees and benches and the merchants had a very nice area to set out their wares. There were some good quality vendors interspersed with the typical fantasty-clothing, belly-dancing, henna-tattoo vendors which made browsing interesting and fun.

There was also a tent where several chess sets were set up. David was happy to sit down and play a game with one of the gentleman.

The chess sets were handmade by this gentleman and a friend. It was nice to see this game set up as an alternative to the more carnival like games going on in a different area of the park.

We watched a jousting tournament, hosted by the guys from Full Metal Jousting! It was one of the most exciting parts of the afternoon and I got a bit carried away, cheering and screaming with a most un-ladylike demeanor as the champions battled it out in the arena. Seeing the men emerge on their horses, armour-clad, noble bearing, was swoon worthy. My goodness!

Prior to the tournament, each knight gave a yellow carnation to a random lady in the crowd, as a token that they would be fighting for her honor. The little girls who were chosen as the Ladies Fair were adorable to watch - I truly admire the generosity and kindness shown by these guys to their audience, especially to the children. For sure this will be something those little ones will never forget!

I stood on the hill to watch, in the hot blazing sun and consequently was sunburnt quite badly. David, since he is taller, sensibly stood in the shade of several trees farther up the hill. One of the trucks parked there housed two dogs and David promptly fell in love with them.

After the tournament, we went to the living history camp in a different park of the park. This group demonstrates various aspects of 14th century life and focuses on the skill of archery.

It was wonderful and inspiring to see a progressive group like this! One of the ladies I spoke with mentioned how that morning she assisted in plucking ducks that they later cooked and ate. I think David was impressed. Even 1860's groups typically do not go to that extent in their pursuit of authenticity.

This group is headquartered not far from our own hometown. It would be lovely to get involved some way, sometime. If only David liked the medieval period better! But maybe he will learn to. I will wait and in the meantime will try my best to convince him that wearing hose and braies are very manly and much more desirable than the 1860's cotton overalls he currently wears beneath his tunics.

The archers were skilled and swift. It actually grew a bit monotonous watching their arrows fly since they rarely missed the target! I liked watching them, watching how their clothes moved, how they acted and talked with each other, with the background of leafy trees and summer sunshine. It was easy to imagine that we really had found a way to travel back to the 14th century.

Now I am all inspired to work on our wardrobes for the next medieval event, The Fields of Cloth and Gold which will be in September. It is not that far away and I think both David and Judah could use a new outfit before then, and, of course, the baby will need a full supply of shirts and caps and some sort of gown - I do not think I could, with mental comfort, wrap her up in strips of linen - and I'd like to make David a new hood and a hood or heavier woolen veil for me as well.

I was thankful my pink linen gown still fit for this past weekend. The only part that was a bit tight was the bustline, but I just laced it a bit more loosely there and all was well. I apologize for not wearing a proper gown underneath it in these pictures, but it was just so hot and I thought that I could get by wearing just my smock underneath. A few images do support the wearing of a smock underneath a short sleeved outer gown, although I think the images date from a bit past the late 1300's. Here we are at 32 weeks!

The only new thing I made for the event was a veil and circlet, roughly basing it on the instructions here: Silk Wrapped Circlet. I put my version together the afternoon before the event and used some heavy wire for the base. I wrapped it in tan silk thread although the wrapping was not as tight or closely packed as I would have wished it to be.

It took so long to wrap the wire I didn't feel like wrapping the thinner wire that I wound around the base, so I left it plain. I put a few black beads on the front (wood; so not a great material choice but hey, its what I had) and made a quick veil out of a long rectangle of sheer silk that I hemmed all around and stitched to the circlet to secure it.

I did get a lot of positive comments on the veil. So many people wondered how I could possibly keep the veil from slipping off and they were delighted to find out I had stitched it on. It does make so much sense to just saw the darned slippery thing to the circlet. Why had I never thought of that? A huge thank you to the documentation from the Silk Wrapped Circlet site! I also got a lot of nice compliments on how well the pregnant belly looks "so medieval" and I was called Maid Marion more times than I ever imagined. I don't know if a true maid of the period would go around unapologetically pregnant but I will bypass any historical deviations of the term and circumstances since the people who spoke thus to me were modern spectators and likely were just trying to link what knowledge they have of the period to what they were seeing in front of them.

All in all it was a very satisfactory event. Many people still lament the fact that the Faire no longer takes places at Jubilee but I am grateful that even though the state has made it impossible for the Faire to continue there, Wildlife Prairie Park has wholeheartedly welcomed the Faire to its own grounds. I'm glad it still can live on. It would be a huge shame to have it go by the wayside. It has become such a summer ritual in this part of the state for so many people.

Love,
Sarah

Medieval Pink Linen Gown - It Is Finished

It snowed in the night and although it was quite cold, David took some photos of my dress and yes. He let me use his sword. :) Alas. Is it right a married mother of soon-to-be four children can still feel happily silly and giddy when donning a new frock and playing with pretty things? I have photos to share later of the festival (we had a marvelous time and I felt like Cinderella going down the steps at midnight!) and for now, here are some of the dress. (I think the next thing I make from this period definitely will have to be shoes). 

And what is this we see? Is that a baby bump? A very small one, perhaps?
 People, I think we can safely say that this is no longer just a belly pooch.
 There is a very small human creature in there! 12 weeks down, 28 to go. :)

Tippets! They don't go *quite* all the way to the ground but I am happy with how they came out.

The wool facing does a great job keeping the hem clean

Here you can (kinda) see how the tippets are a separate piece attached at the back of the arm. 

Okay. David said I could show the photos with the sword ONLY IF I EXPLICITLY stated that this is NOT a medieval style sword but an 1850's medical officers dress sword and is used for "real" (i.e. non-SCA) reenacting. So. Here I state this.

Love,

Sarah

Sneak Peek - Sleeves!

The dress is *almost* done. I have to whip the tippets into place on the sleeve bands and THEN the dress will be done. I decided to make the tippets totally separate so that if I need to, I can easily remove them if I just want to wear a short sleeve overgown without tippets hanging all over the place. I had to try it all on so I could position the tippets in the right place. I think I will go with them in this position:

I hope to get better pictures of the dress tomorrow, which is, of course, the day of the Festival. :) Maybe I can convince David to let me pose with his sword. . .

Love,
Sarah

A Very Big Hem and Making the Lacing Cord

Since I have been working on the doublet and my dress at the same time it is taking a bit longer for the dress to finish itself up. Still, I am nearly done and the dress doesn't have to be worn, technically, until Saturday afternoon. So I am still making good time, right?

Today I finished the hem of the dress. The hem is quite large - I didn't measure it exactly but I think it falls around 200" or so at the hem. I am probably crazy but I decided to leave the skirt exactly as it came out after I sewed in the gores. This gives a slight train at the back and at the sides which looks very medieval, but unfortunately it not practical. Especially for outdoor wear!

To help protect the dragging, unfortunate hem I did not simply turn the hem under and sew it down. I cut a very long strip of wool flannel, on the straight of grain, about 2" wide. I sewed it to the hem right sides together, turned it to the inside and attached it with running stitches to the dress. The wool strip will take the majority of the wear and tear on the hem and once it gets ratty and worn I can easily remove it and replace it. 

I also spent an hour braiding a new lacing cord for the eyelets. It is made of four strands of woolen yarn. Fingerloop braiding is more appropriate but that skill is yet elusive to me. I used the braiding instructions found here: Four Strand Round Braid

Now for the part I dreaded most. Making the sleeves! The making of them won't be so bad but it's the deciding on a style. I still don't know what to do! Loose sleeves or tippeted sleeves? Alas, alas. 

Love,

Sarah

The Never Ending Eyelets of Doom

Not quite never ending. But in the midst of the swimming, one feels like one is drowning. Drowning in eyelets.

All made quite the same way. Tiny dots 3/4" apart. Take small pointy object, insert into a dot and twist. Take knitting needle, insert into the hole made, and twist til the hole is nice and large. Whip stitch around edges. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Half are done. The other half will be done today and once I have made a new lacing cord I will be able to put the dress on and fit the sleeves. We are in the home stretch, people!

Love,
Sarah

Cotehardie Progress - Hand Finishing

Once the main pieces of the dress were sewn together it was time to start the lengthy process of hand finishing. I'm still not done with all the hand finishing - there are a lot of seams! But all the bodice seams are now finished and about a quarter of the skirt seams. They are all finished in the same way, so I will share what I do. Just apply  the process mentally to the yet-unfinished portion of the dress. ;)

For my pre-sewing machine-era historic dresses I prefer to use a straight machine stitch for seams that are not visible from the outside. For any stitches that will show on the outside of the dress I will use hand sewing. Alas. I am not a purist.

The first thing I did was attach facings to the center front opening of the dress. I carefully cut the center front edges of the dress to the curved shape I traced onto it, and then sewed 1.5" wide strips of linen to each side of the opening, right sides together. The strips are on the straight of grain, to help add stability to the center front opening. Since the curve of the front seam is not very dramatic, the straight strip of linen easily molded around the curves.

I then pressed the facing strips to the inside of the dress, turned under the raw edges of the facing strips and pinned them into place.

Using a small slip stitch I attached the facing to the lining of the dress. Below the lining, the stitches show on the outside of the dress. In this picture  you can see how the front opening curves (I laid a piece of brown fabric beneath the opening so you can more easily see the shape).

I topstitched close to the edge of the opening with a running stitch to firm up the edge. Now the front opening is ready for eyelets!

To finish the neckline I could have sewed on another narrow facing strip and attached it the same way as I did for the front opening. However, I decided to just press under the hem about 1/2" all the way around the neckline. I then tucked the raw edge under and slip stitched the folded edge to the dress - through the lining and the outside layer. Here is how it looks from the inside:

And from the outside:

The inside seams of the dress are finished with felling. This creates a much stronger seam and also serves to stiffen the seam to prevent wrinkling - it almost acts as a kind of soft boning! Here you can see one of the bodice seams felled. The seam allowance is pressed to one side, the raw edge turned under, and the folded edge slip stitched down to secure it.

And one of the skirt seams:

Here are what felled seams look from the outside of the dress:

Love,
Sarah

Cotehardie Progress - Sewing the Main Dress

Well, once the cutting of my dress was done I had to take a break. I hate cutting things out and it's a bit nerve wracking to lay out large pieces of fabric on the floor and try to work quickly before a dog or a cat or a boy comes in and tramps across the laid out cloth.

The fun part is actually sewing the dress together! To start with, I sewed the front half gores to each front panel.

Then the rest of the sewing was extremely straightforward. Just sewing the gores to the dress and stitching up the side seams and shoulder seams. Here you can see the gores sewed to each half of the dress. After this photo I sewed the side gores to the front panels and sewed the back to the front along the side seams and shoulder seams.

Then it was time to check for fit! Although I fitted the pattern for the torso before I cut into the linen, with these types of self-supporting dresses it's important to fit as you go, because the stretch properties of each fabric is different. I found the fit to be pretty good but I did have to tighten up the center front seam under the bust to get good bust support (it doesn't help I've already increased a cup size or so since getting pregnant) : / Instead of a straight-seam front opening for the dress, I found the support and shape to be MUCH better by curving the front opening. I pinned it along that curve to try it on, and here you can see the black line indicating where the curved seam will be located. I have read that for ladies who need more support this curved-front-seam method is better. For my wool kirtle I used the straight front seam method, which works pretty well but always gives a crease under the bust after a while because the fabric stretches and the boobs droop. It will be interesting to see the difference between the straight front seam method of fitting and this method of fitting after I wear this dress for a day or so. Maybe there won't be as many underbust wrinkles?

Because of the curved seam in the center front, I think I will probably do eyelets and a lacing cord for the front opening instead of buttons and buttonholes. I think I'd get better tension and a firmer fit with the lacing cord; plus that means I can wear this dress alone as working attire if need be, without the wool dress underneath it. Both the wool dress and this dress support and shape without the need for anything on underneath except the shift. Here you can see the side: (I am really happy with the drape of the skirt!)

And the back: (and yes, the center back seam is not exactly straight on my body - I didn't adjust it to be straight when I quickly pinned myself into it so the back line isn't straight and the front line isn't either! But that can easily be remedied when I put it on and can shift it around to lay properly instead of having to pin it)

And the front:

The skirt gores on this dress start higher up on the torso than on my wool dress. I find it more comfortable to move in but I do think next time I will make the skirt gores slightly lower to give a more streamlined shape over the hips. However, I do have a bit of "wiggle room" in the lower torso so that ought to be adequate for the growing baby bump and hopefully I won't have to adjust the dress to fit a new shape in a few months.

I'm contemplating an elbow length funnel type sleeve now instead of a tight short sleeve. It seems it would be more appropriate for this type of dress. Alas. I don't know what to do! But I have to finish all the seams before worrying about the sleeves. That should be at least six hours of work so I ought to have had plenty of time to decide on a sleeve style by then. ;)

Love,
Sarah

Cutting the Cotehardie

Since I did not do any indepth posts about how I constructed my fitted underdress, focusing instead on the fitting of it, I decided to document my progress as I work on this dress. That way, in case I ever forget how I put things together I can go back and read what I did. (and that happens way too often with me!)

So in this post I will describe how I cut out dresses like this. I cut my kirtle in the same way as I am cutting this one although the skirt gores were narrower, making for a narrower finished hem on the dress.

So, to start out with, I had my 5 yards of washed and dried linen. It ended up about 58" wide so I decided to use full widths of the fabric to avoid waste. Instead of planning my fabric around my pattern, I plan my pattern around my fabric! First, I measured from my shoulder tip to the floor plus a few inches for play. That was the length of my front and back dress pieces. I measured my bodice pattern pieces (the part of the dress that is fitted to my body) across the widest part. The widest part on the front piece was about 10" and on the back about 12", so I cut the 4 panels (2 front, 2 back) 13" wide and 53" long. See:

To shape the upper body portion of the panels, I laid on my pattern pieces and cut around them. From the hips up, the panels are shaped to fit the body closely. From the hips down, everything is squared. Easy.

I cut lining for the bodice from a purple linen dress I had on hand. I decided to use this linen instead of the pale green since it is heavier and will take the strain of wear better. I will use the green for the lining that will show (in the sleeve). The dress is lined only to the hips, since from the hips down there is no strain of wear and the pink linen is heavy enough to drape nicely on its own.

Here is the back seam pinned together, ready to be sewn:

To add flare to the skirt, gores are inserted at center front, center back and each side. I made my gores by measuring from my hip to the floor, plus a few inches. I tore a full width of my linen to that length, and then another one. I had two panels approximately 42" long x 58" wide. Here is one panel:

To cut the gores, I folded each panel in half and pressed it flat, matching torn edges and selvedges. I cut from corner to corner diagonally across the fabric. This gave me two gores - one whole gore and two half gores, which are sewn together to make a whole gore.

I repeated this for the other panel, ending up with two whole gores and four half gores. I rounded off the bottom edges to make things even.

Here are the front pieces laid out with two half gores. Since the dress will open down the center front the seam down the middle of this gore is ideal. You can see how much width the gores will add to the dress skirts - quite a lot!

Here are the front pieces and the center gore and both side gores laid out on the bed. I think the skirt will hang very prettily in the finished dress!

Next up: sewing it all together!

Love,
Sarah