Ever since making my Flemish working-woman's dress last year, I've wanted to research and recreate an Italian version of this gown. The number of illustrations of Italian peasant dress is quite small when compared to the Flemish works, but the few paintings and prints that do show this style depict gowns that appear to be a lovely cross between the Flemish working-woman dress and Florentine fashions from the first quarter of the century... which makes this area especially exciting for me since it combines two of my favorite areas!
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| The Fruit Seller | Kitchen Scene | Fishmongers |
I've had ideas for this dress rolling around in the back of my head for awhile now, and I think it will be a wonderful costume for days when it is annoyingly hot or muddy at faire. The only thing that has been holding me up is the fabric. I've been looking for some cheap wool, since that is undoubtedly what it would have been made of in the 16th century, but cheap wool isn't exactly an easy thing to find around here! I was determined not to pay $50 for fabric for a simple peasant frock, but I finally lucked into a wonderful deal yesterday when I went to Joann's for some thread. I saw a new rack of material and I thought, "Wow! They finally got some wool in!" But when I touched it and checked out the label, I discovered that it wasn't wool, but 100% cotton (something called "chamois" cotton). And better yet, it was on sale for 60% off! So I decided that if it could fool me from a foot away, it would probably be good enough for some utilitarian faire garb. I decided on a nice blue color, and bought all that I needed for a mere $13. All of the rest of the fabric is coming from my stash of left-overs, so this will end up being a very affordable outfit.
I pulled out some colors that I thought would work well with the blue, and I found some pea-green linen and a nice rose linen that will work great for an apron or sleeves. The only thing that I'm still not sure of is the guards. I have some small scraps of brown wool from my Italian doublet, or some red wool from my Florentine sleeves, and both would work well for guards. I made a quick sketch, scanned the fabric, and then played around with some different combinations, and I think I like the red guards better at the moment (here are some of the brown versions and here are a few of the red)
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Okay, I tried on the bodice interlining this morning, and it totally sucks. Lesson number 1: heavy Russian linen is bad, stretchy cheap linen is good (hey look! I spelled "cheap" right this time!). So anyway... the pattern was fine, but this type of linen was way too stiff and buckled and looked totally frumpy, even with a few rows of cord boning. See what I mean? It could be worse, but it's not very comfortable, and I know it can look a lot better than that. A few small wrinkles are acceptable, but big nasty creases are not. I went back and took a fresh look at Robin Netherton's gothic fitting seminar, and I was reminded that stiff fabrics are not a good solution to this problem. I'm going to try again with just a single layer of lightweight linen for lining, and I might even add a seam in the center-front so that I can shape the bust a little better. Hmmm... this actually might turn into a front-opening gown since that would be so much easier to fit.
After recovering from my brief case of sewing amnesia (I know better... really I do!), I took it all the way back to the toile and started again. I used the last pattern to cut out the back and place the side seams, but I gave myself plenty of extra fabric in the front to do a proper fitting. I did decide to make it front opening after all, so I just put the muslin toile on over my corded corset and started pinning up the center front until I got it to fit smoothly. The shape of the waist, arms, and neckline were drawn in with a permanent marker, and I also drew a line over the row of pins down the center front (fig. 1). I then took it off and trimmed it down to the lines I had drawn in the first fitting, added some temporary lacing strips, and tried it on again (fig. 2). everything was looking good at this point, so I made some more small revisions, and then tried it on one last time without the corset to see if it would still hold a decent shape (figs. 3 and 4). Not too bad!
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| fig. 1 | fig. 2 | fig. 3 |
fig. 4 |
So now that I had a better pattern, I went ahead and started on the final bodice. Apparently, the key to making this sort of bodice stay relatively smooth is to use a stretchy fabric like wool or lighter weight linen. The cotton chamois I am using for the outer fabric is not stretchy at all, so I decided to cut the front pieces on the bias so that they would have a little more give. This wouldn't be necessary if I was actually using wool, but it seemed to help my situation with the cotton. The new lining is made from the super-stretchy linen that I used to make my corded corset, and it is still cut on the straight grain as usual.
The assembly of this sort of gown in amazingly easy. I placed the lining and outer fabric together and sewed around the arm-holes, neck, and down the center front openings (fig. 5 - the seams are highlighted in white). Then, I clipped and trimmed down the selvage around any curves, turned the pieces right-side out, and pressed. Next, I sewed the front to the back at the side seams by opening the bodice back up, and laying the front pieces on top of the back pieces, right sides together. This is a very easy thing to do, but a bit harder to explain or illustrate. But basically, the lining front and lining back are sewn up the side, then where the colors switch is the bottom of the arm-hole, and then the same seam goes on to create the side seam of the outer fabric... all in one (fig. 6). Finally, I just pressed these seams open, flipped the lining back to the inside, and ironed it once more at the underarm to make it nice and neat (fig. 7). Since the skirt with be attached to the waistline, the only thing left to do is sew the shoulder straps together. There is actually a cool way to join the straps together by machine so that all of the raw edges are hidden, but I'll probably just sew them by hand after the guards are added. I attached the lacing strips one more time and tried on the finished version to see how it looks... and I think it is going to be pretty decent (fig. 8). It has more wrinkles than the mock-up did, but it's not any worse that what you see in the paintings. I also think some of the wrinkles will get better when I attach the final lacing rings and add the weight of a skirt.
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| fig. 5 | fig. 6 | fig. 7 |
fig. 8 |
Although you can see a lacing cord in several of these paintings, it is hard to tell if the cord is going through regular eyelets, or some type of rings. I decided to try lacing rings first, mainly because that was the fastest and easiest solution. I looked around for some metal rings, but I couldn't find any that I was really happy with. I finally resorted to using plastic rings that were sold with the knitting supplies. To give the edges a little more support, I sandwiched a piece of hemp webbing (bought from Wooded Hamlet) between the lining and outer fabric. The rings were then attached to these three layers with the sewing machine set on a stationary zig-zag stitch. Here's a picture. The stitches on the outside of the bodice will be hidden by the guards. After trying the bodice on with these rings, I'm not entirely happy with the results... but it'll do for now. The webbing keeps the edges from wrinkling, but it still puckers up a bit since the actual tension is set back from the edge about 3/4 of an inch. I may go back and do regular lacing holes at my leisure after everything else is finished, but this will do for now.
Well, the plastic lacing rings stayed in place for about 12 hours, and then I couldn't stand it anymore and ripped them out. I had actually decided to just go ahead and do regular eyelets for lacing holes, but then I got a few tips from some of my online buddies about how to make the lacing rings work better. They suggested finding some chain to cut apart to make metal rings and also stitching the rings down closer to the edge to preventing puckering. So to buy myself some more time while I try out these options, I switched gears and started on the skirt.
Skirts are usually pretty boring, but here's the scoop anyway. The fabric I am using is more narrow than usual - only
37 inches after pre-washing. But these working-class women don't appear to be wearing very full skirts,
so I just used one width for the front and back rectangular sections, and then used what was left to make
two gored pieces for each side. This is the most common period technique for constructing skirts, and it
gives you more fullness with a modest amount of fabric. At the moment, I'm not planning on lining the skirt,
but I may change my mind if it doesn't move well when it is assembled. There is a 12" facing at the
top edge of the skirt, which allowed me to make the center-front slit, and it also finished
off that edge for cartridge pleating. I also put pockets in the skirt, because authentic or not, that is the one thing I am
always wishing for at faire!
1/3/03
We don't need no stinkin' lacing rings!:
I went out on one more massive scavenger hunt for metal lacing rings (something without a break in it) and failed once again. I then thought about using the eye part of hooks and eyes, but I didn't want to pay that much for them. I also looked at some lacing tape with pre-made metal eyelets, but the grommets in those things were pretty crappy and looked like they would snag the cord. So I finally decided to try plan G and just use a boring old ribbon to hold the lacing in place. And what do you know... it works brilliantly!
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I also added the red wool guards to decorate the bodice. They are top-stitched onto the surface by machine for two reasons: 1. I am horribly lazy and hate hand sewing and 2. the top-stitching actually helps to stiffen the fabric. Here are a few more pictures of the side and back.
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The bottom edge of the bodice was bound with a strip of the blue fabric, and the pleats are stitched to this bound edge on both the top and bottom of each pleat. Most of the fabric is gathered to the back to make it fuller there, so the front uses looser pleats to compensate for this. There is a 7" slit in the top of the skirt at the front (similar to what you see in Campi's Fishmongers), but you can barely see it when the bodice is worn completely closed. I also added one hook and eye at the waistline to take the weight of the skirt off the lacing. Although I haven't seen any guards at the hem of the gowns in Campi's paintings, they do appear in some of Vecellio's prints of Italian peasant costume (like this one), so I decided that it would be a crime not to use those last little scraps of wool. The guard at the bottom of the skirt also provided a sneaky way to get out of hand-sewing the hem. The guard was sewn to the bottom edge of the skirt on the inside. Then I simply flipped it to the outside, folded in the top edge of the guard, and top-stitched it where I wanted it. The seams between the panels of the skirt are done with a French seam, so I just stitched the little flange down where it shows on the outside, and you can't even see it from more than a foot away. Oh, and I also had a question about how I made the side gores of the skirt, so here's a quick graphic of their general shape. I just measured in 7" from the left at the top of the rectangle and 7" from the right at the bottom, then connected these points. Once all four gores were cut out, I stacked them on top of each other and marked the proper length of the skirt on the diagonals. Then I drew a gentle curve at the top and bottom and cut this out too. There are lots of other ways to make gores, but this was just an easy solution for this project. And finally, the shoulder straps were finished off by tucking the raw ends back inside of the straps and finishing each edge separately. Then these finished edges were just whip-stitched together to join them.
Whew! Glad that part is over! So now all I have left to do is make an apron and sleeves and dig out a few more random accessories. I should be able to get that done today.
This outfit doesn't really come alive until you add the accessories, so I was really excited to see it with all of the little extras like a partlet, apron, and sleeves. The partlet is the same one I used for my Flemish working dress, and it looks a bit different than the Italian version, but I thought it was close enough. I also need to make another chemise with more modest sleeves since mine are way too long and wide for a lower-class look, but again, it'll do for now.
The over-sleeves are made from a pattern that is basically a less rounded version of my Floretine sleeves. Here's a picture of what they looked like before assembly. They aren't lined because I wanted to keep them as lightweight as possible, and there is a small rolled hem at the cuff and a facing at the shoulder. They were just pinned on for the picture, but I'll add 3 or 4 small cord ties to the top sometime this week. And as an alternate look, I made some ribbons from a few scraps of pink silk to wear hanging from the shoulders if it is too hot for sleeves.
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And for a last little touch, I'm wearing a pouch and some old brass keys. You can see these items in another Campi painting called Chicken Vendors. (you can click on the detail to see the full figure from that painting. I love her blackworked scarf too!)
I have taken pictures of a few versions of the final outfit and created a new
gallery page for them. I'd really like to take some more
pics once the apron is finished. Maybe I'll even get adventurous and buy some produce to use as props
for striking a good marketwoman pose! hehehe... That should give the neighbors something fun to gawk at!
I dug up a few really cool paintings while working on this project that I haven't seen anywhere else, so I finally decided to put together a little collection of Italian peasant paintings for reference in case anybody else was interested in making this style of outfit. I just wanted to mention it here, so you wouldn't miss it if you find this diary from an outside link. And no, I still haven't done anything to decorate the apron yet. I went to the embroidery store to buy some wool thread, but ended up with silk thread and linen, and I've been obsessed with blackworking ever since! Oh well... maybe it'll be fine with a plain ol' apron after all.
Scarborough Faire opened this weekend, so this costume finally made it's first public appearance. Although it looked pretty "finished" where I left it three months ago, I decided to add a few more final touches this past week to give myself a break from more difficult projects. I added a few new pics to the gallery page so you can see the final final look!
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I decided how I wanted to decorate my apron after finding this picture in February. It looks like she has used fancy insertion stitches to join a few narrow panels of fabric together, and I thought this was such a cool little detail! I couldn't find any instructions for making period insertion stitches, so I just stuck with a simple knotted insertion stitch done with hand-spun wool thread. (no, I didn't spin it myself, but I did dye it) The look is pretty subtle, but I wanted something that was sortof rustic and not too fancy. You can barely see it in the pictures from faire, but the light is bit better in this detail shot. I also hemmed all of the edges by hand since you can actually see the running stitches around the edges of the aprons in several of these paintings. And no, I didn't keel over dead from sewing something entirely by hand! I don't mind too much when you can actually see the results... I just can't bear it on stuff that you aren't even supposed to see.
Finally, I made a new chemise with narrower and shorter sleeves, since my first Italian chemise really used too much fabric to be appropriate for a lower-class outfit. This one was made from 3 yards of handkerchief-weight linen that I bought from Fabric-store.com. It was constructed using the method from my chemise article, but this time the sleeves were just a few inches longer than my normal arm length and 24" around. I also was incredibly lazy and just used the selvage for the hem and cuffs so I wouldn't have to finish the edges, but I still gathered the neckline by hand. I really could have made do with the chemise I already had, but a girl can never have too many pretty undies!
So that's it! Now it just needs some mud and dust on it so it actually looks lived in, and I'll be
good to go! :-)
