Ladies in Red (Part 2)

When the linen first came in, I couldn't wait to get started. Finally, all the blogs I'd read about how to do authentic Renaissance smocking seemed possible on this type of fabric.

I should back up a bit and explain the shirt design I settled on, though. Last year, before I moved, I'd tried doing some smocking on some scrap cotton (I think it was an old sheet), just to see how it would work. Well, it didn't work out too well. I concluded that it was just the wrong fabric. And perhaps I needed a better tutorial. 
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Look how sheer this bleached linen is! What you can't experience here is how soft it is while still holding on to some "body".

When I made the first sketch of the red renaissance dresses, I just put a generic gathered-necked chemise underneath - the simplest design to both draw and make. But the more I researched the style of dress I was going for, the more I realized that I would want an actual hemd (German shirt/chemise) with a higher neck and actual collar. 

​In researching German hemds, I came across the wonderful Cathrin Åhlén's  blog, Katafalk. She is a trained tailor and dressmaker who has a passion for historical dress. The walk-through of her hemd seemed straightforward but also detailed enough that I was willing to give it a shot.

Of course, the real show-stopper here is all the smocking, done by hand. Hundreds (and I do mean hundreds!) of tiny, perfectly straight folds, with meticulous embroidery in decorative patterns over them - daunting for sure. But with every new project, I want to learn something new. 

The next slide show of pictures took many evening hours after work in front of the TV to complete. Each gathering line stitch meant picking up only two or three threads in the fabric, and they had to be a straight and even as possible. And once the gathering lines are all pulled up, each embroidery stitch has to be as neat as you can make your hand stitching. Thankfully (for once), I have a short neck, so there's only a little embroidery that can fit on the collar. 

Once the neck was done, the sleeve cuffs follow suit. After the yards of fabric in the collar, the sleeve cuffs went by in breeze by comparison! I used a different color gathering thread, both for variety, and so I tell in the pictures what I was working on.

​Before I was even completely through with the neck, I had to get the trim fabric out to see how it would match. I can't believe how well they go together!

I didn't talk about it in the last post, but the shape of the white flower, and the little paisley shaped teardrops are actually very period appropriate for Renaissance Europe, which is one of the reasons we chose it.

As I was nearing the completion of this hemd (I will be making a second one, of course), the pandemic hit. Everything about it feels surreal, but at the same time, I am taking things seriously.

After 4 days of working from home, I could already tell I would need to make an effort to reach out virtually, or my natural introvert/hermit tendencies would leave me miserable. So, I planned a little Facebook Live book review/tea party, and invited friends. It also gave me a deadline to finish the hemd, because I knew I would want to feature it during the tea party.

Once I got it on Sewing Babe, I was actually impressed with myself. (Please excuse the white bra underneath - this is a necessary size adjustment to Sewing Babe.)

For the tea party, I put the hemd on my dress dummy, Sewing Babe. I'd already purchased some black broadcloth for some simple underskirts, but I hadn't had time to sew the skirts together. So, what you see on Sewing Babe is actually just pinned together!

Even so, I am encouraged that it's already starting to feel more like a dress that could belong to a German Baroness. 

In this outfit, Sewing Babe has startled me more than once - she makes for an impressive roommate.

There is a post-script to this part of the project, and it has very little to do with the actual project. Life feels very uncertain with the onset of the pandemic. No one knows how it will play out, but I do know myself, and I know that being entirely by myself during this shut down is not good for my mental health. Theoretically, working from home will give me more time to work on projects...it just may not be from my own home. Stay tuned!