melaniesuzanne | (no subject)

Firstly: I'm going camping this weekend! *squee* And, the weather guessers are predicting a GORGEOUS weekend for outdoor activities. Of course, it's only Tuesday and we've got a couple of stormy days between now and then, but I'm hopeful that they are correct.

Secondly: I think I may have figured out how to make a cioppa (the Italian overdress which isn't the tabard-like giornea). Making that sharp v-neckline work with huge tracts of land has been problematic for me in the past. I've been studying period artwork for months trying to figure out the lines, but I think I've finally got it. Will put theory into practice tomorrow night (tonight is choir) and see if it works. If so, yee-haw!

Thirdly: The fifteen yards of 2.8oz white linen from Fabric-store.com arrived this past weekend. Before being washed, it was like cheesecloth. Since being laundered, it has tightened up a little bit, but it's still very, very sheer. I'm so excited about the camicie I'll make from this.

Fourthly: Margie and Oreo were snuggled forehead to forehead at the foot of the bed this morning. What a peaceful change from the yowling and yelling between the two of them last night.

Fifthly: I need to get my nose back on the grindstone. Laters.

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I got some of that linen. I did James' undershirt for his landsknect outfit - and I had planned to smock it, but I couldn't because it was so sheet/loose. It's really nice tho..

Did it fray like mad when you cut and sewed it? I'm going to launder my fabric again to see if the weave will tighten a bit more.

It did fray a bit, but not too terribly

I didn't realize until this post that Fabrics-store.com is selling 2.8-oz linen. I thought 3.5 oz was the lightest. I'll definitely have to check this out now. Thanks!

Yep! I ran across it a few months ago and was happy to discover that they're still carrying it. It's only in bleached white and is very, VERY sheer.

Thanks for the warning about its sheerness. I guess it's not too sheer for a chemise, though, if you're using it for one? (That's what a camicie is, right?)

I have one early-period (narrow-armed) chemise made of the 3.5-oz linen, and I do like it -- it seems more breathable than my cotton muslin chemises in the same style. I would like to make a chemise in the style of the Viking Finn woman described in TI #173 (the next-to-last issue) -- I'm wondering now whether I should use the 3.5-oz or the 2.8-oz. I hate being hot at warm-weather events....

Oh, it's the perfect weight for chemises. (And yep, camicia is just Italian for chemise.) But I personally wouldn't wander around camp in a chemise/smock/camicia made of this linen without something over it! Nothing would be left to the imagination. :) My 3.5oz linen smocks are much more opaque.

I'd love to see your cioppa when done. I did one many years ago, but didn't get it quite right. Never got around to re-working it or making a new one. Oh well, one of these years...

Absolutely! I suppose many people have trouble with this garment because I haven't been able to find much in the way of patterns for it. ;)

Glad to hear about the linen. Unwashed it is too gauzey for almost anything and I haven't tried washing it yet.

Yeah, I was pretty shocked by the looseness of the weave when I first pulled it out of the box. I do think the fabric needs another washing to soften it up.

I'd love to hear yur cioppa theory! Are you making the sort with a waist seam or without?

The basis of my theory is that the fashion of an era is based upon the fashion of the previous era. So, that wide v-neck of the cioppa seen in artwork from mid-1490s Venice* is based upon the v-neck houppelandes from earlier in the 15th century. I'm going to try a houppelande construction -- minus the excess fabric which creates all those luscious pleats -- for the bodice and see if that will make the fabric lay better over my breast in addition to staying up on my shoulders.

Yes, I will be using a waist seam. That's the easiest way, that I can see, to get the fullness of the skirt while maintaining the slimness of the bodice. I'm all for experimentation, though! :)

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*Finding pictures of Venetian women before the 1490s has been next to impossible for me. I've found one from 1420 or so and the women appeared to be wearing loose-ish Gothic fitted dresses.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!!

You, too! =)