Golden Partlet

The Historic Sew Monthly challenge for January is Procrastination. Though I've no plans to do any more Italian sewing at the moment, I did need to get one last thing made to finish off the look of my court gown, and it was something that was half the reason I modified my dress form in the first place; a decent partlet*.

Photo courtesy of Rāshid al-Jallāb

Since the partlet I made for the Realm of Venus competition, making up a partlet into a suitable shape has eluded me. I lost the pattern I used to draft the original piece, and my attempts to copy it to have for the Festival of Fools peacock competition didn't work out all too well (in fact, the fabric used in that attempt was so flimsy it ripped after its first wear). So I wanted to try draping a partlet instead, with my gown laced onto my dress form, so I could properly account for the shape it would need to be during wear, while also showing how much would be exposed at the dress neckline. I only started this partlet on the night before I was due to travel to the event, having draped the pattern the night before. And as is typical of a last minute, temporary, experimental, rush piece, I lost track of the number of people at 12th Night who complemented me on it.

Photo courtesy of Rāshid al-Jallāb

To make the partlet I used a lemon yellow chiffon as a base for some scraps of a heavy gold lace that I had, but never knew what to do with. The lace pieces were neither large or stable enough to create the partlet on their own, so I cut out the pattern pieces in the chiffon, joined them at the sides and hemmed as much as I could, then tacked the lace into place where I knew it would be on display, paying more attention to the edges to make sure it would be sewn down. The result was a gold lace partlet, enhanced by the chiffon base, which everyone agreed really lifted the final outfit. 

The Challenge: January –  Procrastination
Material: A base of crinkle lemon chiffon and gold lace
Pattern: Developed my own, based on late 16th century portraits
Year: Good for the later half of 16th century Venice
Notions: Thread, ribbon for ties
How historically accurate is it? Studying a garment from portraits makes it very hard to determine how something works where you can't see it. I've seen no extant partlets of this type, so I made something that I knew would be comfortable for me. Further, leaving the lace off where it couldn't be observed has no precedence that I'm aware of, though it copies the style of Tudor skirts that only used fashion fabric on the front and hem. So overall I'd say it's 50% accurate - good effort, but plenty of scope for further research and improvement.
Hours to complete: 5-6 hours approx, all hand sewn.
First worn: 12th Night
Total cost:  About €2 for the ribbon, the rest came from stash.

*For those of you not au fait with the Italian wardrobe, it's the blingy bit around my shoulders.

Wardrobe Mistressing

At the end of last year, I started my work as Mistress of the Wardrobe. While their Royal Highnesses already have garb for their coronation, the younger members of their household required something new for the big occasion.

Completing four sets of 15th century styled garb in one weekend is no mean feat, even if the garb for the littlest lords was of a simpler cut. The garb was mostly completed then, machine sewn and with every hem I could French seamed for durability,  but I brought home the garb for the elder children to complete some hand finishing on them both, so they'll be ready for Twelfth Night next weekend. With my supervisor in place, I was ready to begin:

H wanted a simpler style of houppelande, but wanted it to be fully length. He chose the red outer of a medium weight woven brocade (his younger brothers will be sporting the blue), with contrast given by the upturned cuffs and collar. There are just three pleats across the back to lend fullness, and these are reinforced by a band of fabric across the waist that is secured across the pleats and at the front of the garment. The garment was cut in a pretty straight forward rectangular pieces, with the addition of gores at the sides to add extra volume to the hem.

M's houppelande was a little more elaborate, being cut in the voluminous feminine style and using a light weight fabric. This dress was started with a simple bodice which finished at the waist. The bodice and skirt and both lined with the turquoise blue linen seen at the cuffs and collar, while the skirt is unlined. The skirt, which has no train as requested, as attached as a tube of fabric which was pleated into place around the skirt. The bodice is closed with hooks and eyes and will be further held in place with a belt using the reverse of the main fabric (but which refused to even consider staying in place for the pictures).

The belt was made by sewing the fabric onto a 2-3mm semi-stiff leather. I used an iron to press the fabric as close to the leather as I could to make sure it wouldn't shift during wear, then whip-stitched the fabric in place. The belt is held closed by means of hooks and bars, so these can be changed out at a later date if M decides she wants to upgrade to a typical houppelande belt clasp.

And now all that remains is to deliver them next weekend!