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| The Wardrobe | Sewing Room | Contact |
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| Inspiration |
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A couple of years ago I found the Weiss Gallery website and purchased 3 of their catalogues. One of those catalogues had the 1569 gown that I wanted. |
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Allegorical Portrait of "Death and the Lady" 1570. |
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Weiss Gallery |
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Isn't she beautiful???? I thought so immediately and liked very much the fact that though she is perfect for 1569 she is "different" enough for me to want to make. So I sat down and studied the portrait in the catalogue. The braid layout is what really caught my eye - its 1569 but again different to the norm! I also like the open oversleeves. Usually, there aren't any oversleeves - just the ones that seem to match the partlet or a straight, closed pair that match the gown. This is the best of both worlds! |
| Fabric: |
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Though I do not subscribe to the "Gentry must always wear wool" brigade, I am quite happy to do so if it suits my purposes! And in this case, I think it does. The red fabric seems very "matte" - almost the texture of a fine wool. It could be velvet but the braid would not sit so proud on velvet. I also have an aversion to working with velvet!!! The hunt was on for a suitable fabric and I found one in Denver Fabrics in the US! And at $8.99 (worked out about £4.00 sterling) per yard, I was very happy! The swatch was gorgeous and the colour beautiful! Perfect! The lining is some taffeta I managed to buy on ebay. One is a golden colour and the other is more russet. Just what I needed! |
| Decoration - Braid: |
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The portrait shows a very delicate scroll work style braid. I suspect that it was probably hand embroidered/couched gold cord. It seems to be an elongated "S" with "twiddly" bits to make it prettier inbetween two "tramlines" of the same cord! No amount of hunting unearthed something similar and time is NOT on my side so I am not going to be hand couching it all! |
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| I started to hunt for the ideal braid. I didn't want it less than an inch wide and certainly not any wider than 1.5 inches! The "gold" colour had to be natural and not to bright or lurex-y! Too matte and it would be dull. Initially, I looked at the US sites - but again nothing jumped out at me! And I was starting to have problems with time! |
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Eventually I contacted Barnett Lawson in London via e-mail. Their website is not that comprehensive but they do invite the user to contact them with requests. I did so with images of the sort of braid I would like. They sent me the two samples above (with a couple of others) and I decided on the first one of the pair. |
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The second one is pretty but it would have been a nightmare to sew and it didn't look right! I preferred the ladder style as it has the "borders" on either side as does the braid in the portrait. Its as similar as I will ever get! |
| Decoration - Cuttes, Pinks and Puffs: |
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There are also little cuttes and pinks between the braid lines. The wool is ideal for this as it won't fray too much. I have a lovely white silk taffeta to show through the pinks and cuttes when completed! |
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Around the neckline edge and the front fastening edges, there is a very thin "tube" of red fabric with tiny "cuts" through which are pulled little puffs of white fabric. This is a decorative technique that I have been looking forward to trying out! |
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My sister is to recreate using pearls and twisted gold plated copper wire, the little "buttons" that proliferate on this bodice and shoulder puffs! They also appear on the hat! |
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Many thanks for the Images to:- |
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