Pretty protection

In striving for a full and complete late 15th century wardrobe I simply cannot be without a good apron. And browsing through period artwork the double apron, or Doppelshurz, sticks out as the most common. And it is so functional, protecting the skirts both front and back. Some call it a midwife´s apron, and it is definetly common in depictions of the birth of Christ on the female helpers, but it shows up in other situations as well.

For my apron I decided to gather pleats on top front and back, and the fabric I used is not pure white as in most depictions, but striped with thin black stripes. But I decided not to be to true to the originals but to make my own interpretation. It turned out to be a bigger project than I had imagined, mainly because my stubborn decision to pleat it so much. But the result was worth it and I will be proud to wear it at our next upcoming local event, where I will be head cook.

 The weather could have been better but here I am, standing in a rather cold November rain, in the Housebook dress, the new smock that is almost done and the apron. I was afraid that I would have to shorten the shoulder straps, but it worked just fine. I bought the fabric from my favourite Polish merchants at the Medieval market in August, it is a rather fine linen with black stripes and I just loved it at first sight. I sew it with flax thread and the smock is sewn with a rather heavy black silk, reinforced in the back with similar seams in flax.

The cut is really simple, I think it ought to be two rectangular pieces, just gathered at the top and sewn together in the sides, but I found it hard to get the smocked part as thin as I wanted it so I simply cut it into two trapezoid shapes. The top part I gathered with a smocking thread and then I sew right across the pleats with the black silk, reinforcing the back with similar seams, approximately two centimeters apart.

Better late than never

I started on a new hemd in January. It didn´t get done in time for the Carnevale in February. Ah well, I thought and brought the pieces on my journey to Finland, thinking that hours and hours of dreary ferry-travel would do the trick. But alas, no.

Now it is finally done and I´m pretty pleased with myself.

It is sewn in a rather heavy nettle fabric, a bit golden white, and is mainly inspired by the german-swiss embroidered smocked hemds seen on both men and women in the late 15th and early 16th century.



Dürers portraits is the main inspiration for the undergarment




This is the result, however it will look a lot less bulky with the tight overdress

 I wanted to try the techniques with letters and fancy patterns in white on white but had to give it up. The fabric is too heavy and the pleats in the inserted front panel is just to coarse. So I settled on a more easier counted geometric pattern in golden silk and some rows of white stitches to keep it all together. The back and side panels are flat so that they do not take too much room under a tight fitted bodice. The front is made of a panel out of the full width of the fabric (150 cm) folded in the top and then pleated it in rather big pleats (1 cm). This will show in a rather deep V-neckline.



I haven´t given up on the idea of a more elaborate embroidered smock but then I need a finer linen and time and patience that I do not have at the moment. This is however a lot more elaborate than my first attempt as seen on my profile picture, so with time I will get there for sure.