Striped Italian Dress: The Details

Today we're getting into the nitty gritty details of my striped Italian dress. Missed the reveal? Start here.

Fabric: 4.5 yds striped polyester ($4/yd), left over black linen and printed cotton for lining (stash), 5 yds muslin for lining ($2/yd)
Pattern: The bodice is self drafted and the skirt is based off of Henrician lady's petticoat in the Tudor Tailor
Year: 1590s
Notions: ~20 yds green velvet ribbon ($10), ribbon for lacing ($3), zip ties ($5)
How historically accurate is it? Definitely not in the fabric department but I'm very happy with the overall look
First worn: Ohio Renaissance Festival October 2014
Total cost: $46

I moved the lacing to the side back on my bodice pattern which was pretty easy since I had a seam there already. I also made the back neckline square. Each piece is made in the normal way-a piece of canvas covered in fashion fabric and then lined in cotton or linen. There are zip ties stabilizing the edges of the opening and also three in the front to help keep the bodice lying nice and flat.

The skirt is lined in muslin. The skirt seams didn't line up with where I needed an opening so I made a facing and made my own slits where I needed them.

I really wanted 1/2" velvet ribbon but apparently no one makes 1/2" velvet ribbon. Originally, I had 5/8" black velvet ribbon but it was too wide and looked too harsh. So I picked up 3/8" green velvet ribbon instead and it looked much better! I stayed pretty true to the portrait trim layout except I left off the little loopy bows at the waist.

I pretty much mirrored the front trim placement on the back since the portrait only showed the front of the dress.

The back caused me some serious trim placement issues. The original bodice back was way too narrow at the back for this trim arrangement, but since the whole thing came out too small and had to be remade anyways, that helped out a lot! On the front, I managed to get my eyelets to come out between the trim but on the back I had to make a hole in the ribbon so I could get to the bottom eyelet.

I ended up not using any hem stiffening since my kirtle had a stiffened hem. But I did add three rows of trim to the bottom. The portrait didn't show the bottom of the dress but it makes sense to me that a dress with that much trim on the bodice would have some on the skirt as well. These rows of ribbon actually helped stiffen the hem a bit so I got a very nice silhouette on the skirt. 

For the sleeves, I started with my self drafted sleeve but made it a bit narrower for a more fitted look. It is also lined in muslin. I searched high and low for a tutorial on the sleeve puff and found just this one. I started out with and 8" wide strip but ended up going down to 6" so it wouldn't lie straight out. I probably should have interlined or stuffed the puff to get it to behave better.

I used a 54" long strip and gathered it to the sleeve. After playing around with it a bit, I sewed the bottom edge down 1.5" from the top of the sleeve and the top edge .5" away from the top. I finished the raw edge with a strip of straight grain fabric. Bias might have behaved better but I didn't want to make any and bias + stripes makes some crazy looking bias tape.

While making the puff, I added 4 strips of ribbon to help it behave.

 Each sleeve ties to the bodice with 3 ties. Just make sure that you have someone to help you dress who can tie bows. Otherwise, you'll be running around before faire trying to find someone to tie your bows since your husband apparently never learned how.....

I also whipped up a new partlet since I wanted one without a ruff. It's made from cotton voile that I had lying around from my wedding dress. I used my same ruff pattern (forget where I got it from) but made it straight front instead of slanted to meet in the middle. I started out hand sewing it, but got bored and finished the rest by machine. I decided to use bias tape to finish the bottom and make ties all in one go. By this time I was in a rush to get everything finished and I was not about to make tiny ties and turn them by hand.

La Vita Italiana

I finally finished my Italian dress! Woot! This was the dress that really didn't want to get made but I finally did it.

The story of this dress is rather a long one. I bought the fabric way back in 2012 to make a dress to wear to the Kentucky Renaissance Festival. Of course, after I got home and thought about it, I decided that polyester was a bad choice for a summer faire. So I scrapped that idea and the fabric was added to the stash.

After making a few kirtles, I knew I could squeeze a dress out of the 4.5 yds that I had in my stash, if I could find some evidence for stripes from this period. So I searched high and low and finally came up with some inspiration.

So 16th century Italian it was! Luckily, the shape of this dress was very similar to English styles of this period so I could use my kirtle pattern as a base. I decided to go with a side back lacking to minimize any interruption to the trim. (And there was a lot of trim!)

The sleeves were a big hurdle since I'd never made sleeves like this before. I started with my self drafted sleeve base and then experimented until I got a poof that I liked. It took a few tries but I'm pretty happy with the final version.

On the actual day of wearing, I had some issues with the lacing so it did some loose but there's always a few hiccups the first time you wear an outfit out to an event.

I also got to wear the jewelry I bought last year. I think the set definitely has a more Italian feel than an English feel. And I also whipped up a new partlet for this outfit since Italians weren't into the ruffs and ruffles the way the English were. And one can never have too many partlets.

The hardest part of figuring out this ensemble was what to do with my hair! It is easy to pull off short hair with and English look since they were all about having your hair covered. Italians were more ok with showing off your hair. So I played around with my fake hair and came up with this look.

Overall, I'm quite happy with how this dress came out! And I definitely want to make some more Italian costumes. I've got a few more posts on this dress coming up including a construction post and some pictures of a blogger meet up from last weekend!

How to dress warmly for the Renaissance Festival

Much of Renaissance Festival is spent tying to stay cool and hydrated in clothing that was never meant to be worn in 90F weather. But thanks to the wonders of Midwestern weather, here in Ohio we also have to battle chilly weather as well. I hate being cold, so I've come up with several ways to battle the chills at the end of faire season.

1. Embrace a historically accurate number of layers

Usually, we plan on skimping on layers to beat the heat. But now it's time to enjoy all of those layers. Add extra petticoats and lace on your detachable sleeves. Don't forget all of the little pieces like a head covering, wool socks and gloves. These things add to the warmth factor. Also, opted for lined garments rather than unlined. All of those extra layers add up!

2. Wool is your friend

Wool is a nice cozy fabric. It might be tempting to reach for those thick home dec fabrics when it gets chilly but polyester (or cotton if you are lucky) won't keep you warm even if it is thick. A nice wool kirtle or petticoat will go a long way towards keeping you warm.

Remember this photo shoot from January? My wool flannel kirtle was keeping me nice and toasty. To be fair, I wasn't outside for hours on end but the only part of me that was chilly was my chest where it was open to the air.

3. Don't forget outerwear

Outerwear is definitely under represented in the costuming world thanks to modern heating but it's a must for outdoor events. Again, try to stick to wool for some extra cozy. Cloaks are an obvious, easy to find option but not the only one.

Try a great doublet style jacket like this lovely one by Asa of Fashion Through History.

Or a you may enjoy an English fitted gown like this one I made.

Lastly, there is a loose gown which is perfect for an upper class look by Laurie of Daze of Laur.

Some weekend sewing

One of the benefits of being home sick all weekend alone is getting in some hand sewing. Also watching a lot of costume dramas for "research".

First on the list was finishing up the striped Italian dress. Mostly, I just had trim to do. I had hoped to wear it this weekend but that was not to be. Ah, well. There are two more weekends left of the Ohio Renaissance Festival. It could still use some more accessories but it's enough done to wear.

I also finished up two small hand sewing projects. The yellow one I started at the SCA event the other weekend as part of a class. I had so much fun making it that I made the blue one too. Can you guess what they are?

They are needle books! They were an easy project plus they are useful. I hate leaving needles in my pin cushions and my husband hates the other place I leave needles- stuck in the arm of the couch.

I overcame my fear of hand sewn button holes. After eyelets, you'd think button holes wouldn't be intimidating but sometimes we get weird about things. Turns out the silk button hole twist makes sewing fun!

I've also started planning my next costume! I have a serious costuming bug right now. I'm planning a 1490s dress in the style of The Borgias. The costumes aren't 100% accurate but they are very pretty. I've decided to splurge a bit and make the dress out of silk. I ordered some swatches and they should arrive soon. Can't wait!

And a new period requires new underpinnings! While corsets aren't period for this period, I'm planning on making a lightly boned one just to give me the right shape. So far, the muslining is going well and it's quite comfortable.

What projects did you work on this weekend?

Old Favorites

I've gotten to wear a lot of new things this year but sometimes it's nice to break out an old favorite! This grey wool kirtle is comfortable and fun to wear and I just love it!

It might not be the most flashy outfit but sometimes you don't want to be flashy.

I also wore my faux fur partlet. My husband thinks it looks a bit silly but it's nice and warm.

The drape of the wool is fabulous and the skirt is super swishy! The pleating plus my own natural bum padding gives a rather fashionable shape to the skirt.

Some sass taking off the partlet! I guess this would go under the heading of Elizabethan pin-up. ;)

People wore a lot more clothes in the 16th century than we do now! I know they were in a mini ice age and in England but it does take a bit of getting used to. I really still needed to wear a pair of sleeves but I don't really have a good pair of sleeves that matches this outfit yet.

 Everyone was bundled up in capes and fur this weekend! I'm sure it will get colder before the end of the season but it was still quite chilly in the morning.

This past weekend was the annual camping trip we take with our friends and we got to hang with them at the faire all weekend! It is so much more fun to go in a large group! 

We worked on making sure we got around to seeing all of the shows we hadn't seen yet this year. There really is so much to do that you can't see it all in one day. Plus, some of the performers don't do the same show every time they perform so there's even more to see.

Alas, we won't get to go back for a few weekends. We got some weddings coming up and we'll be busy busy busy. Hopefully, this will mean some more vintage outfit posts over the next few weeks.

Some Good English Weather

This weekend, we had some good English weather for faire! It was chilly and gray, although, it didn't rain, thankfully. So I got to wear some of my cold weather costumes!

I decided to wear my fitted English gown on Saturday when it was going to be chillier. It was so fun to wear!

I planned on wearing a pair of plain black gloves but I forgot them. The pocket slits don't actually have pockets but I could still tuck my hands in them to keep cozy!

Plus I got to wear my pocket! It's quite handy for stowing all of my modern bits while in costume.

It was pirate weekend! Arrrr! There were a lot of great pirate costumes around this weekend!

 With it being pirate weekend, we just had to see the pirate stunt show! I adored last year's stunt show because they threw in some Shakespeare references. This year was also excellent.

There were duels to the death, swash bucking action and quite a bit of laughter.

 Some of the non-pirate cast members also got into the spirit of the weekend!

Stay tuned for more costuming adventures coming later this week!

Major Fail

It's easy to be overawed by sewing feats created by great seamstresses. But sometimes well all have major fails. And today, that major fail belongs to me.

I've been working on my Italian striped dress. I posted some trim anxiety on Facebook and Instagram earlier this week. Eventually, I decided to purchase some thinner, green ribbon to do the trim with instead of the wider black ribbon I originally purchased. And I'm quite happy with the switch.

I got cocky and didn't try the dress on till this weekend. (Also lazy because getting yourself into a side back lacing dress alone is a pain in the butt.) And it's about 2 inches too small. I measured and it's 1/2" smaller than my support layer. Eeep! After you add wearing ease (plus my waist usually gapes a bit on the support layer), it's just not going to happen.

Luckily, I had enough fabric to remake the back piece. I'll have to start from scratch, remove the trim, take the back piece off, make a slew of all new eyelets and sew everything back together. In the end, I know I'll be happier especially since the old back had the trim going over a pair of eyelets. But it's going to be so much work!

To give myself a pick me up, I did a bit of retail therapy at the Ren Fest this weekend.

I purchased this pretty pearl necklace for costuming! 

I also picked up this cute ring! It's hard to find a period appropriate ring. I really wanted a gold ring but I'm pretty happy with this one.

 And the last bit of costuming fabulousness is Patterns of Fashion 3 by Janet Arnold. I have a serious case of must sew all of the things right now!!!!!! I have plenty WIPs to finish first.