anne of cleves stickelchen

Okay, this has taken forever and I was trying to get this ready for.. tomorrow. AHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!

But I decided to not take any shortcuts (except to stabilise layers before hand working.)

So this meant stretching the velvet and pearls over the base. Loose over handing of the back, then the front with tinier over handing.

Okay it’s not Anne’s because I do like a little room for interpretation and originality.

And this work? Well I had to carefully remove it all as a few branches were just off enough that I was not happy.

Rare back view as it doesn’t show that well on the form. Well it does but it doesn’t sit in the right place 🙂

And on top of the saree I picked up just tonight. It is vintage style and is very similar in hand to the saree I partially gave away a while back. This should decolour but it will be a little tougher than the recent saree.

There are a few larger gaps than intended in the stickelchen so there will be tidying tomorrow as well as tiny twigs like seen almost in the centre of the image below.

With all this, and with the news about the new schnittbuch it’s reinvigorated my desire to get The Frazzled Frau (boards under my name- all right at the top 🙂 ) back up and running. If there are pins from trusted sources I repin, if I have tracked down through image searches I pin anew and smile when it turns out others have pinned from the source too 🙂

But ah well currently using a mix of apps that are better than notepad but not as flash as I’d really like. But that’s xml documents for you. But essentially finding all the for public posts and making them public again 🙂 I’ve been blogging since 2001 so it’s an old habit and it’s not always been easy finding the balance 🙂

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update to the meisterschnittbuch

https://www.facebook.com/schnittbucher/posts/1718310801816017

Schnittbucher Platz’s update today!

Marion McNealy and Katherine Barich are working on a massive project to get the book* translated! Not just translated but with pattern layouts, transcriptions, and more as per their Drei Schnittbucher book!

I was pretty darn excited because even though myself and others love primary material, the joy of Drei Schnittbucher is that you can use the primary sources as well as know the transcription, translation and interpretations all come from expert analysis.

So, very excited 🙂

*Sammlung: Kunstbibliothek Berlin
URN: urn:nbn:de:gbv:601-3222
Titel: Meisterstückbuch der Schneiderzunft zu Schwabach gefertigt von Joh. Georg Schuster
Publikationsort: Berlin
Herausgeber: null
Ausgabebezeichnung: [Electronic ed.]
Größe der Vorlage: 2°
Persistente Url: http://www.digishelf.de/piresolver?id=77488794X

full scan of Meisterstückbuch der Schneiderzunft zu Schwabach

I am about to faint. I check every so often to see if there are documents I did not see in previous searches, or if new documents are available- there is so much available to us that is buried behind “popular” sites in searches.

Sammlung: Kunstbibliothek Berlin
URN: urn:nbn:de:gbv:601-3222
Titel: Meisterstückbuch der Schneiderzunft zu Schwabach gefertigt von Joh. Georg Schuster
Publikationsort: Berlin
Herausgeber: null
Ausgabebezeichnung: [Electronic ed.]
Größe der Vorlage: 2°
Persistente Url: http://www.digishelf.de/piresolver?id=77488794X

And particularly: http://www.digishelf.de/objekt/77488794X/46/

So you can see why I am sure this is where Kohler got his pattern bases from.

 

Not sure why he put the bodice in one piece but then the book has just finished downloading for me and I am too excited to not share before fully digesting 🙂

 

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cleves is sort of on track

I woke early and put Pride and Prejudice on and sewed. And sewed.

Backtracking a few days: My support bodice has been theorised and made. Basically I went this area has both Dutch and German influences and I really don’t want another sidelacing support so what if…?”

The shoulder is cut separately like in Alcega and other tailors. Because like me those tailors said “man this wastes fabric also I want a stable neckline all on the grain thankyouverymuch.”

I have done this since.. well the Kampfrau at least, but  in all the site moves this has been lost. So, that’s the two-fold benefit of cutting shoulders separately. Oh, but the shoulders are a single layer like the Effigy stays because it really is super comfy!

Then I wanted to try to use the overhanded body seams. This was nervewracking! I know the curvy S front seam means that’s where fitting happens, but it is very apparent from extant items that the side back was where the final fitting happens. This is clear when you look at the even seam allowances at the front but uneven allowances at the side back. That can only happen if the fronts were fitted and made up and the side backs done last.

I have managed that through very bad initial fitting stages though…

So here is my cunning method of transferring a seam and also my curvy S front seam. The entire bodice (aside from sloping neckline) is straight from a tailor’s book seen in Kohler’s History of Costume that looked like it was made up but is definitely from an extant manual.

I thought it was in Drei Schnittbucher (which really I hope everyone has) but I think was in another article. I will find it. Meanwhile the Kohler diagrams:

So finally I used twill tape to stabilise where I’ll be poking lacing holes, and bound the entire piece by hand.

Lots of falling in love with all the characters from P&P here and also lots of life lessons between my first viewing and latest!

So that wasn’t enough. I also removed the dye from the brocade for the hem of the gown proper and started putting the stickelchen together properly.

I like making hats, I love millinery. So of course am doing this as complicated as possible. But it’s at least plausible and mimics the structure I know was used for rigid headgear at this time. Oh trust me that documentation is coming but it’s been a slog to reverse image search as my bookmarks are out of control! And because it’s been over a decade since this project started there are broken links to hunt for archival forms 😉

The twill tape is to stabilise the edges.And the front shell is in place and the jeweled band is in progress. Just second guessing a few decisions for that one. I just don’t have the finding I know I want to use. The pretty ones clearly have glued stones and the “aged” gold is just not what you want for period items (you didn’t pretend the bling was dirty or not real, you wanted the bling!.)

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cleves progress

Today the carpal tunnel injections have proven their worth 🙂 If I can do this one or two more times before I have to have surgery I’ll be happy. Sounds like I need my ulna’s chopped off sooner, but, maybe?

Also I may have gone through 1/4 of my Hot Cinnamon Sunset tea. Now if I could get a perma-stash of that I’d be happy 😉

Okay so putting fabric away up high just made my radial stuff really make a statement but I am just wandering around with bandages around my wrists not full splints 🙂

But I have cut my Cleves skirt fully, an entirely new kirtle bodice (hey Michaela it’s summer, you do not want linen canvas, cotton twill, and silk underneath those layers for the bodice) from my linen twill.

Just took a break to share this. I usually work with non easy to photograph fabric so this is why I’m sharing now! I usually use a mechanical pencil and draw directly under the pins that emerge from the top but I just had chalk out there today.

Also yes, florist pins. They grip better and I can really pull in my seams to fit properly. It’s easy to see how, I also overlap them to work like boning/support.

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cleves bodice fitting

I started with taking a copy of my Braunchweig gown and a transfer of my “german” kirtle to make my two bodices.

This is the Braunchweig copy as it is regionally close but also able to swing into the more dutch bodice shape.

I did also keep the Mary of Hungary bodice in mind.

How this works is the edge is on the grain so you have to smooth and stretch the fabric from there  under the arm and to the waist. So yes the waist is off the grain. This is how the Mary of Hungary gown works too- if the edge was taken off the grain you get stretch going around the neckline that needs to be stabilised.

The down side to this is it makes fitting the armscye a nightmade.

But I kept going.

Ugh, look at how that now sits. Oh the back fits beautifully but where the excess fabric is moved to shows I needed a longer narrower back to be able to support this open neckline.

So my options were to remake the back panel or put in a seam. I dislike putting seams in the CB of my German gear but I am also running out of this fabric!

But it worked.

Then of course I had to copy the seam placement from one side to the other.

Side back matching, and shoulder matching.

SIde front matching.

The silk has almost no give! So I also also had to do a few tweaks on the form. I smoothed the left shoulder up and pushed the excess to fold over the shoulder seam.

As can be seen the armscye is very tight in the front of the arm, this will be clipped but only after I have properly assembled the kirtle layer and have the support this gown needs.

So I may see if I can get the kirtle underneath already to fit the way I need it!

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stickelchen test fit

Love. So in love. My hair has been lost and regained between first making and wearing to now, so I have to do something different with my haube. Right now the back of the one I wear under my pearled Braunchweig haube pushes the back of the stickelsche out of place. This style depends heavily on having braids just so and haube just so. But doesn’t really require much fussing once on. It’s just getting familiar with your hair and fabric properties 🙂

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stickelchen

I am incredibly happy with how the braid looks. Yep, it is laid over pearls rather than all being flat as that is the dimensionality that is seen in all forms of pearl work from this region. The tapering is right as well, I just used pearls that were oversized originally and while I know this I want to keep a lot of my original work as possible.

But look! There may even be enough leaves to really fill in the back, but that may be part of the work that will go into joining the sides together 🙂

Today also saw the skirt linings cut for two gowns. Yep. Pink. Pink is returning to the wardrobe 🙂

Oh hey, also went on a saree buying spree! This one was a spur of the moment buy when I picked up the ones intended for the cleves hem 🙂

The gold tone trim it what I grabbed these for and totally didn’t realise there was potential for the coloured embroidery….. now there are Thoughts(tm).

This one was riskier. not sure if it’s easy to spot but those repeats can be cut in half to mimic the trim of the Moulin Rouge wedding gown. It’s a start. Also once in hand it does look like thr ground of the repeats is cotton so it should decolour really nicely!

I hope!

But there is a lot of unpicking over the next few days!

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cleves leaves progress

I don’t know how I got this energy- well I do and it has everything to do with my therapy and being able to actually do stuff and then build up on that to do more stuff 🙂 Had a day of sleep at one stage though 🙂

So the frame is apparently the perfect cat shape as he makes a bee line for it no matter where I set up!

These leaves are the same as my Krantz, and in order to make sure they sew in place I had to hammer out holes from the pointy end. (I have found there are indeed flitter haube from further west, it makes sense with the influence from Nurnberg but it’s not close enough to Kleve!)

It’s very bright. Like blinding in bright light!

And how it looks as of just shy of the end of my birthday 🙂 So yay! That is a very good birthday present to have 🙂

(Subtle laurel is not at all subtle, though might have to get less subtle in the back.

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