Status: returned home, contemplating a gurading change. 

Year finished: 2003

To Do: n/a

Updates since last photo: n/a

Inspiration: Saxon and North Rhine portraits.

This started life as an attempt to recreate Anne of Cleves modt well known frock but in blue- it’s a very common colour in paintings of the time.

It however wound up somewhere further up the Rhine as I never really settled on what the lower sleeves looked like. 17 years later, 511 edited images of dress of the region and I am not really any clearer.

This bodice started life intending to be back fastened due to the fit of the sleeves. However I soon realised I could leave the sleeves open in the upper part of the sleeve and lace up the side to totally obscure all fastening.

I started drafting the sleeve as I was used to and then rejected this puff as doing the opposite of what Anne’s sleeve did.

Anne’s sleeve fits smoothly into the armscye and flares out and it was that shape I wanted/

I think I reused the above sleeve piece as a purse (folded vertically, seamed along the straight, gathered at the top) as I did cut the new sleeves on the correct grain.

I used a satin faced brocade for the guarding and used it as straight as I could. The skirt hem is so large I was able to sew the trim to the edge rather than as guarding.

I did however line the guarding at the hem and eventually put in a wool facing that sits slightly past the hem to protect it. The works a bit like a brush braid, but also adds even more support to the hem to help it flare away.

The skirt is a full circle. The grain goes across the front and back as the pile is so deep and is not obvious. If I was to remake this I might consider ways to cut the skirt into a gored skirt with a bit of piecing at the hem, covered in braid.

That is if I were to try and make this into a closer version of the frock!