HSM2021 challenge 4 - The costumer's new look

 

Challenge 4, April 2021 - The Costumer’s New Look: Give an old costume a new look, either by creating a new accessory or piece which expands or changes the aesthetic and use of an outfit, re-fashioning something into a costume item, or re-making an old costume.

In January 2020 I made a new 16th century shift. It was made of a quite coarse unbleached linen with a lot of smocking around the neckline and cuffs.

 I was really happy with the result, especially the smocking pattern around the cuffs.

I wore it once though and realized that it was quite uncomfortable. The coarse linen made it really bulky and itchy under my tight kirtles. The more I thought about the more I was unsure about the smocking. I felt that if a person couldn't afford a fabric other than unbleached, coarse linen, then they would not have afforded using so much fabric, I think it was more than four meters, and also they wouldn't have spent so much time on the smocking either. 

For Medieval Week I needed more shifts, and instead of buying fabric and making a new one, I decided to remake this one. It definitely hurt a bit unripping all the smocking embroidery, but I feel that it is better to do this and actually use the shift than just keeping it in storage.

I unripped the shifts, and these are the new parts. I used the old front piece and cut it in two to make a new front and back piece. The shift was a bit too tight over the hips, so one of the old sleeves was cut into a gore that I added to the front. I also made the sleeve gussets from an old sleeves, and I cut new sleeves from the old back piece. After all the new pieces were cut out I have almost 2 m of linen left over that I can use for other things.

The front gore was sewn on from the front.

This was the new shift. I saved a lot of time by keeping the hem from the old shift, so I didn't have to rehem it all.

When it came to the cuffs and neck opening I decided to do simple drawstrings. On church paintings in my region, from the period, you see quite a few very simple shifts without any fancy embroidery or smocking.

This is from Vika church outside Falun

For the neckline I used a string for the drawstring, but for the cuffs I used a sturdier piece of linen tape to give them a bit more body.

I closed the cuffs with a cloth button and button loops.

This shift was my go to shift in Visby. That it was unbleached meant that I could walk around in just the shift, and not feeling undressed. I could even go washing in the sea and getting wet without it turning transparent or too clingy. I usually spent the mornings doing the washing up and preparing food in the kitchen, before switching to a nicer shift and kirtle after lunch. I am actually thinking about using the leftover fabric to make a sleeveless bathing shift or Lengberg shift to use for bust support.

Me wearing the new shift, with rolled up sleeves under my mustard kirtle. This was so much more comfortable than the old bulky one.

What the item is: A simple 16th century shift
How it fits the challenge: It's a total remake from an older, smocked shift
Material: The old shift had around 4 m of fabric, this one is around 2 m.
Pattern: A classic square pieces with gores medieval shift
Year: early 16th century
Notions: linen thread
How historically accurate is it? I am unsure about the drawstring I would say something like 70%
Hours to complete: 6
First worn: at Medieval week in Visby
Total cost: All the fabric was from the old shift, and the linen thread was from my stash. Bought new it would probably cost around $40

Medieval Week in Visby

 After more than a year of cancelled events it was so great to finally be able to get away. The traditional Medieval Week in Visby did go through, but of course with restrictions in place. I was really happy to have gotten in contact with the group Stockholmsfänikan, which is a group that reenacts the early 15th century landsknechts. So I stayed in their camp the whole week.

I went there with my a friend Emma, whom I've helped to make a 1520s outfit over the last year. Here we are waiting to board the ferry to Gotland.

Visby is a gorgeous place, and a world heirtage site, with it's preserved ring wall and inner town centre.

Our camp was situated right next to the wall.

This is the tent were we spent the week, based on a 16th century tent and made from impregnated linen. 

It was pretty warm, but not a heat wave, so my standard outfit was to wear my mustard kirtle, without sleeves, and a shift with rolled up sleeves.

Just a beautiful silhouette of three ladies walking the streets of Visby.

Karolina and Linus built an oven, so we could actually bake bread, and pies (and pizza)

There were two party nights, and on one of them I managed to cook cabbage, mash and carrots for more than 40 people.

The sunsets in Visby are amazing.

It was great being at an event were so many people were dressed up.

Me in my best trossfrau outfit.

We tried to catch some of the beautiful light in the evening.

Just resting up on the wall

After a whole week I have quite a few ideas on what I want to make next. I want to finished my new cap with blackwork. I also need a new "pretty" dress. I have worked so much in these two gowns that I don't feel pretty and nice in them anymore. I like that they are starting to look lived in, but I also want to be pretty. My apron is also totally covered in stains so I need a new pretty apron as well.

I have more photos of the cooking and food over at Kullan's historical food

What I've been working on

 This summer I knew that I was going to go to Medieval Week in Visby, and that I needed some stuff. I'm leaving on Saturday, and to be honest I have not finished anything, but I have things that are in various states of completion.

The most finished thing is this simple kirtle. It's a standard square pieces with gores, and I'm mostly using the 14th century as inspiration. I have not had time to fell the seams or hem it though, I'm still bringing it with me to use as a nightgown so I don't have to worry about freezing.

I wanted a new hood to wear over my wulsthaube, but I also found an embroidery challenge that I wanted to do. I have a long way to go until I have finished the blackwork, but I'm bringing it with me to work on during the week. I will have to stick with my old hood or just a a veil over the wulst.

I have also cut up an old shift that I'm hoping to sew together in a new version. This one I'm actually hoping to finish until I leave on Saturday.

I will also try to make separate posts about all the projects once they are totally finished.

A viking day

 Just like last summer my friends at Ingvara have set up a viking camp outside of Rättvik. Yesterday me and the regular group from the 16th century guild decided to go up there and be vikings for a day. With all bigger events still being cancelled we were all longing for some historical living. The weather forecasts looked really grim, basically rain all day, but we still decided to go through with the planned visit.

This year the camp was situated a bit further down the meadow, and they had built an two additional wooden houses, so not just tents. The location meant that it was in sheep and horse meadow, but unfortunately the chicken stayed closer to the modern houses and didn't run around in the camp.

There was plenty of crafting going on, with Kål-Henrik and Marlein made it showing and teaching sprang weaving. I had a new gown that I worked on, and I'm going to make a post about it soon.

I love the chance of cooking though, so I was really happy to be in the kitchen. We were making an ale-elk (ale-älg in Swedish) stew and a root vegetable stew with three different kinds of onions. I had also brought with me a sourdough from rye and spelt wheat. Unfortunately this is where the weather gods decided that they had given us enough good weather despite the forecast. When we had the pots going on the fire the heavens just opened up. We couldn't make bread, because the skillets we used go too wet, and the stews also got really watered down from the rain. The meat was still ok. We huddled for a while in the more permanent house and when the weather cleared up again I packed up and went home.

The last few times that I have worn my apron dress I have been annoyed that it feels too tight and long. So when I went home I simply chopped off 15 cm of it and rehemmed it. 

Midsummer celebrations

 It was time for the yearly outing of my folk costume, from Vika. Just like last year all official celebrations were cancelled due to the pandemic, but my boyfriend was invited to a small private celebration and I joined him. For the first time I could wear a complete costume, with my brand new pocket. 

I even took the time to starch the loose lace piece (stycke in Swedish) that goes under my cap.

And since it's around 7 years since I shortened the skirt of my costume it was about time that I rehemmed the apron to the new length as well, instead of just pinning it up with safety pins. The new hem is quite bulky since I didn't want to cut anything but just folded it under it self. You never know when you might need the fabric so I try to not cut anything off the costume.

It was also really fun that our host collects folk costumes so that he can lend them out to his guest, and he had a partial male Vika costume that he lent to my boyfriend. I thought it was very cute that we were a matching couple.

The borrowed costume was missing the vest, so he had to have the jacket closed all the time. Maybe if we go there next year and he can borrow the costume I can see if my father's old vest to the costume could be adjusted enough to fit.

I had brought my violin with me, and then there was a traditional birch trumpet in the house. I just love this photo.

And to prove that at least one of us can actually play the instrument we are holding.

I don't know a lot of folk music, but it was fitting that this piece that I'm playing is a walz from the neighbouring parish from where we were.

A quick summer wrap skirt

 I think a lot of people who sew have fabric in the stash that they are saving for something special, but maybe don't really know what that special thing would be. My special fabric has been in my stash for something like 12 years. It has felt special because my parents bought it for me in Fiji, when they made their last long trip together. I haven't been sure what I would do with it, I feel like it should be something special, at the same time I have been unsure on how much it would actually last for.

Well today I decided that the time has come, instead of fuzzing around and wait for the perfect inspiration. I have wanted to make a summer skirt, and this was the only fabric that I had enough of, so summer skirt it was.

As a pattern I used my by now standard skirt pattern. To make it a wrap skirt I added an extra half of the front panel, that goes over the rest of the front. It's fastened with two buttons at the waist.

All in all it took me 2 hours to put it together and I'm pretty happy with the result.

HSM21 challenge 5 Purple - a traditional pocket

 I have now finished theh pocket for my Vika traditional costume.

Except for the embroidered front piece it consists of a backpiece of the same broadcloth. Both the front and back were lined with a layer of linen. For the backpiece I also added a layer of green wool, that will be visible in the opening of the pocket. The instructions calls for using the same fabric for that piece as the rest, but I thought it would be nice to add a hint of green, especially since there is a lot of green in the skirt and bodice.  Then the opening was bound with a black piece of tape, and finally the front and back pieces were bound with the same tape to attach them together. I'm not sure what kind of tape it is, since this was in the kit for the pocket that was bought almost 20 years ago. It felt like some kind of ribbed cotton tape.

Unfortunately the kit for the pocket was done for a size S or M. For me with an XL waist the tape that was supposed to go around the waist was nowhere long enough. Since this tape isn't supposed to be seen, it is worn under the bands for the apron, I simply took a regular piece of cotton tape and lengthened the original tape. I think I have put the piecing under the apron as well so it shouldn't be too visible.

To finish off the pocket I made a small button loop on the pocket and added a button to the tape for closure. Now the instructions only call for a button, and my sister has a handmade dorset button on hers, but I felt that it would be more me to use one of reproduction 16th century buttons that I had left from my goldhaube project.

And this is the finished pocket, which was basically the last piece to complete my traditional costume. Now I only need to rehem my apron, and make a new shirt but that's a bigger project and I can use my old shirt.

This is a closeup of just the embroidery, since that is what puts the pocket in the HSM challenge.

What the item is: a pocket for the traditional costume of Vika parish, in Dalarna, Sweden.
How it fits the challenge: The traditional costume was codified in the 1920s so it is within the timeline of the HSM and the embroidery is done with a lot of different shades of purple.
Material: 0,25 cm blue broadcloth, 0,10 cm green wool flannel
Pattern: Part of the traditional costume instructions
Year: 1920s (even if it is also worn today)
Notions: Embroidery silk in purple, pink and green, cotton tape for the binding and waistband, 1 button
How historically accurate is it? I have taken a few liberties, like the button, so for the 1920s version of the pocket I would say it is 70%.
Hours to complete: It is an UFO, so technically 20 years, but since I took it up I have probably used around a month.
First worn: I'm going to wear it for the Midsummer celebrations
Total cost: I have no idea since this was part of a kit that was bought 20 years ago by my sister.