An Extant Velvet and troubleshooting a modern velvet garment

 

This is an extant 15th century cut velvet piece that was acquired by Charles de Bourbon that he graciously allowed me to handle. 

I suspect the colors were a originally black velvet pile on a gold silk ground.  

The plie on this fabric is only a couple millimeters high, and the ground is a tight woven plain weave silk. It's at least a 20mm weight, if not heavier. 

Close up of the ground.  

Modern 100% silk velvets however are on a lightweight and flexible organza ground. meaning they have very different properties than period velvets in terms of weight, drape and stretching. 

In my houppelande I attempted to reinforce the modern velvet with period methods of using linen,  flat lined, as an interlining and a pad stitching nearly every inch. This method worked well for my sample piece. 

However the weight and bias stretch of dozens of gores was more impactful than I had anticipated.  

Over a the course of a year of stitching and ONE day of wear the shoulder seams stretched over an inch, the sleeves 4, and the hem close 6 to 8 inches. Some of the silk threads in the seams and pad stitching are starting to pop out and one of the lining seams needed repair already. Considering this isn’t a rushed project, and my other hand stitching garments that have lasted a decade with minimal repair, it's not a stitching skill issue. Since the threads are slipping instead of breaking it tells me to fabric isn't holding the threads in place either.  

Sigh. 

Luckily, I anticipated taking the lining off for the next phase of gold work. I'll adjust the shoulder length and add twill tape to the seams to support them better.

To stablize the stretching, I'm going to apply a modern solution of a lightweight cotton fusible interfacing directly to the pad stitched linen interlining before I start the embroidery.  

I should have just fused a silk backing to the velvet before I cut it. But I was trying to make it work without fusing because I'm not sure if it’s a period method for the 1410s.  Lesson learned.  However to do that now, I'd have to rip apart the entire garment and a year's worth of work. I simply don't have the time to start over on the project. 

Houppelande ACT I

Well after a year of hand stitching the out shell is wearable! 

The lining isn't tacked in yet, but the next phase will be Gold Work embroidery,  and the lining is going to hide all the messy bits. 

Here is the write up! 

The Velvet Houppelande ACT I

Mémento Mori

Death has once again touched my house. So in a weird way of coping I've gone down the rabbit hole of how Medieval people handled death which was a large part of life. 

Here's a few links.  

https://youtu.be/9lOhVjCX2r4?si=sG_rQR0g6Gytns03

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/deth/hd_deth.htm

https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/death_middle_ages/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/momento-mori-lets-talk-about-death/

A Gold Silk Cotte

So if I'm going to have a fancy velvet houppelande then I'll need a fancy cotte to go under it right? 

Looking at my favorite manuscript, Très riche heures, mai, 1415. The lady in black at the center has a long red drapy cuff with fringe. There are more examples of this sleeve in the next folio of this manuscript along with a few les ostentatious ones in Le Livre des Femmes Nobles et Renommees 1403, like the one below. 

In this image from Roman de la Rose (MS M.245 fol.25c) the lady in yellow is shown to be wearing a fitted cotte with the drapey sleeves. Confirming these sleeves are a part of the middle layer. 

Here I choose a Indian cream silk with metallic gold, and a gold boullion style fringe.  You see many contemporary 14th century Italian images of gold silks that have a similar all over pattern, and are often referred to as tartar silks, they have fallen out of favor on lieu of larger motifs by the early 15th century, but given I'm not entering this layer into an A&S competition, it's close enough for me. It's bougie and fit the aesthetic without clashing with my skin tone too much, or my bank account.

In progress photo

I'm using an existing fitted pattern with an extra 1/4" ease in the seam allowances because this silk doesn't stretch. It's fully lined in linen, except the cuffs which are lined in white sill, because the floats on the back of the silk would catch and be irritating. It needed a bit of adjustment in the torso and bust which is pretty typical of every fitted garment. It's has side lacing because the fabric doesn't have enough give to be pull over, and pervious experience shown that I'm not a fan of the front lacing with this type of silk. This gown is machine sewn, with hand done where stitching is visible. 

While working on this gown, Petranella, a laurel here in Northshield, produced a similar gown and she advised a 3/4 circle. I played with some mock pattern for the length I wanted and came up with this pattern.

It's an oval shape, the circle matches the sleeve wrist circumference. The wedge at the top of the oval is what creates tension on the cuff and gives it the lovely flowy drape, while reducing the bulk at the top of your hands. 

I'm very happy with how the cuffs turned out! These are so fun with the fringe. 

A Court Baroness!

This was an award that wasn't anywhere near my radar, while I was A&S champion, there is still quite a bit of imposter syndrome here. I am deeply honored that their former Majesties choose me to become one of their court barons. 

This scroll was done by Mysie (Mellisa Vigil) in a early 15th century style, that was inspired by my 1410's black and gold bombard sleeve surcotte that she helped stitch at Griffin Needle Challenge 2023. It also closely mirror's Godefroy's Court Baron scroll given at the same time, both because he was apart of that GNC team and because we are clearly close.

This honor means ALOT to me. I know that my health, financial, and family obligations prevent me from showing up consistently in the SCA in ways that I want to be, and that would be expected of if I were to be recognized as a peer. So instead I focus my precious spoons on the things that I both enjoy and can be picked up and set down as my limitations allow. 

I want to take a moment to recognize that this goes beyond me. I have an amazing support team that allows me to do the things I do. Sometimes it's a fabric fairy, sometimes it's paying my travel costs, or giving me crash space, sometimes it's the moral support to simply get me through the hard days. 

A deep heartfelt thanks to Edwin, Godefroy, Annetja, Meadhbh, and Remi. I simply wouldn't have be able to do what I do without you. You have saved my life in more ways than one. I love you all. 

Now I'm off to plan shiny hat shenanigans! Bisous

Yours in service,

Baroness Isabelle Montfort de Bretagne