Dress of the Court of Saxony

Finished #1-4 above. I forgot to add the tabs to the back-bottom of the bodice. I’ll see about adding it to the final one. Initially I added seam allowance to the straps.. but during the cutting out I convinced myself that wasn’t needed and I cut it off. I really shouldn’t have listened to myself. I’m pretty sure I’ll need…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Edith came by last night and helped fix the top of the bodice. In addition to adding the sleeve caps she helped to fit the area around the arm. After it was all fitted she marked where the seam lines should be. Side-back into the arm hole and across the top of the shoulder (just behind the top.. more like…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

FedEx lied, but in a good way. Fabric arrived yesterday. The brown is acceptable. It’s not the “liver” color I wanted.. but it’s good enough. I tried to place the sleeve caps. Hard to do when one side is behind your back.. and that’s the side you need to pin down. I’ll wait on “Open Project Night” (tomorrow) and hope…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Third verse, same as the first

So. Worked on bodice on Sunday. Learnings: Temporary lacing strips are the bomb! If gap between left and right-hand-side of front of dress is say 3 inches wide.. you need a horrendously long lace to tie it closed (longer than my normal 36″ long silk lace) When you have a gap, say 3 inches wide.. and there’s no strong fabric…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

I talked with Etaine this weekend. She said that instead of making a corset (which is probably wrong for this dress style) and then fitting a dress over that corset I should instead make the dress and bone the front opening. That makes the dress much easier. I’m thinking run bone along the front edges. Whip lacing rings directly under…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Ran off to Discount Fabrics at lunch (long hike for a lunch hour). Scored 7 5/8 yards of cotton-with-a-linen-look ($2/yd) to line his German outfit and 3 yards of brushed cotton twill ($3.75/yd) to make another attempt at a corset.

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Because I’m lumpy and have more breast than the 15-year-old models that Cranach used I need more support. I’ve decided to start with a corset. I’m following the pattern on the Sempstress.org site. The instructions seem fantasticly easy to follow and it results in a corset with laces positions along the edges of the front opening. Last night I made…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Brown and Gold Gown

Diary started October 13th 2005 Dress first worn: August 26, 2006. Saxony, Germany [Edit: After almost 2 years of calling this my “german” dress I’ve come to find out that Cranach was a court painter to Frederick the Wise of Saxony. During the time of the portraits under study (1520-1540) he had settled permanently at Wittenberg. This means that we…

Continue Reading

Dress of the Court of Saxony

Dress of the Court of Saxony

This style of dress proliferated in the Saxony region of what would be modern day Germany. Cranach the Elder was a court painter to Frederick the Wise of Saxony. During the time of the portraits under study (1520-1540) he had settled permanently at Wittenberg. Identifying details: – Wide front with laces showing below a decorated placket – Skirt pleated into…

Continue Reading