Frock Chick

I decided to try and overdye my velveteen (to extend my skirt panels for my red gown) one more time to get it to move from warm to cool red. It has not entirely worked but I think, I think it’s shifted it just enough for me to use it. So I have ordered some more magenta and also fuchsia Procion and some more soda ash.

I can at least now cut the velveteen to shape, overlock the edges and actually start to get my beloved dress wearable again as it has not been worn since 2006.

Even if I have to tint the original velveteen to match, I do have a really gorgeous rich red still. So time to get my skirt panels out to work on them.

I have been trying to work out if Christoph Weiditz can be trusted for his figures of women from Juelich. These are a lot of figures with nearly the same dress and sleeve arrangement after all and this is not an arrangement we see in the Bruyn portraits of women of Cologne.

I decided to treat these images as if they are representative of what I haven’t seen before, after all the rest of the figures really do match very well to imagery we have of dress across Europe.

I have a wealth of portraits of wealthy citizens of Cologne and a few precious images of Anna and her family. And these fragments of information do support this position as there are marked differences in style while maintaining features iconic of the region. 

I am used to hanging sleeves of this region being made from the same fabric as the rest of the gown and lined in fur- and indeed even a very very fine fur that is often depicted as very delicate and very short and a very soft and thin skin. Sometimes these sleeves are pinned back and hide the outer.

However this is not what we see here. And Weiditz fortunately shows figures with sleeves of this arrangement in his own work to compare his own treatment of this kind of turn back.

In the Julich figures we can see vertical gathers on the white hanging sleeve where it meets the  fitted upper sleeve which does not indicate that the sleeves are pinned over.

I thought perhaps the way the book was created was from sketches Weiditz created during his travel and then he copied those into his book. His first book has been extensively studied but not this second so I am working with a lot of assumptions here!

However I may be right, as the last figure (pink with black guards) is missing colour on her shoulder to our left. And the figure in yellow has some darker paint on her shoulder to our right which may indicate some trouble.

However this kind of separate soft and hanging sleeve is seen all over artwork of saints and allegorical figures. And it does appear in different forms on portraits of women.

These figures are not North Rhine but they are of the family of the founder of the Chapel. And the female figure in the middle of the right panel is wearing an example of the loose separate sleeve.

This is not conclusive obviously, however these sleeves are seen from the south to the north of the Rhine and so might be a kind of shared fashion.

It is tempting to call these “stoichen” after a term used in Cologne inventories as this has been taken to mean a kind of pendant sleeve. I had originally thought perhaps they were matching sleeves as the de Bruyn costume book shows quitely clearly little fasteners (though they look like thumb tacks not pins.) I suspect this is still a term for the type of sleeve even if not a separate item.

But here we do see that a short half length sleeve not only was in fashion in the later half of the century but also it does make for a very versatile garment. Sumptuary laws clearly show that the accessories were a very strong indicator of rank and so were very important. By alternating accessories and wearing the skirt open or closed the one dress can be worn in many ways.

Short half sleeves can also be seen in paintings. The earliest I’ve found is on a child before 1550 and then on adults after this date.

But what of the paned sleeves? These are seen on both figures of Anna and Amela in the triptych of their family, while the rest of their court ladies have loose sleeves.

This last portrait is frustratingly difficult to find the original. It was part of an auction on a site that no longer hosts the originals nor any information about the auction, and this is a zoomed view. But there is a very clear paned upper sleeve seen here. This is from a pair of portraits thought to be by the Bruyn workshop. They may have been restored or they may be copies as they do not have the same softness of features.

The half length paned sleeve is seen in allegorical and religious figures especially in sculpture.

Of special note is the figure on the far left as she has the same style of hat Anne wears in the triptych. A different kind of cap is also seen on a portrait of the Countess Emeza von Kappenberg as a sketch and detail of the Xantener altar. 

JOURNAL ARTICLE: BILDNISZEICHNUNGEN VON BARTHOLOMÄUS BRUYN D. Ä. HILDEGARD KRUMMACHER Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch Vol. 26 (1964), pp. 59-72. Note the braid is part of the figure behind her, also dressed in contemporary dress and likely another contemporary person.

The figure to the right of the group of three even has sleeves quite similar to the portrait of Maria (the mother of Sibylla, Anna, and Amalia.)

On balance it does seem more likely that Weiditz had access to images or people that are no longer represented clearly in the art we can easily access now. However elements of the style can be found both within the North Rhine and outside. 

Why is is so difficult?

A “stuck” is a piece and “stick” can refer to a pointed stick, literally, or embroidery.

And “chen” is a diminuitive. Also “gin.”

So little embroidery just doesn’t seem correct for a rather large hat.

And at the time “perlen” was most frequently used to describe pearled pieces.

Many of the headpieces were pearled, or made from gold fabric, or covered in netted work. Rarely do they seem to be embroidered in a general sense.

The front piece more regularly is decorated in pearls or jewels.

Clothing is also tough. There are lots of garments, but very little in the way of definition. Rock might be a gown or it may be a skirt alone. And the lovely huge inventory I have is full of spanish styles!

I’ll just have to take time to read the full texts not just skim! 😉

Not my own plates this time, though I did get my spiral sleeves sorted.

Collecting modelbooks and books of trades really helps with interpreting art. Today after tracking back an image in a document (reverse image search is getting very good!) and then finding the original I was able to find even more images of people in hand crafts.

The book today is often refered to a book on lacework, but it’s clear the patterns are quite far reaching.

Title : [Libro primo-Libro secondo] De rechami per elquale se impara in diuersi modi lordine e il modo de recamare, cosa no mai piu fatta ne strata mostrata, elquale modo se insegna al lettore voltando la carta. Opera nova. : [estampe, livre de modèles]

Publisher : [Alessandro Paganini] (Italie)

Publication date : 1532

Description : Référence bibliographique : Courboin, 1041-1042

Rights : public domain Identifier : ark:/12148/btv1b10537222v

Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, RESERVE 4-LH-102

Relationship : http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb40354751t

Provenance : Bibliothèque nationale de France

Date of online availability : 09/05/2016

This is by Paganino Paganini and according to Wikipedia he pretty much lived and worked all his life in Italy (Brescia then Venice) along with his son.

The works suggest a great deal of contact with German engravers. These scenes of transfering a design to fabric are quite a neat mix of elements one would expect of a German and Italian engraver.

The low slung braids and shaped skirts of one and the evenly rounded linen headdress of the other.

However there is a plate that appears a few times that gets down right Cologne! It is entirely probable the plates were created separately to the text that fills the space.

The timing is perfect for a mixing of cultures, Venice attracted a lot of German printers, and Durer famously traveled and recorded dress of women from the region.

Exactly why there are women in extremely North Rhine clothing has not been able to be uncovered in an afternoon, however the sculptural strip of linen at the front of the headdresses are so very iconic. The key feature being the wings and square frame effect.

This figure even has the braids of an unmarried woman at the front her her headdress but there appears to be a tail to the back that does not appear in North Rhenish dress.

And there is a family connection:

PAGANINI, Paganino

di Angela Nuovo – Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 80 (2014)

Sposò Cristina, figlia di Francesco Della Fontana (Franz Renner da Heilbronn), stampatore tedesco attivo a Venezia dal 1471 al 1486, una parentela insolita nel panorama della stampa veneziana, dove la tendenza era a legarsi e imparentarsi secondo la provenienza geografica.

He married Cristina, daughter of Francesco Della Fontana (Franz Renner from Heilbronn), German printer active in Venice from 1471 to 1486, an unusual kinship in the panorama of the Venetian press, where the tendency was to bind and relate according to geographical origin.

I really should just publish what I have and build on it later. It’s hard though as I really want to do everything at once. But I don’t even have good photos of my early work! I’ve passed so much of it on but really have no decent photos of any of it. So I really feel like my own history is lacking, let alone how that feeds back to me from the public. But it does sort of mean I’d like to remake a few things in new fabric…

That said, just looking up frazzled frau on google brings my old tripod site up! I really need to see if I can open that up again 🙂 Oh man, looking at all the lovely comments about my old site really makes me want to get her all properly revved up again. If you like something tell the person 🙂

It’s tough because there has been a massive influx of images in the last few years. But I do have pin boards, and my tumblr is still there, but a bit forgotten, sorry!

https://www.pinterest.nz/michaeladebruce/

I have some in progress boards to come up, but it’s rare that any pin I add is uncredited. I try and find the most current location. Usually that means the best quality but not always. But it means people finding and bookmarking pins should be able to just click and go at their convenience.  Even so, some museums change their content enough that I will have to go back and check some. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has recently upgraded their databases to an amazing degree, but it means old links do not work and often there is not enough information to quickly find the item. But it’ll be worth it 🙂

I am more tired than ever, RA does not get kinder the longer you have it, it generally just becomes more chronic than traumatic. But the fatigue really is difficult to manage. So it means all research takes a massive toll even before I get them in some sort of order.

But I have enough new information that yes. It will be done this year. As are all my patterns. Yesterday I overlapped my own bodice pieces to see if I can create a modifiable pattern. Yes. And it does work literally for every single garment I have made if looked at from perspective of scale and engineering.

So that is extremely exciting! I knew that I used previous patterns for newer gear but I also found some experimenting that worked (shifting to side seams) and some that worked by virtue of a bit of luck with fabric choice and use of stay tape (pretty accurate for a lot of gear when viewed as narrow woven goods used to stabilise a neckline.)

I think this will work a lot better than the Victorian workshops due to the reduction of seam lines. Victorian bodices do rely on all the seams even if some are less customised than others. Simply cutting fabric into a curved seam changes the engineering properties to a degree that is very hard to understand. But it both stabilises and adds stretch. There is usually enough change in the properties to be able to fit to a back with very little change. It’s usually possible with the CB and side seams with a pattern block that already has som curve for the shoulder blades and lower back built in.

So having seams in places that are easy to self adjust or have someone else work on is great!

I will get some more watercolour board this week as I have now got enough of a pattern block for those pieces, and enough thumbnail sketches of where to measure that there is enough to commit to good quality paper 🙂

So I spent all of Saturday wiring small filigree pieces for my Amalia of Cleves ensemble. I was thinking of taking the velveteen off and putting brocade on, but then I may as well go whole hog and make the frock described by Hall for Anna. I have very big glass pearls to potentially work for the decoration. (I spend all day yesterday asleep because I totally forgot my body is in the chronic phase of my disease which means it’s a bit sneakier.)

I made the pieces match the rest of the pieces I had already made. I have run out of flowers but have a few different kinds.

And that is a smaller gold borstlap made more rigid I think it will be fine over my current front lacing leibchen/mieder/ and will work with a side lacing version too.

I’m finding more and more information to understand their clothing- most of which support of my theories- some were a bit out there but I seem to have been right :). In the mean time also better understanding about Cranach so that I can get that part of The Frazzled Frau back. (I have a cunning plan- it changes a little but I think I have it 🙂

Anyway. I am loving the pieces, and how I matched them, and stylistically they would pass with maybe a few “where did you get that from” if people got close. But ultimately I like them.

But I now have a really good feel for the scrolling shapes of the style, and have a few pieces that can mix and match. So I think it’s time to actually sculpt. And I may even be able to try something else that I think is very needed.

I think lost wax is the most appropriate method so that means making a silicone mold after sculpting so that I can reproduce them.

I want to do this part myself but will need help with the molding process as I do want these in metal so as to feel the same as the original- possibly be the same as many originals. If you ever go on ebay- take a look at the small metal findings of brass and bronze rings. There are so many they are actually affordable for collecting now.

I have my own small bronze seal that appears to have a squirrel on it.

Also I was going to do this in 3D. And I may still. I wasn’t sure how to do scrolling and petal shapes. Well okay actually I do know. I can do the basics in Sketch up and detail in  But I do know how to carve wax to those shapes.

And it’s very exciting. But it means getting all my research up as I go or no one will know why I’ve done something the way I did.

I took a day  this week to make sure all my projects are easily found and while initially it was overwhelming, I think I am not just at the inspired stage 🙂

I have a lot of current projects, but having them nicely divided into clear containers mean I can actually see them 🙂

I really want to finish my Cleves research this year. Or at least be at a point where I can say “yes, I can talk about this.” Because let me tell you, I have a heck of a lot of info for Cologne but there is very little for Cleves, Jullich and Berg. It’s a larger geographical spread and lots of archives are just gone. I have looked for donor portraits, any portraits and they are just.. not there.

Later yes.

Anyway. I now do have a pretty Cleves dress, a beautiful Cleaves dress, and a working kirtle type garment. I’m mainly working on accessories. But my red velvet gown is at the same stage my pink and black Cleves dresses were a few months ago so I can definitely work on the hand finishing of that this year.

So that least the later historic and modern media recreations.

I want Mina finally finished. That has been a struggle for fitting the bodice as my fabric has zero give. So the lining has to have zero give. I may have finally managed that but I need a bit of time to work on making it all tidy and transportable.

And I want my Elissa costume done. I should have left it alone but well… I wanted to wear it where accuracy is still prized so… but it’s okay. I think I’m just not wanting to face the rope skirt. It’s about 8m of velvet and while I have cut the pieces I have to pull and roll them and somehow make sure they don’t unroll. This is easier with velour but these are clearly velvet.

And Ahsoka. I am now happy with where Rebels has left her (in fact it’s exactly what I hoped and thought was the most logical outcome) so feel a lot happier in investing in the project again 🙂 It’s been intense and nothing is even close to finished due to just not having any luck with any material.

So that leaves Marie Antoinette as my other must finish project. It’s hard because I really do need a metal frame. Luckily the original is very short so it’s possible I can find support material for it. I am very disappointed with the plastic stuff now available. It’s not at all like the older stuff with an oval cross section. That had a fibrous property that made it really quite firm, and the oval cross section helped curves maintain shape. I get a greally nice kidney shape but that is not at all the shape of these things.

This may be a project for next year. I have all the fabrics, it’s a matter of boning for the stays and hoops. I think I have an idea for making the hoops solid and transportable though.

I still need to do some tidying, and I am definitely making a few more of these, so it’s not totally complete right now. I need to sit it slightly further forward too.

(Wearing my Kimmy Schmidt cardigan because it’s so much part of my new me- allowing myself to wear several colours at once.)

I added more pearls yesterday to the embroidery of the pink hat and sewed up the brim.

The seam allowance was caught through all layers with a pick stitch every 2″ which anchored the gathering running stitch into short curves that follow the edge. The prick stitches are nearly invisible on the other side.

The pearls were removed from the frame. I made two more circles of the same heavy duty fusible/shape-forming material to add extra support the pearl platter shape and basted a layer of shot silk to the inner most circle.

Then clipped the extra fabric to the same depth and gathered to create the turn under.This was easy as the support circles kept the shape perfectly.

I bound the edges and trapped the gathers in place. The silk is bias cut. I used to also believe this was fairly wasteful until I started to think like a workshop. Bias is not at all wasteful if you use a short length over several projects.

As an example. The skirt for the gown that this hat is made for used 3m of velveteen for the hem guarding. That is more than I used in the skirt. It is in part because I was cutting on the fly but I kept my seam allowance to a minimum.

But I used three strips of bias tape for the hem facing and about the same for the underskirt. And I have a lot of silk left over.

So, think about how many projects you can use your bias strips for and dedicate a length to that 🙂

The cap was pulled apart a few nights ago during a bit of insomnia and then I got to test a few lengths of brocade.

I decided on a denser piece of the same saree I used originally on this form. And I used the same silk as used in the bias tape to tidy the inside. I do not have any curved needles but I found a cheapie one that could be bent and oh they are perfect for this kind of seam.

The internal part of the headpiece can be of two shapes. This curved edge is seen in both linen and silk versions but I haven’t seen it with the flat cap as well. Only with a fairly pointed piece to put a jeweled strip over.

Sorry for the use of English terms. I don’t want to use terms that come from the area as I’m not convinced we have them correct. All the terms at this point are in a bit of fluidity. i think I’m getting closer and will do a proper run through very soon.

From Facebook: Emily Gibbs‎ to Canterbury Faire 2018, 29 January at 19:58 · Kaikoura Suburban, New Zealand

I am so inordinately happy with this! It has everything I love about the Cranach Saxon style with the weirdness of everything in the Nordrein (North Rhine.)

But it is weird. I’ll break down all the weirdness as I go but of note is the tone on tone. I deviated a little from the original, or rather combined two (three) figures in one. So the pink ground of two and the crimson velvet borders of another.

But tone on tone is very definitely part of this region, especially in the red/pink tones. And especially as velvet on a flat fabric.

Bildnis einer Frau 

Zuordnung:kölnisch

Datierung:um 1555/1560Sachbegriff:Gemälde

Sammlung:Köln, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Sammlungskontext: Stiftung Dr. Hubert Dormagen / Kerp, Inventar-Nr. WRM 3300, Zugang: 1980.12.31, Dauer: ab 1980.12.31

Kostüme der Männer und Frauen in Augsburg und Nürnberg, Deutschland, Europa, Orient und Afrika – BSB Cod.icon. 341

Publishing place: Augsburg

Year published: 4. Viertel 16. Jh.

Pages: 384

BSB Call Nr.: Cod.icon. 341

Project ID: BSB-Hss Cod.icon. 341

URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00011752-7

Thuringen, I am not sure, Cologne (see what I mean by variations of spelling!)

So this is just one manuscript, and the Cologne image might be shot gold and red, but it is from the period. this is a hand drawn costume book, so little concern about it being coloured in at a later date. This work is full of pink as a main fabric. Full. But I am specifically looking for the tone on tone elements.

The Triumph of Maximillian is another illustrated book full of pink. But here again I have limited to tone on tone in red/crimson.

Title Triunfo del Emperador Maximiliano I, Rey de Hungría, Dalmacia y Croacia, Archiduque de Austria :… de quien están descritas y colocadas en esta colección las acciones gloriosas de S.M. Imperial, durante su vida…

Date entre 1501 y 1700?

Edition S.XVI-XVII Type Manuscrito

Subject Maximiliano I, Emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico

Page 96 and 97 and 97 again.

(these are huge zoomable images)

(Royalty Guide and Wikicommons respectively)

Sophia von Mecklenberg, married the Duke of Brauchweig, part of estphalia and so also has the mix of influences.I did not know of this image until today, however I am familiar with the two pieces of stonework depicting her in a very similar dress- I had it set aside as research for the sleeves, this confirms that the sleeves are weird, hooray! She was buried in Cell an

But the colours are nearly identical to my frock 🙂 So that is exciting. I was working with a limited range of fabric.

I knwe of her through the following images from Bildindex (handy hint, grabmal is a great search term for looking for images

Grabplatte der Herzogin Sophia von Mecklenburg

nach 1541 Grabplatte, Grabskulptur,  Sandstein

Standort: Celle, Kirche, Evangelisch-lutherische Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, Chor

Gedächtnis: Sophia (Mecklenburg, Herzogin) Herzogin Sophia von Mecklenburg war die Gemahlin Ernst des Bekenners

Also a full 3d view

Epitaph des Herzogs Ernst des Bekenners und seiner Frau Sophia, Herzogin von Mecklenburg

Cornelis Floris (2) (Werkstatt) 1576 Epitaph, Grabskulptur Alabaster

Standort: Celle, Kirche, Evangelisch-lutherische Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, Chor (Nordwand)

Gedächtnis: Ernst (Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Herzog) Gedächtnis: Sophia (Mecklenburg, Herzogin)

So side track aside there are many more examples of red based tone on tone garments of the wider region.

 

Both by Noclas Neufchatel.

Brady hart Gallery and wikicommons and liveinternet respectively.

These are of course from Nuremberg and so are quite a distance, but we see the range of tones for tone on tone (also the red dyed braids!!!)

1516 Circle of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) Portrait of Dorothea Meyer, wife of Jakob Meyer zum Hasen (Basel)

From Barbara Wells Sarudy’s post about winter clothing

Kunstauktionshaus Schloss Ahlden GmbH 2017 

Christoph Amberger

(Um 1505 Nürnberg – 1561/62 Augsburg) attr.;

Portrait der Maria Hieronymus Sulzer

This is much more suble, and leaning towards the crimson on yellow seen at about the same rate.

I have managed to empty my suitcases, so they can now be removed from my room. Or. Or I could use the sparkle monster to store my Elsa properly with wig, cap, and foam head.

I think I can set aside make up just for her, even though I pretty much use the exact same stuff for myself. Not sure what the other suitcase can contain. But I have another green suitcase type bag which also needs to be useful or stored in a dry area.

But today is to tidy the trims and jewelry bits that got very mixed in with my small sewing items that I really do need to sort. Find what I can keep and what could be passed on.

There is very little out there in the way of suitable rings and brooches. It’s quite frustrating. I’m going to look through my Spanish portraits collection to see if there is much overlap for specific items to see if I can at least reuse different elements.