SCA: Green 1490s Florentine Outfit - for Candlemas 2024

1490s Florentine Italian
for Candlemas 2024

In the beginning, I honestly had no thoughts about what to wear to Candlemas in February - I figured I would just go Viking, like I always do.  But then I went to the event webpage and saw this: 

"The year is 1494 and the wealthiest bride in Europe is about to become the queen of Germany and future Empress of Rome.  Come re-live the wedding of Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan and King Maximilian I of Austria and Germany." 

1490s Italian? I'm in.  The Sforza wedding was said to be one of the most amazing spectacles in years, by several people who wrote about it later: a pageant of high fashion and pomp the likes of which the writers had never seen.  Candlemas this year is intended to be a huge costume extravaganza, and everyone will be wearing their finest Italian and German garb - there's even a costume contest!   Time for a new fancy outfit, I thought.

My first thought was to make some minor alterations to the red velvet Florentine-ish outfit I wore to Baronial in 2022 (the trim is wrong, the sleeves are too big, and the whole thing needs small adjustments here and there), but I wanted something new.  And so of course, I started with something  old.  

Gamurra

I started with my black silk noil gamurra, which I made in 2014 and which has undergone many transformations in the past nearly ten years, mostly in the form of various decorative stitching and trims being applied and removed to change the look.  

I did the same this time, applying a gold and black braided trim to the neckline and front edges, and attaching some gold (brass) lacing rings to the front opening (yes, on top of the hand-sewn eyelets that were already there. The eyelets are very small, and they don't show under the rings when the dress is laced at all).  

Giornea

before - Burgundian dress

For the giornea,  I made over an old Burgundian dress that I had made in 2013 and had never worn - I just never got around to making an underdress or headgear to wear with it, so it just sat ignored  in my closet all these years. The outline was already nearly perfect, though. The dress is voluminous (much fuller than it looks in this picture), but the sleeves were too tight at the top, which made the shoulders fit weird.  Fortunately, I didn't need the sleeves.  

I removed the sleeves and all of the faux fur trim, cut the armscyes a bit deeper, removed the collar and opened up the center front seam all the way to the hemline.  

I also stitched a length of gold braided trim along the neck opening/center front.   I didn't want to dress this giornea up TOO much, because the sleeves and the trim on the gamurra were more than enough decoration for this outfit, but it did need something so that the edges weren't just plain. 

closeup of the front

Giorneae were usually open either at the front or sides or both, to allow the gamurra underneath to show through - mine is only open up the front, and is belted all the way around with a long, black, double-faced satin ribbon sash.  My giornea was inspired by several Renaissance paintings, like these two (both fragments of frescos by Domenico Ghirlandaio): 

fragment from the "Birth of St.
John the Baptist" fresco

fragment from the "Visitation" fresco

Sleeves 

While 90% of this dress was basically free - I made over old costume pieces and used materials from my stash for almost all of it - I did actually splurge on fabric for the sleeves. This is a silk damask in aqua and gold (sort of a shiny tan, really) from Rennaisance Fabrics - it’s so soft and pretty, I just love it!   

Since the fabric was fairly dressy, I opted for a plainer sleeve design, closed at the upper arm and open on the lower arm, and laced open to allow my linen camicia to poof out through the lacings.  

I stitched eyelets along the open forearm edges and on the sleeve heads where the sleeves attach to the gamurra in a tan/brown thread which matches the "gold" parts of the fabric's design. 

I took my inspiration from images like these: 

another fragment from the
"Visitation" fresco by Ghirlandaio

I'll talk about the accessories, and my hair, tomorrow. For now, although I won't be the fanciest nor the richest-looking person at the Candlemas event in my made-over dress, I'm proud of this outfit and I can't wait to wear it.  I just hope it's not too hot, and that it holds up to dancing.  

Bonus:  my Project Cat, Rabi, asleep on an Ikea pillow underneath my work table: 

One Last Serk

 Nothing major to report, I just made one last under-dress for my Viking wardrobe: 

This fabric is a pale grey lightweight linen - if you look closely you can see the outline of the hem of the tshirt I have covering the mannequin.  (If you look even more closely you can see the outline of a kitten playing underneath the dress, heehee).  

Now I have an even number of apron dresses and smocks, so I won't have to re-use any smocks during an event (ew sweaty).  And so the Great Big Viking Project I started in April is finally complete. 

Next time I'll have something completely off the wall for you.  Stay tuned! 

The Sari Quilt

So I had this huge silk quilt.  The front was made from dozens of pieces cut from the edge banding on silk saris from India.  The border around the front was made from a deep purple dupioni silk.  The backing was made from a royal purple rayon challis.   It was GORGEOUS.  It had been given to me by someone who'd received it as a gift many years before and didn't want it anymore. It was also something I was never, ever going to use - my cats would destroy it, and it was really hot. 

After having kept it in storage for years, I looked more critically at the quilt: on closer inspection, the quilt was badly worn around the edges, some of the sari pieces were fraying, it was discolored in several places, there were bleach stains on the back, and the inside was lined with an open-cell polyurethane sheet which was crusty and starting to melt with age.  

So I choked back my revulsion to destroying a beautiful piece of art, and cut all the sari silk and the dupioni free of the quilt so that it could be salvaged for other applications.  Since we know that Viking apron dresses were often finished with trim made of strips of imported silk and other fine fabrics (Hilde Thunem's paper on apron dresses, see Inga Hagg references/biblio and Birka finds), I opted to use a few of the pieces from this quilt on my naked apron dresses and smocks:  

Here's a bit of navy blue sari silk with pink and blue on the top edge of my brown linen/cotton dress.  And yes, I picked out all that embroidery on the brown dress.  It killed me - I'd just done it in September and I did a really good job, but it was incorrect for the dress and the time period and I just couldn't look at it anymore.  

Here's a lovely gold and teal on the "bayou" blue smock sleeves. (Bonus cat).  

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Here's a bit of the same navy and gold with blue and pink that's on my brown dress, on the "bayou" blue apron dress.   

And two extras: 

A bit of gold and silver on the sleeves of my white smock. This fabric actually came from an old lightweight curtain panel I had in my stash, and I was really pleased with the way it looked on my white smock,  It was this look that convinced me to try out some of the sari fabric on my clothes.  (I'm NOT pleased with the zigzag stitch I used to put the trim on - I'll be picking that out and using a less obvious stitch as soon as I get back from BAM).  

 This isn't from the quilt either, but I did find a bit of trim in my stash that works with the color on my "bluebonnet" blue apron dress (the one I just made over in October).  I really love the way it looks with the teal rayon ribbon at the top.  

And finally, lest you think the orange cat (Rory Williams) is my only sewing friend, meet Rabi and Gypsy:  two brothers who also like helping me with my sewing, usually by sleeping in my chair or sitting on my lap to keep me warm while I work.

What's Next?

Technically I'm out of stuff to do before BAM, but I do have a couple of small projects I'm playing with that might be done before I leave - I'll show you if I get them done, if not, I'll see you after the war!

Awesome Viking Bling

Valkyrfelt was AMAZING. Bjornsborg really knows how to throw an event. There were so many neat things to do and to learn, there was music everywhere and games to play,  the food was fantastic, and I had SO much FUN.  I went to a workshop where I made a pair of matched Viking arm bands in a period design copied from a piece found in the Cuerdale Hoard:

I got to use hammers and an anvil! 

So there's some awesome Viking bling to add to my wardrobe (And the British Museum has a free online PDF book on the Cuerdale Hoard, check it out).

I got even more bling, too - this awesome brass brooch was my site token! I was surprised to see such nice tokens for an event.  I think these came from a site called Wish, but I'm not sure. I think some people had trouble with the pins falling off, but mine is pretty solidly made.  I plan to use it to close my coat.

So, What's Next?  

BAM is coming up in November - Bordermarch Autumn Melees, now called War of the Rams. It's a five-day war event out in east Texas, and I haven't been in something like four years.  I've missed camping so much; I really didn't want to come back this weekend, and I already can't wait to go to BAM.   

So in the run-up to the event, I've got several things to do:

• I'm making over an old blue apron dress that needed a little help, just waiting on some extra fabric to come in the mail
• Making a new under dress from scratch
• Adding faux fur cuffs and trim to my Viking coat (because the sleeves aren't long enough), and
• Making over my black apron dress as well

So I've got a full plate for the next month/three weeks!  I hope I can get it all done in time.  I'm still working on those couch cushions for a friend of mine, too, so I've got a LOT of sewing to do.  

See you again soon!  

gratuitous cat bawls

Parasol Refit

This is my parasol.  It started life as that same ubiquitous white parasol that's sold at wars and which everyone has - you might have one yourself.

Well, mine suffered a terrible fate:  as so many people do, I tried to paint mine, but I messed it up very badly.

So I took it apart and made a pattern from it, and used that to make what you see above.  I made the wide ends of each piece wider and longer, long enough to hang down like little awnings.  I regret not having a source for the design;  I saw it somewhere on someone's Italian renaissance costuming page but never could find it again.  Those little awnings sure are great for keeping the sun out of your face, though.

However, by now this cover was six years old.  The heavy cotton fabric (originally a RITVA curtain panel from Ikea) was badly stained by spills and some wet leather that got dropped on top of it.  Seams were coming apart.  Edges were frayed.  The hem had come undone on most of the awning edges.  The ribbon that tied it closed was positively shredded.  This thing's been through a lot.

The first thing I needed was new fabric.  It had to be lightweight, washable, light colored, strong enough to withstand the pressure it would be under when opened, and maybe something I could paint eventually. I ended up using a white cotton bedsheet that I had sitting around.

I removed one of the triangular panels from the old cover and used it as a template to cut out eight new ones.  Then I sewed them all together at the sides, leaving the last side seam open, hemmed the top opening and the bottom edge, then closed up the last side seam. The cover attaches to the frame by pushing the small center opening over the crown of the umbrella, then stretching the seams down to the buttons on the ends of the spokes and tacking them in place around the spoke buttons with sturdy button thread.  Done!

Tada!  All done.  I really like the cotton sheet fabric - it's SO lightweight!  This thing feels practically weightless compared to the heavy cotton curtain fabric that was on it before.

After I attached the cover to the frame, the whole thing got a heavy coat of Camp Dry spray to waterproof it.  I use that stuff on everything, it does a great job.  Great timing, too - it's supposed to rain at the event!

So What's Next? 

Valkyrfelt is this weekend! I'm so excited!  The weather should be cool and somewhat rainy - just right for camping on a beautiful little forested island in the middle of nowhere.  I can't wait.  

Rory helps mama with the sewing.  

Laurel's Prize Tourney

....is over. Thank god.  Actually, I had a freaking BLAST, I'm just glad the stress is over.  I was so nervous about this event that I stressed myself into puking my guts out for three days before the event.  Fail.

But LPT was completely awesome.  I had so much fun I had a hugely busy day.  I met so many amazing artisans, and basically got to sit around and talk shop for eight hours straight.  It was mentally exhausting, but it was SO much fun!  I got really good feedback on my recent projects and my work in general, and I have some really nifty new ideas and lots of notes scribbled hastily on a sheet of paper that I still need to try to transcribe into something I can use (seriously, have you seen my handwriting? This is no small feat.  Even *I* can't read it half the time).

So.  Pics from the event, and I'll talk about stuff a bit more in depth in the next post (which I thought I posted already, actually, whoops):

First iteration of my table display, with jewelry...

...about which no one gave a shit, but EVERYONE wanted
to see my painted boxes, so I ended up changing things around

You know that thing where you go to pack a suitcase
before a trip and a cat appears in it? Rory apparently wanted
to go to LPT with me the day I was working out the display
on my cutting table at home last week.

A closer look at some of my embroidery, photo by a friend

ditto

Me in one of my new Viking outfits

 (Aside:  Idk wtf this pose was, someone snapped this as I was on my way to the food because OMG FOOD NOW and I almost just ate her, I was so hungry.  The other thing I'm doing in this photo:  wearing the outfit that was supposed to be on my mannequin.  I had several people remark on the fact that my display had little to no height element, and see how your neighbor has all these stands and height variation?  *facepalm*  I had an unanticipated wardrobe malfunction while I was setting everything up, and ended up not being able to wear the dress I showed up to the event wearing, and instead put on the outfit that I had been about to dress Violet in.  Violet herself spent the day on the floor behind me, stark naked, hehe.  Oh, well.  Things happen). 

Simona della Luna and I, giddy and nervous after set-up in the am

I really can't express enough how much fun I had at the event, what a positive experience the whole thing was, and how grateful I am for the friends I took with me and the new friends I made while I was there.  I had been so terrified of this new thing that I stressed myself into throwing up for three days before we left.  I'm so immensely relieved that everything not only turned out okay, but pretty much turned out to be one of my favorite events, ever.

Next up:  Bjornsborg's Quest For Valhalla, in October - and the post I thought I posted already, and the reason for all this Viking craziness.

Meanwhile, I give you:

...some more of this cat.

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A Quick Pre-War Update

HOO BOY have I been nose-to-the-grindstone-sewing-machine lately.  Today I pulled ten hours straight!  I'm happy to say that I'm on schedule and moving right along.  I'm a bit apprehensive of this weekend; I'm taking the weekend off to attend a local event (after having spent last Saturday at regional war practice, and most of Sunday at a workshop day at a friend's house (at which I got many things done, actually)  - so I'll lose a day and a half of work time, but I definitely need the mental break!

So I have looooots of things to show you, mostly having to do with client sewing - but I forgot to take pictures of the two gowns I finished for said client last week before I delivered them, so I'll be getting with her soon to take some pics.

Some of the things going on lately: 

1.  A new LBGFD for me (Little Black [Gothic Fitted] Dress).  I'm happy to say that after upsizing and re-drafting the whole thing last year, last week I had to start sizing it down again, and adjusting some of the curves.  I made a second one from the new pattern today, and I'll have pics for you next week after the event coming up.

at war practice last weekend

2.  I finally got around to stripping down Violet and re-fitting her to look exactly like me.  At first I thought, "Wow, do I really look like a Russian Nesting Doll??"  but I'm actually pretty happy with my fitness progress of late. :) 

bewbs

3.  I've been dyeing a whole bunch of fabric: 

Forgot the gloves again. Typing this post with murder hands. 

4.  Painting lots of fabric, too: 

Rory likes to help. 

more heraldic flags for the campsite ropeline! 

Next Up

Tomorrow I'll be cleaning out the garage (because I can't even GET to my camping stuff as of right now, and I'll need it this weekend as well as for war, obviously). 

After that, I have some woodworking projects, which I'll show you; as well as a stack of client projects, and a couple of last things for me.  ONLY TWO WEEKS TO GO UNTIL WAR!  *breathes into a paper bag*  @_@

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Four-Hundredth Verse: Same As the First

Well, I spent the middle of the week sick.  Again.  Food poisoning this time.  Did I break a mirror and forget or something?  Not throw spilled salt over my left shoulder?  SHEESH.  This year can die in a fire.

No, wait - no fires.  *knocks wood*

And now you all think I'm superstitious, lol.

I DO actually have another project-in-progress to show you, not that I have pictures yet.  But soon.

In the meantime, let me share with you some of the fuzzier aspects of my morning routine:

This is how I wake up every morning.   Daisy's very polite, quiet, and gentle;
and she waits for the alarm to go off first.  (Her brother, on the other hand,
has, at this point, been jumping up and down and panting as loud as he can
for like half an hour.  I ignore him).  

Evie (our smartest cat, I say with great sarcasm), gets stuck in the sheers...
again...while trying to get from the windowsill to the nightstand to walk on
my hair, first thing in the morning...

...and then gives up and sits down, to wait for me to help her.  She's an awfully
sweet cat.  Not too bright, though. 

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A&S Sneak Preview

A bit of a thing I made over the past weekend, for an A&S competition coming up.  Some friends of mine and I are entering together, each of us working on part of the entry.  I'll post details and pics next week after the competition;  in the meantime, here's a little peek at my portion of the entry:

Rabi approves of this fabric.