applegreen

I plan to make the kirtle out of red linen with a straight neckline since i will be using it with the Saint Barbara gown that i will be making as well (fig F). It will be intirely made of wool but this time, because of my allergy problem, i will try and line it with something very heavy such as fur. White one preferably like in fig E (if i can find any). The cotte will be side-laced. I also intend to make a black aipron such as the one in fig A. The hood pattern will ressemble that of fig B & D but with a floor length liripipe like the one in fig C.

Since the wool I had bought for the Magdalena gown dyed pretty easily, I went back to the store and got some more for this project. It was a light shade of grey and I wanted it apple-green. Well my friends, this time it worked !!! Wooo hooo !!!
(I think that it's a bit more "limey" than it appears on your computer screen though)

I was at an event last weekend and I wore wool costumes for two days in a row. I'm happy to say that the theory that I've been testing for the past few months is working. As I said on Med Cos , I believed that by exposing myself intensively to wool for a long period, at some point I would get imuned ! Well, it's working pretty well ! Just a year ago, I would have been hospitalised for beeing that exposed. I would have had breathing problems, red eyes, sneezings, and above all, a severe rash all over my body.

I don't know if the fact that it was an outdoor event helped as well but I know one thing for sure, I only sneezed on the saturday (when my whole face was surrounded by my red wool hood). And I only got a rash at the back of my neck and ears (where the hood was in contact with my skin at some times), on my belly and between my thighs. I was careful not to touch my face of course and I did wash my hands at least 10 times a day. No wool came directly in contact with my skin (other than my hands) though. I was wearing a chemise and between one to two kirtles underneath depending on the day. I creamed myself all-over with UV protection and bug repellant, I don't know if that had something to do with it but, one thing for sure... I AM SOoooo Happy !!! I'm almost cured !!! Maybe it's the 7 years cycle allergy thing !!!

I worked on a layout for the gown. The sleeve pattern is from the Herjolfsnes no41 (without the buttoning). I'll be sewing the side-bands and lacing-rings in the same way I did for the Magdalena gown.
Remember that you have to double everything except the lacing bands if you wish to line it. Here's how it goes...

At the moment, the bodice is big enough so that i could put the dress on even without the side openings. I think that I'll eliminate the gore that are under the arms even if it gives the gown a nice look. I've added those gores because I didn't think the straight cut of the bodice would fit me since I have such big breast but it fits incredibly well so I won't be needing them. I'll just have to make the lacing-band a little longer up to the armcye. I want the side openings to stay a little opened anyhow to be able to show the color of the kirtle underneat like on these images...

Well folks, I'm almost done with this project. The only thing that's left to be done is to sew-on the lacing rings... I made the lining a whee bit longer than the gown because I wanted to make sure that the wool wouldn't get in direct contact with my body. So, I made the lining show out about 1/4". Unfortunatly, I couldn't find any white or off-white fur and, all the synthetic fur I've found looked very "Synthetic". So, I got some heavy polar fleece instead. The fibers may not be period but it looks like brushed wool. And I'm telling you this ; It the most comfortable dress I've ever had ! It's so soft and incredibly warm, I could wear it outside this winter at -20 degrees and I swear I'dd never get cold !!!

Well, I'm all out of rings and because today's a holliday down here and all the stores are closed, I couldn't get any. So, since I have a little more than a yard and a half of that wool left, I've decided to overdye it to get a brownish color for a pair of hosen. I've added some red and a touch of yellow in the water. I figured that, over green, I should be able to get a nice brownish brick shade. Here's what I got... Not bad at all !

I'm all done with one side but, I don't know what the heck I was thinking, I only bought a pack of rings instead of two. So now I'm missing some rings again and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get to the store tomorow because we're supposed to get hit by the tail of that Frances hurricane. We're expecting 90mm of violent rain and winds so, if i don't really need to go out, I won't ! Hé ! hé !