Zuzana wrote:
I'm going to make a pourpoint inspired by the Charles de Blois
pourpoint, fitted, but not as much as the extant garment, and of a
slightly thicker material and padding.
I'm familiar with modern construction techniques and know some of the
period ones, but the problem is that I've never done a padded garment
before and I cannot imagine how much larger the pattern should be
according to the wearer's measurements. I've made a tight-fitting block
directly on the man and now my trouble is where and how much to
enlarge it. Shall I enlarge it only horizontally, or in both directions,
where more, where less. How big will be the bust difference between the
measurement and the actual garment?
I cannot figure out how to do a block or a fitting with all the layers
unstitched and I cannot afford to make a big mistake, as I'll probably
first cut out the pattern on all the layers, do the quilting and then do the
fitting.
The one time I made one of these, I decided to avoid quilting flat, because I
had found that this causes bunching or wrinkling of the inner layers once I
wrap the fabric around the person's torso. In the past, for a 16th c.
structured bodice, I'd solved this problem by hand-quilting the layers in a
curved shape, pinned around a cylindrical trash can whose measurements were not
too far off the person's torso. In that case, I fitted the inner layer first,
and I didn't trim down the outer layer till the quilting was done, so I didn't
have to worry about exactly where to trim.
For the pourpoint, which covered a larger area and a more complicated shape, I
did much the same, but directly around the person's body. I sewed a linen
lining first, to fit properly on the man. Then he stood with the lining on, and
I laid cotton padding in layers over his body. One advantage of this is that we
could layer the padding more thickly in some areas to compensate for imbalances
(one side of his chest was much smaller than the other) and also to make the
top more padded than the hips. I carefully basted the layers in place on the
body. He was very patient! Then I laid a layer of linen over all, cut roughly
to size, made sure we liked how it looked, and basted that on top. I took it
off him and quilted everything properly, holding the fabric in a body-shaped
curve (which was easy since the basting kept the layers in place in that
shape). I then upholstered the final outer layer (linen or silk, I have
forgotten) over the top, with a more decorative stitching through all the
layers.
I left a large seam allowance on the outer layer only. At the armholes, this
served as a place to attach the sleeves, which I worked out and assembled
separately after the body was done. On the neckline, hem, and front opening, I
turned the outer-layer allowance over the raw edges of the quilted sections,
trimmed it evenly and sewed it down, and covered the raw edge of the turndown
with a strip of silk binding.
I may have some details wrong on the above, as it has been more than a decade
since I made this. The man involved is in the SCA; those of you in Northshield
may remember this as a bright blue pourpoint that Valerius wore starting in
1996. (There was a silk brocaded short houppelande in black and gold and red he
wore over it.) Just a few months ago I saw the entire outfit again for the
first time since I made it, so I'm remembering some details, but I would have
to examine it closely again to remember all.
--Robin
I have no idea if this is a period practice or not, but it worked.
_
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