Fiore Leonetta Bardi

Challenges Entered: The Planning Stages

Project: Frithuric as a Moroni Painting

The project I am documenting is titled “Frithuric as a Moroni Painting” originally submitted to the Ethereal Seamstress competition. This garment is still in progress. Some of my processes also broke down on this project as we made an unexpected move in progress. This solidified my belief in my process.

This Laurel’s challenge is permitting me to get into my favorite part of any project. The planning and the initial discovery.

Helpful Links:

Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1va1BARTkDAb4ztxLN7frdayTwdjx46GM?usp=sharing

Guardaroba Fiore (my blog): fioredibardi.net

Ethereal Seamstress Blog posts: https://bbm.eastkingdom.org/category/ethereal-seamstress/frithuric-moroni-painting/

Current Documentation for this Project: https://bbm.eastkingdom.org/2021/03/20/final-documentation/

Project Narrative:

Frithuric is the epitome of the cobbler’s child. I rarely make him new garb and have never made him Court (fancy) garb.

The conversation started with our decision to run for Baron and Baronness. If we get elected, Frithuric will need fancier garb. If we don’t, more people will notice him more anyway because of the polling so he should have fancier garb.

I always start with the persona. Frithuric and I talked about his persona and fleshed out some details. What would a merchant’s second son have in terms of resources? How would he live in the world? And, as he is contemporaneous with Fiore — are they connected in the game?

I’ve always liked the idea of Fiore having a secret marriage given the complications of illegitimacy and mixed-race already at play in her life. She possesses a substantial dowry (8000 florins) and should really use it to secure her social standing. As it happens, second sons of merchants can be really cute.

With some character flavor to play with, we started looking at examples. Frithuric has always liked the idea of trunk hose and has often looked at the illustrations in The Armada Campaign of 1588 for inspiration (Tincey, John and Richard Hook. The Armada Campaign 1588. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1988. Illustration I-1 & pg 60). We also supplemented our exemplars by identifying a suit of clothes of the approximate correct time that could work.

I like to look at as many extant exemplars for what I am creating, as well as illustrations and paintings. If I have time I will dive into the Medici database or books for accounts of what people wore to specific events. I have very little time to dive in for this project but will likely go back to see if there is anything fun there.

Next, to pick and source materials. I ordered several swatches of silk taffeta in different colors for Frithuric to choose from and he went with a very bright red. In passing, Frithuric mentioned Il Cavaliere In Rosa by Moroni. We both got to see the exhibition at the Frick, we owned the exhibition book, and I had spent several hours in deep study of the painting in person. It was a perfect choice and the red silk sealed the deal as we started to create Frithuric, Il Cavaliere In Rossa. I determined how much silk was likely needed, padding the order just in case. Since the silk was on the thinner side, I decided to interline it, going with linen instead of another layer of silk since both were period-appropriate. I studied the painting, making a master list of materials I thought I’d need, and placed the necessary orders. While those were en route, I started looking for the source materials that would help me understand these garments and their historical context. This is where the painting started speaking to me.

I have a habit learned in a high school art appreciation class of sitting with paintings for a long time. It is an interesting experience. To observe a painting for an hour, pausing to take notes then moving on to other works, and then returning to observe the painting for another hour (or more). Your eyes start seeing things differently as your brain keeps seeking novelty in a static image. When I have done this I sometimes hear parts of the painting “speaking” to me. I was able to do this with the Moroni in person so as I studying the image in the book, all of those memories came back. (Disclaimer: I really enjoy and excel at stillness, I get that some people would rather set themselves on fire than observe art in this way).

Anyway, I kept getting drawn back to the nature and texture of the trim. What was that? I started asking people what they thought. Most believed it to be long-pile velvet or something similar. I consulted Mistress Albreda who had a similar thought and inspired me to think I might be able to weave a velvet trim. The full exploits into that project can be found here(https://fioredibardi.net/2021/02/08/velutto/). The initial attempt was a complete failure which taught me a few things. One, a novice weaver is not going to figure out silk velvet in one go, and two, this wasn’t what I was seeing in the painting. I mentioned this to Mathew Gnagy (The Modern Maker) and he mentioned that there was an extant example of this trim in 17th Men’s Fashion. Time to dive into those resources. I agreed that this was the right type of trim and figured out how to weave a fringe with my silk 20/2 and the trusty inkle loom that Peter, the Red made for me. While I was weaving was a perfect time for thinking about the order of operations and how (and when) the fringe would be sewn into the garment. In general, I spend a lot of time thinking, planning, and researching before I pattern or cut anything. As a result, my documentation is pretty complete before I begin with the only thing to be added being my process notes about what actually happened as I produced the garment.

This was a skin-out challenge so while I was preoccupied with the fancy outer garments, undergarments had to be made.

Moroni’s men all have collars rather than ruffs and these collars are decorated with embroidery, lace, and little tassels. I spent more than a little time trying to determine whether these collars were attached or not, causing quite a debate in at least one historical costuming group. In the end, I made a shirt with an attached collar and a stand-alone collar. There was at least one extant portrait where you could see a man wearing both a collared shirt and another collar. It made me consider the realities of laundry, embroidery, and the nature of men. I can totally see why a man might wear a plainer collar inside of his fancier collar. I did end up using a re-enforcing decoration borrowed from a shirt in Patterns of Fashion because it was too lovely not to copy. The calzone again required a study of the extant items as well as portraits. I eventually used proportional patterning (the bara system) to come up with a pair that fit Frithuric well but I am not yet satisfied that I have captured the range of period-appropriate practice here. This item I’ve put on my future research list for another time.

I made a decision to use a knit fabric for the hose simply because I didn’t have the time to knit a pair but will eventually get to doing so. I will probably also make some red silk slippers now that I am free of the time constraints of the competition.

Finally, it was time to pattern the doublet and the trunk hose. I started by making a new set of bara tapes and drafting a torso block on paper. I then took the pattern from Freyle’s pattern book of 1589 to superimpose the doublet pattern onto Frithuric’s form. I then cut the pattern pieces out and made a mockup of cotton canvas for fitting. As expected it was pretty good and needed little alteration to fit better. The trunkhose were more exciting as I have little experience making menswear and crotches are confusing. Still, I eventually came up with a good pattern by relying heavily on the silk of historical tailors who have studied the extant pieces in person and using my own pattern drafting skill (acquired through independent study and an exceptional class taught by Mathew Gnagy) to make sure it was proportional to Frithuric’s body.

Then, after gathering the bulk of my thoughts on the project it was time to cut linings, interlinings, and outer fabrics and begin the process of sewing it all together.

My process, in short form, should look like this:

Inquiry

Specific: Who, When, What is the context, Where will they wear it and why this garment?

Analytic: What resources are available to inform my choices and methods? Gather them, read and/or observe. And especially, think to develop more questions.

Creative: What do I want to attempt? What seems fun? Where does my attention go?

Thought Process

I write to process my thoughts both long-hand and in blog form. I make patterns and re-make them.

I ask other people for their thoughts and discuss mine with others. Interesting things come up in these conversations some not relevant to the project but still interesting. I can get quite obsessive about a specific project as those trying to talk to me about something else can attest.

I consume images of items close in time to what I am making. I do a deep study of paintings or images — sometimes recalling previous deep study of the paintings. Sometimes I make a copy and draw over the painting the shapes I see.

I study the pattern books, draft patterns, make mockups, and try different processes to decide whether I think I am on the right track.

Lastly, I read the analytical texts even those I’ve read before with a focus on the item(s) I’m working on. I seek letters and accounts from the time period. By the time, I start reading I have opinions, lots of them, about what I am doing. In reading, I am seeking to disprove what I believe because human nature would otherwise have me stop when I find any resource that agrees with me. I cast a wide net because although not all data points are equal even weak data can sometimes lead to better data.

Preparation to begin

Selection of fabric comes early, sometimes because it has been in my stash for a while or because I need to spend some time with the fabric and see how it behaves. Then, a gathering of materials, needles, notions. This might also involve maintenance or creation of tools for a project such as having to make a new bone needle after losing a beloved one (still mad about this). I keep a journal for my wardrobe detailing materials, their sources, and cost for each new project. This is modeled after the giornale di entrata e uscita (journal of entries and exits) used in the Medici guardaroba with one difference. Costs for materials were typically factored in a different journal but I house the information in a single journal. I also practice Operina, a 16th century Italian Hand related to Humanist in this journal using a self-made feather quill and modern ink (for now).

All the fabrics get washed in preparation to cut. Linen gets washed, dried, and ironed twice. Silk gets hand washed with vinegar and a touch of lanolin and air-dried before being ironed. Wool and brocades get a test swatch washed before I toss anything in. Sometimes they are steam iron only in the end. After ironing, I will measure to see if dimensions have changed. Then, I start handling the fabrics, seeing how they drape, the characteristics of the sheen of specific silks, the interlinings I will use. I may make changes if the characteristics of the fabrics have changed from original specs in laundering.

I will cut all of the layers of a garment and stack them in order of construction. I typically set these bundles in a project box and work through them from top to bottom. I read my documentation and note what needs specific attention or where I perceive issues will arise.

Then, I am ready to begin.

I am at this point, a pretty good sewist. While skill continues to increase with time as experience does that, new developments on the sewing side are limited. Still, I never know if this will be a straightforward sewing project or whether an aspect of the project will force me to reconsider my speculations launching me right back into the planning stages. While frustrating, it can be one of my favorite things to encounter an error or misunderstanding as it blows up into something interesting and/or expands my knowledge base (this in fact happened during this project see this entry at fioredibardi.net for more). Don’t get me wrong, I love pretty things. I appreciate the finished projects. But, I live for the planning stages. In the clothes, we are Fiore or Frithuric. In the planning stages, I am their tailor, seamstress, laundress, weaver, maid, clerk, and head of household, as well as, the historian observing it all.