Another experiment in Trapunto..

Remember this?

I wanted to have a go at creating some Anglo Saxon jewels as a possible ornament for however I end up displaying Aethelflaed. It was enough of a success that I felt that, with some fiddling around, I might be able to produce something suitable. And since this one was very much thrown together from things I had to hand, there’s a lot of fiddling around to do!

And here you see some of it. I went looking for materials, this time, and thought it through a bit more.

So, crimson gauze laid over gold tissue, laid in turn over calico for support. The gold tissue may be a good idea for the effect in real life, but it is a complete nightmare to photograph, and I apologise in advance for the peculiar changes of colour the fabric will undergo!

I used back stitch in a single strand, rather than split stitch in two, but took more or less the same approach to the outer channels, filling them with woollen thread. I was a little inconsistent in how I did so, which is why you see little bits of wool above the gauze – something I didn’t want, but struggled not to do. There must be a trick to trapunto quilting without going permanently demented, but I’m not sure I have it yet!

I should probably also apologise for my photography..

Anyway, the next bit was why I wanted to include the gold tissue in my sandwich of fabrics. If you look at the Sutton Hoo helmet and some other Anglo Saxon items, you will see that in some cases the gems look lighter than others, and it has been determined that that is because they’ve been backed with gold foil. I’m trying to get the same effect here, but in the case of fabric by inserting the filling behind the gold tissue.

This was very nearly as unnerving a proceeding as when I was doing much the same thing at the beginning of Akhenaten. You’d think I would have learnt sense by now, wouldn’t you!

More on Aethelflaed

So, after my first two attempts at Aethelflaed, I had a fascinating day with my reenactor friend Vara, talking about the garments and decorations of the period, and she showed me this photo of her daughter riding astride, but in a modern riding dress inspired by early medieval garments.

Rowanne is apparently intrigued by what I’m doing, and has given permission for me to put this picture up, showing her and her horse Lola!

I also had a chance to do a sketch of a woman in profile, wearing the right sort of veil, complete with a fillet, with the added suggestion that Aethelflaed should be wearing a bright white veil, since that would be a sign of wealth and authority, and that sleeves would have been all in one with the dress.

So, I’ve had a bit more to work with, and had another go.

This is better, I like the straighter back, and the dress covering the horse’s rump. But my goodness, if you compare her with Rowanne and Lola, she’s much too long in the body. I need to shorten her somewhat.

Furthermore, I think the horse has got too tame – back to the cross-eyed one staring out at the viewer!

But then, I think, I might be able to start playing around with placing her on the background and choosing colours for her. Which, my goodness, will be About Time!

Working on Aethelflaed

You may recall that the planning and designing of Aethelflaed is proving quite a long winded process, with a lot of repetition and rethinking going on.

I’ve been looking for medieval women on horseback, because I want Aethelflaed under her own steam, as it were – not lead on a palfrey, but mounted on her own horse, with the reins in her hands.

The best I’ve found so far is this one, which I think was in the Holkham Picture Book Bible.

I started with the lady, and began some alterations. I want her horse to have some personality, so I’ve turned the head towards us, and lifted it a little.

I’ve extended the skirts somewhat, and given the rider a veil that flies a little, held in place by a golden fillet.

But the high contrast suggests a silk or brocade, and I want something that suggests a sensible woollen riding dress.

Then I found some Viking and Anglo-Saxon reenactors and talked to them. And goodness, that gave me food for thought. In particular, yes, riding dress was indeed a garment that an Anglo Saxon woman like Aethelflaed might have worn. But Anglo-Saxon dressmaking was not at all like ours.

In particular, whereas we tend to have pattern pieces that start with the widest part, and remove fullness by means of darts, pleats, or gathers, Anglo-Saxon dressmaking started with the narrowest width and added fullness by means of gussets and gores. In fact, an Anglo Saxon riding dress would have a full circle’s worth of gores inserted into the side seams, resulting in something roughly like this.

But not quite. I’ve actually been to talk to my reenactor friends, and there are a few bits which don’t quite ring true. I have some photos to work from, so there is more to come…