Month: December 2011

Alborghetti Suit: Sleeve

16th century

 I finished binding the doublet edges, threw together a couple of shoulder wings out of scraps, and whipped up a sleeve pattern. I got one wing and sleeve on and it looks like it will work, more or less. I need to try it on with the right shirt to make sure it’s not too snug, but I have hope.

The morning after:

On reflection, I think even “a little snug” is too much. I’m going to recycle the wool for canions and redo them. It’s a little wasteful, but I have a few yards of the wool left and nothing else that needs it but the trunk hose poofs and codpiece.

Alborghetti Suit: Eyelets and Binding

16th century

I’ve got about half the eyelets in on the trunk hose waistband, and made some good progress on binding the edges of the doublet. The doublet edges had been kind of floppy and wavy, but (As expected) the binding has given them some great structure. I’m doing about a 1/2″ binding in cotton velveteen, which is larger than I usually do, but it’s intended as a visible design element. The visual difference between the wool and velveteen is quite striking. I had contemplated adding some extra stripes of velveteen aside from the edges, but the stuff I’m using would need to have its edges turned under, and the synthetic stuff that doesn’t fray looks different enough that I think it wouldn’t be advisable. I suppose I can always decide later.

Alborghetti Suit: Waistband and Belt

16th century, Casting

Last night I tested how the doublet and trunk hose would work together. I pinned the trunk hose foundation to the lacing strip on the doublet, then put everything on and tried to sit down. The pins in the back immediately popped out. Discouraged but still hopeful, I went back and basted the doublet and hose together instead, and this time it seemed to work much better. I went ahead and covered the waistband with black wool, and plan to put eyelets in it sometime this week. I’ll also start working on binding the edges of the doublet and putting in buttonholes. Also sleeves. Each piece will bring me closer to the final fit of the whole suit. Finishing the trunk hose will probably happen last.

Something else that concerned me was whether the looser fit of the doublet would affect how my belt would sit at the waistline. The good news is that I think the belt won’t have any problem staying in place. The bad news is that my current belt is a good bit too short and can’t easily be lengthened. Since I sand cast the current clasp, I can’t just pour up another one easily. Instead I plan to make a new clasp in a stone mold. I looked at several different styles for the new clasp, and I think I’m leaning toward this one:

It will be easier to cast the loop if I don’t have to mess with rivets, and I’ll be able to move it to another belt more easily. Rather than casting a closed loop, I think I’ll make a flat bar and bend it into a loop. I can replace the lion head with an owl face as well, though it’ll take a little trickery to be able to cast both sides out of one mold. I have some ideas about how to manage that. I may just use the old S-hook for now until I decide I really want to make a new one. It would take a well-registered two-sided mold, which is hassle that I’ll avoid as long as I can.