Di Grassi Suit

elevationThere is a tradition among the Meridian Masters of Defense to be elevated in black and white/silver 16c suits. I helped with Master Wistric’s suit recently, and so I was somewhat prepared when David Twynham found himself in need of a suit of his own with a 4-week lead time. Conveniently I was already out fabric shopping when I got the request, so I hit the ground running. In the interest of time, we decided to go with a doublet and venetians similar to a suit depicted in di Grassi’s manual (the man on the left) out of black wool. Rather than time-consuming stripes, I opted to embellish with slashes, showing a white cotton interlining underneath.

As we had done with the previous suit, I drafted the pattern using the method in The Modern Maker. It required some expansion to get the proper fit, but it produced a good overall shape. This was the first time I used the construction techniques detailed in the book, and I found the effort to be well worth it.

The venetians were based on a diagram from Patterns of Fashion, and required only a minor length alteration during the fitting process. They also included pockets as seen in the source image. The entire suit was lined in black linen, except the sleeves, which were lined with black silk satin. The same satin was applied in strips just inside the edges of the doublet and inserted and clipped at the edges themselves.

The cloak is made of cotton velveteen, lined with linen. The edging was fingerlooped from cotton crochet yarn, which was also used to weave the cords. The applique was done in synthetic white satin attached to a paper backing with hide glue.

I would not have been able to complete this project without the able assistance of Lady Stella, who did a large amount of the fingerloop and nearly all of the slashing, and was an invaluable help as I was working out the design and process.