This is a shirt I cut out, intending my youngest brother (11 years old now – that says something about how long it’s been sitting in my stash) to wear it, but that never happened. It didn't get sewn until now, for my three year old to use.
The fabric is unbleached,
medium weight linen. It’s cut in geometrical shapes, as was usual with body
linens.
In shirts for babies and toddlers I like to make a slit in the front neckline, as it makes it possible to
put over relatively large heads, and still have the shirts sit high enough on
the shoulders to provide protection from the elements. You can sometimes see this in period art as well, though a simple neckline seem far more common by the late 1300's.
All sewing is done by
hand, using waxed linen thread and period stitches. I made the felled seams and
hems rather small, no wider than 5 millimetres, as that is seen in period
clothing.
And that’s all I have
to say about this really. Not a very exciting project, but you can never have
too many shirts…
The Challenge: #3 Stashbusting
Fabric: Linen
Pattern: None, I just measured and cut
Year: Generic medieval, intended for late 14th
century
Notions: Linen thread
How historically accurate is it? Rather much. The fabric could have been more
densely woven, but the material and stitching is good.
Hours to complete: Not sure, I only got a few minutes here and
there to work on it, so keeping track of the time was tricky.
First worn: For the pictures
Total cost: None at this time as everything was in my
stash.
