tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post3557417124053870661..comments2022-11-18T21:17:28.006+11:00Comments on The Alcega Project: Project #5. F.59a - "Kirtle and low cut bodice of silk"The Other Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12492925896131382172noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-38141190872591143302014-09-17T18:51:08.768+10:002014-09-17T18:51:08.768+10:00Hi Bess! Thanks for your comment, and yes your des...Hi Bess! Thanks for your comment, and yes your description makes total sense to me. I think the issue is one of compression if you are going to have a strap almost on the point of the shoulder and have it bear the weight of a sleeve. You need a super tight strap to counteract the force of gravity on the sleeve. I can see how your method achieves that. <br /><br />And your bronze gown is stunning!The Other Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12492925896131382172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-61863320911308974362014-09-16T04:06:16.726+10:002014-09-16T04:06:16.726+10:00I have been using a curved neckline and that curve...I have been using a curved neckline and that curved strap for some time now - and I worked it out before I discovered Alcega. In my case I extend the strap further and maintain the curve over the arm. The seam is on the shoulder. Where the back strap and front strap meet its like there is a little triangle "cut" out - with the point of the triangle being where the back and front straps meet on the ARM side of the strap and the wide part of the triangle being on the "neck" side of the strap (hope that makes sense?). Once the straps are pulled together and sewn, you get a very tight strap which can perch on the edge of the shoulder. It allows for that very wide neckline which appears from the 1530s and into the 1540s and 1550s in English Tudor Dress - as you can see in this photo of me in my bronze Tudor (1540s) gown (I'm in the middle!):<br />https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1914429_1251867216517_3772350_n.jpg?oh=dcd6f3e0d9be8f49d7a985e0f961bfb9&oe=54C8886E&__gda__=1419388063_8b6dab9ee8b6650cdb5a2fa4c5e661c6<br /><br />This style continues in the french dress into the 1560s and to a lesser extent in English low cut dress. <br />Bess Chilvernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-90615421673386534922014-08-04T12:17:12.681+10:002014-08-04T12:17:12.681+10:00Scratch that: I read the Spanish on the image you...Scratch that: I read the Spanish on the image you've got loaded there, and there's nothing about making up the straps with extra fabric or anything like that: I think you're right that Alcega just assumed other tailors would know to do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-14493928276812707482014-08-04T12:05:21.562+10:002014-08-04T12:05:21.562+10:00You note that you can't read the Spanish. If ...You note that you can't read the Spanish. If you'd like to type out the translation in your book, I can tell you whether anything's been skipped over, or whether I might have an alternative meaning for any of it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-79332202841612964472014-08-01T06:42:11.009+10:002014-08-01T06:42:11.009+10:00Thanks for your comment! I loved your brown kirtle...Thanks for your comment! I loved your brown kirtle, and my take on these patterns is that as they were primarily drawn as fabric layouts, there were probably variations and details that Alcega didn't bother to address in the book. Having said that, I was determined to try and reproduce them all as accurately to how they are drawn, as possible so I was determined to figure out that curious strap shape. :-) Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.The Other Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12492925896131382172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-27341743812970181292014-08-01T04:01:24.257+10:002014-08-01T04:01:24.257+10:00This is a great post! It is making me rethink a fe...This is a great post! It is making me rethink a few things.<br /><br />A bit more info on my brown wool kirtle. The skirt is based right from the book from the cloth of rash layout (minus the typos) and shortened for my height. The bodice is based on a block that fit me, rather than Alcega bodice. (It would be huge on me if I used it straight from the book.)<br /><br />I have a slight curve on the shoulder strap going in the opposite direction! The front neckline comes up in a very subtle arch.<br />http://centuries-sewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/newspaperpattern.jpg<br /><br />I don't use that block anymore, the shape has evolved and changed, (both of these are rather dated now)<br />http://centuries-sewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/bodice-patterning.jpg<br />CenturiesSewinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02915091909858254434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-15661285311275899072014-07-31T19:13:03.426+10:002014-07-31T19:13:03.426+10:00Thanks for your feedback and comment Marianne! Yep...Thanks for your feedback and comment Marianne! Yep, I think the book assumes a level of knowledge that you would expect other tailors to have. Trimmings and all sorts of things you would expect to be explained to someone new to the patterns are omitted. It makes it a bit challenging, but it also adds to the fun, trying to work these things out! :-)The Other Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12492925896131382172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5811488291869543798.post-56449960062104542342014-07-31T18:28:37.281+10:002014-07-31T18:28:37.281+10:00Good to see yet another interpretation! Thank you!...Good to see yet another interpretation! Thank you! For what it's worth I just checked all cuerpo baxo + vasquiña patterns in Alcega and nowhere is there any mentions of cutting straps. At most one of them, the paño one, speaks about getting the ribete (edging) from leftovers. So yes, it must have been just obvious to them so it was left out!Mariannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00644701518180883770noreply@blogger.com