My Bliaut inspired dress (XII-XIII century)

Hello there!

Today I'm here to talk you about one of my last sewing projects. I was a reenactor years ago and I 've always been in love with the medieval dress for excellence, the Norman "bliaut". It's the typical, feminine, medieval dress with long sleeves and V neckline, the fitted waist and the flattering skirt. This model was very popular during Norman period in Europe, around XI and XII century. 

I never had enough money to buy a good bliaut so I chose to sew one by my own. It's not accurate (as my other costumes) 'cause good historical dresses need lot of money I don't have at the moment. I try to do the best I can with my own resources. 

For my bliaut I used about 4 mt of burgundy linen and 6 mt of embroidered trim. The pattern has been designed by myself, using an old medieval dress which I bought online years ago as reference (very similar to the historical model). I did some variations: my original dress has lacing on the back and I substituted it with a more accurate side lacing with hand-sewn round eyelets. The result is more or less this one (see photo below).
I'm not a great fan of linen (especially if it's not soft) and I try to avoid it every time I can. A good bliaut can be sewn in silk as well for a very noble look but I wanted to give to linen another chance and so I bought it. I found the woven trim at a local market for a very cheap and affordable price. 

After cutting the fabric I pinned both sides and sleeves obtaining this result: 

The dress was too tight on the hips for my tastes and so I added the side lacing to adjust it (I'd like to thank my friend Cristiano for his precious suggestion about side lacing! - he saved this project). The solution was simply perfect and the dress fitted me perfectly. So I started adding the trim on sleeves, neckline and hem. I had enough trim enough for a belt too.

Some photos of the finished dress: 

I love, love how it turned out! The sleeves could be more fitted and the skirt wider, but I don't care. I'm planning a matching veil for a more accurate look. 

Edwardian dress diaries

Hello folks! Finally I have some spare time to write a new entry!

Some weeks ago we had a lovely sunny day here in Italy and after taking some classical shots I could come back home to wear my Edwardian outfit! I started to sew a year ago and this is my second Edwardian inspired ensemble. I know it's not 100% accurate (as my other costumes) but I don't have advanced skills and my budget is quite small. I used Simplicity pattern n.8399 as the previous Edwardian/Titanic era costume I sewed (full tutorial here: http://daniellefiore.blogspot.it/2014/05/titanic-downton-abbey-inspired-dress.html) but with some differences: I decided to avoid the open overdress as in the previous one since it looked too much Regency at my eyes due to the huge back (it needs lot of pleats). With this one I did pleats on the back trying to make it more fitting, but I think it's still too large on the hips. 

The fabric is soft grey striped satin cotton with a black satin ribbon laced on the backunder the bust. The lace is the part I love at most: I found it at the local market at a very cheap price! I simply love how it falls on the arms. I know the hat is not Edwardian but I still have to find one. As jewels I wore a pearl parure without rings or bracelets. They cannot be visible but I was wearing a pair of black leather boots (for a good pair of Edwardian shoes check American Duchess out, her creations are awesome!). And now the parasol: it's a truly vintage piece from 50 years ago and it completes the look perfectly with all that white lace.

 

I didn't take so much photos during the construction - I'm so sorry - but it's the same of the previous costume. I uploaded some photos on my Instagram account, anyway: 

 

 

The fabric is really soft and smooth, a pleasure to work with! The only problem is it need lot of ironing before being worn.

Other shots from the day: 

I really enjoyed the walk with the costume, I wore it during an historical fair as well and some people asked me where they could find a dress like this :3 I was pleased because they were all surprised I'm a beginner costumer and seamstress *pride&joy*
I'm planning to sew other Edwardian costumes in the future, I'm in love with the swimdress worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic so who knows...maybe I'll try to reproduce that one.

All my costumes can be purchased on my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ilfiorenero
I hope you'll have some minutes to visit it!

*Updates September 2015*
I stitched again this dress, giving it a more elegant shape. The skirt has been hemmed in a better way and I added a black trim at the bottom. Every seam has been serged (no lining due to lack of budget). The lace has been sewn completely by hand.
The costume is listed on my Etsy shop and it's ready to be shipped! :)