Necklines varied from round to v-necked. The round necklines were almost always worn unfastened to at least the chest level.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Necklines varied from round to v-necked. The round necklines were almost always worn unfastened to at least the chest level."

Jemima Watts
5 years ago
Views:

women's qaba 16th century miniatures picturing variations in This pattern was developed from several extent copies compared with miniatures. Please see http://www.roxanefarabi.com/extantsurvey.

1 Page 1 of 5 Female Ruyi Qaba instructions: Instructions may be copied as long as proper credit is given to Melinda Haren and Heather Stiles. Heather developed the sewing variation that eliminates the need for sewing corners. women's qaba 16th century miniatures picturing variations in This pattern was developed from several extent copies compared with miniatures. Please see Developing Persian Patterns from Extent Garments for full details. Use: Ruyi qaba-ha (plural of ruyi qaba) were worn as the outermost garment. They either had short or long sleeves. For the long-sleeved version, the sleeves are over-long, extending at least 12 past the end of the fingers. Miniatures later in period show that ruyi qaba were more fitted. Use the fitted variation for qaba from the 15th through 16th century. Use the unfitted variation for qaba for pre-15th century. I use fitted as a relative term. These garments are loose and flowing. Well-tailored versions do not appear until the 17th century. Generally, women wore a floor length version. However, some miniatures picture women wearing a shorter length (just above mid-calf). These women are usually acting as servants or dancers. Necklines varied from round to v-necked. The round necklines were almost always worn unfastened to at least the chest level. Children were dressed the same as adults, so these instructions are appropriate for girls as well as women.

2 Page 2 of 5 Fabrics: silk, linen or cotton, either brocades (patterned) or solid colors. Decoration: Brocade fabrics were often used. Embroidery was sometimes used, either in the form of cloud collars or a small-line of embroidery coordinating with the cloud collar around mid-calf. In some cases, trim is placed across the front of the chest majorette style. There are 17th century extent examples in which the entire garment is embroidered. Hand-sewing: the extent garments I viewed at the Textile Museum in D.C. were most likely sewn with running stitch (I am not certain of this as there were no areas where the lining was separated from the garment). The one unlined garment viewed was a 10th century Tiraz coat sewn with a flat feld seam. The stitches were extremely fine. Closures: Frogs or buttons. The buttons on the extent ruyi qaba at the textile museum were made on a wooden core, wrapped with white silk floss for a foundation and then woven with gold in a basket weave pattern. Loops for buttons were made of finger loop braiding. However, extent metal and ivory buttons have been found in Persia as well. Lining: These garments were lined. The extent garments I viewed at the Textile Museum in D.C. were suit-lined (lined with facing on all edges), however, in period they may have been bag-lined. Suit-lining provides a stiffer profile, more consistent with 17th and 18th century miniatures while bag-lining provides a softer profile consistent with miniatures of the medieval period. The extent garments were lined in qalamkar cotton (block-printed cottons), though one extent 16th century ruyi qaba located in the Hermitage is lined in silk. 1. Cut all pattern pieces out. Pattern layouts vary depending upon the size of your fabric. Period seamstresses/tailors did not match patterns. Garments were cut in the most economical layout possible. For a size 9 female, with piecing (also very common) it is possible to cut a coat out of 3 yd. of 45 wide fabric. However, I would recommend using 4 to 4.5 yards, until you are comfortable with this pattern. Please note that the following diagrams are NOT to scale. For relative pattern piece sizes, please refer to the diagram on page 1 of a ruyi qaba over-laid on a person. 2. Sew upper side gore to lower side gore as shown. Repeat for all four gores.

3 Page 3 of 5 3. Sew sleeve sides to upper side gore as shown. Skip this step for the unfitted version. Repeat for all four gores. 4. Sew the piece you created in step 3 to the sleeve center as pictured below. 5. Sew the opposite gore to the piece you created in step 4. Repeat for the other side of the garment. You should have 2 pieces that look the same as the picture below:

4 Page 4 of 5 3. Sew front pieces to back piece at the shoulders. 4. Sew the piece you created in step 5 to the central rectangle. Ensure that the middle of the sleeve center matches up with the shoulder seam. 5. Sew the second side to the other side of the body. 6. Pin sides together. It is very important that the junction of the sleeve and body are matched, even if

5 Page 5 of 5 that means you must re-cut the end of the sleeve. Sew both sides together. Then repeat above steps with lining and line garment. 7. Place frogs or buttons and loops from the waist to the neckline. Buttons may extend to edge of garment if desired. Pictures below show variations in necklines and in closure arrangements found in miniatures.

1. Sew the gore and sleeve part 2, as pictured below, repeat for all four gores. as pictured below.

1. Sew the gore and sleeve part 2, as pictured below, repeat for all four gores. as pictured below. Page 1 of 6 Joba instructions: Instructions may be copied as long as proper credit is given to Melinda Haren and Heather Stiles. Heather provided the idea for the new method of sewing the garment to reduce