Mid 16th Century Camicia by Donna Fede di Fiore

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Caroline Crawford
6 years ago
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Mid 16th Century Camicia by Donna Fede di Fiore A camicia (or chemise, as the English call them), is an undergarment which was worn beneath an outfit and essentially served the same purpose that

Camicias were worn by the working class and nobility alike, the only difference between the two would have been the quality of the materials used.

They were always made of vegetable fiber (Landini 2005: 125), but all surviving extants I have seen have been made of linen.

1 Mid 16th Century Camicia by Donna Fede di Fiore A camicia (or chemise, as the English call them), is an undergarment which was worn beneath an outfit and essentially served the same purpose that underwear does today. It was a barrier between the skin and outer garments, and was washed far more easily and more often. Camicias were worn by the working class and nobility alike, the only difference between the two would have been the quality of the materials used. Articles of clothing such as these were traditionally made in the home by the women of the household. They were always made of vegetable fiber (Landini 2005: 125), but all surviving extants I have seen have been made of linen. This is likely due to the durability of the fabric and it s ability to breathe even when wet. The linen used was white, and the garment itself was often decorated with embroidery. My camicia was constructed using bleached and softened handkerchief weight linen from fabrics-store.com. Given that my area of focus is on mid 16th century Italy, I chose to make a camicia that would compliment my finer garb. My camicia is loosely inspired by the one worn by Maria de' Medici in her portrait by Agnolo Bronzino (Figure 1.1), which shows an embroidered, square neckline with gathered cuffs beneath her velvet gown. Since we cannot see the rest of the garment, I have pulled details from other surviving camicias and incorporated them into my design. Figure1.1 Portrait of Maria de' Medici, 1553 by Agnolo Bronzino Figure Extant, The MET, New York Figure1.3 Woman with a dove, ca. 1610, Cecco da Carravaggio, Museo del Prado, Madrid Basic Construction I started with a very basic pattern with somewhat arbitrary measurements. I could have looked up the specs for a period loom (and perhaps I will do this next time), but for this project I wanted a lot of fabric to help make my cartridge pleats tight and aesthetically pleasing. I designed my camicia similarly to the 16 th century extant shown above (Figure 1.2), adapting the pattern of it supplied by Janet Arnold Patterns of Fashion 4 (2008: 112). In order to keep the neckline square, I used a strip of trim to hold its shape in a similar fashion to the one worn in the painting by Cecco da Carravaggio shown above (Figure 1.3). Lastly, I wanted my cuffs to flare and peek out from beneath my sleeves, so my design gathers at about two inches in from the cuff instead of right at the hem. 1

pieces, there is effort made to embellish or mask a camicia s seams. Given this, I chose to join all my seams with lace insertion.

I achieved this by rolling each seam edge and then blanket-stitching them secure so that all the seams were finished and joined with the lace.

2 Figure 2.1 Pattern adapted from the MET extant pattern depicted in Janet Arnold Patterns of Fashion 4 (Page 112) I have observed that in surviving pieces, there is effort made to embellish or mask a camicia s seams. Given this, I chose to join all my seams with lace insertion. I couldn t find a good source for how this was done in period, so I went with what looked close. I achieved this by rolling each seam edge and then blanket-stitching them secure so that all the seams were finished and joined with the lace. I also inserted three addition lines of lace down each sleeve for aesthetics. Ten yards of crochet lace went into this piece all together. Figure 2.2 Blanket stitches were used to fix the rolled edge to the lace. 2 Figure 2.2 interior view of lace insertion Figure 2.3 insertion lace on a 16th century extant, Ciccolini, Macerata

Cartridge Pleating Since I wanted these pleats tight, I decided to fold the hem of my neckline back to give this section more thickness.

To avoid the threat of thread snappage, I used 4 needles prepared with upholstery thread.

This dress was created to accompany my Florentine gown, so I intended for the neckline to match the neckline for that particular dress.

These measurements tend to be variable from gown to gown so generally it s not important to be so exact, but, for this piece in particular, I wanted

Moving on to the wrist cuffs, I m partial to the extremely tight, teeny-tiny cartridge pleats (like the ones shown in the extant left, Figure 3.5).

3 Cartridge Pleating Since I wanted these pleats tight, I decided to fold the hem of my neckline back to give this section more thickness. I used a piece of plastic canvas to organize my stitches, marking every gap ahead of time (with pencil), before stitching away. To avoid the threat of thread snappage, I used 4 needles prepared with upholstery thread. I stitched each individually, and then pulled the threads tight and together to form my pleats. This dress was created to accompany my Florentine gown, so I intended for the neckline to match the neckline for that particular dress. The dimensions for this are 11 in front, 12 long on each shoulder and 7 for the back. These measurements tend to be variable from gown to gown so generally it s not important to be so exact, but, for this piece in particular, I wanted everything to line up perfect. Moving on to the wrist cuffs, I m partial to the extremely tight, teeny-tiny cartridge pleats (like the ones shown in the extant left, Figure 3.5). I set about laying out my stitch holes in much the same way I pleated the neckline. However, the fabric was not doubled up this time, and given that my linen is very lightweight, I choose to make my pleat spacing twice as tight. I still marked my holes using plastic canvas grid, but this time each mark only designated an exit hole for my needle. I used 6 lines of stitches, spaced approximate 0.2 apart (or 1 square on the plastic canvas). Figure 3.5 Women's Camicia (cuff detail) Museo del Tessuto, Prato

Making tiny pleats like this can be very tricky given that each stitch may pick up only about 3-4 threads.

stitches. Linen (especially wet linen) is prone to wrinkling.

To aid in this process even further, I chose to wet my cuffs with fabric stiffener so the pleats would stay until I had finished each cuff.

To further secure my pleats, I laid a line of thread beneath the bottom row of stitches on each cuff and carefully whip-stitched each pleat

Embroidery My trim was based on the design taken from the embroidery on The Red Dress of Pisa, which consists of couched gold thread.

4 Making tiny pleats like this can be very tricky given that each stitch may pick up only about 3-4 threads. My pleats wanted to bunch here and there, but I found it easiest to tame them by wetting the fabric and stretching the linen across the stitches. Linen (especially wet linen) is prone to wrinkling. Teasing it in this fashion can make this property work for me and helps to set the creases in a more aesthetically pleasing way. To aid in this process even further, I chose to wet my cuffs with fabric stiffener so the pleats would stay until I had finished each cuff. This measure was temporary, as I washed the stiffener out once my pleats were finished. To further secure my pleats, I laid a line of thread beneath the bottom row of stitches on each cuff and carefully whip-stitched each pleat in place. Embroidery My trim was based on the design taken from the embroidery on The Red Dress of Pisa, which consists of couched gold thread. I was able to find a close up of it (shown below in Figure 4.4) and adapted it for my neckline. The MET camicia (Figure 1.2) also features couched gilt thread (Figure 4.5), so it follows that this type of embroidery was indeed used for a garment of this sort in period. Figure 4.4 Couched goldwork from the Red Dress of Pisa ca.1560 Italy, Florence 4 Figure 4.5 close up of embroidered purple silk and couched gilt silver thread from MET extant (Figure 1.2)

I created my trim in 4 separate segments, which I folded and sandwiched around the pleated neckline.

Doing so in this way, evened out the pleat spacing and served to protect them from future wear and tear.

5) and the MET extant (Figure 1.2) both use silk shank buttons to close the cuffs. My camicia uses antique shanks made from shell.

5 I created my trim in 4 separate segments, which I folded and sandwiched around the pleated neckline. I then back-stitched each in place on the front, then whip-stitched the back to the inside of each cartridge pleat. Doing so in this way, evened out the pleat spacing and served to protect them from future wear and tear. Lastly, I did a line of decorative blanket-stitches to finish all the hems and crocheted button loops along the side of each cuff. The surviving camcia from the Museo del Tessuto in Prato (Figure 3.5) and the MET extant (Figure 1.2) both use silk shank buttons to close the cuffs. My camicia uses antique shanks made from shell. This may be a bit of anachronism, but they will have to do until I learn to make buttons. Future Projects Next time around I plan to invest in some silk and linen thread for my embroidery, as this past project used some more modern materials (like cotton embroidery and upholstery thread). I have secured some antique bobbin lace for future lace insertion endeavors, but my search for period techniques for this procedure are ongoing. Lately, I have been studying drawn thread-work and so my plan is to use this method to finish the hems of my next undergarment. REFERENCES: Arnold, Janet and Jenny Tiramani, Santina M. Levey (2008) "Patterns of Fashion 4: The cut and consruction of linen shirts, smocks, neckwear, headwear and accessories for men and women", MacMillan, London Landini, Roberta Orsi and Bruna Niccoli (2005) "Moda a Firenze Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo a la sua influenza", Edizioni Polistampa, Florence 5

TUNICS FOR EVERYONE! Claire Knudsen-Latta

TUNICS FOR EVERYONE! Claire Knudsen-Latta ABOUT ME Historical costumer with nine-years experience. BA in Linguistics, BA in History, and a Certificate of Medieval Studies Active member of the Society for