RVIoD Updates...

My linen has arrived!!! It's absolutely beautiful, I love it! I really cannot wait to dig into working on the camacia, embroidery and construction.

But I am paranoid that I am going to make the wrong decision and mess things up, or go off the deep end and spend tons of time and effort going down the wrong path.

I've been futzing around with the pleating and smocking for the camacia for the RVIoD dress, and I continue the thinky thoughts....

In these experiments, I've come to the conclusion that the neckline is probably not smocked, nor is the decorative edge the same weight and/or fabric as the sleeves (Added bulk from embroidery, perhaps??). I am leaning more and more to the option of embroidering a neckband, and pleating (or gathering) the neckline of the camacia to the band. The neckline looks like it has 'depth' and a heft to it.


(Me messing around with embroidering with gold and silk threads.)

I've been digging around in my books for any support for a heavily embroidered, seperate neckband, and I'm coming up empty. But then again, most of the information that I've found so far are 80-100 years or so too late for the period I'm looking at. I'm still on the lookout for any period (early 1500's) embroidery patterns that would sufficiently mimic the neckline and/or sleeves. (If I do indeed end up embroidering the neck band I will most likely be using various shades of yellow silk and gold thread)

On the other hand, I think the smocking is going to be PERFECT for mimicing the look of the sleeve cuffs. I think there are 7-8 vertical gold/yellow rows running up the sleeve. Whether they were originally part of the fabric or embroidered, I don't really know, but I will most likely have to embroider them, as I am pretty sure I'll not be able to find the right fabric to use. I will most likely be using only silk on the sleeves, since the gold tends to get scratchy.




Unfortunately, both the sleeves and the neckline are not good enough resolution to try and parse what the actual pattern is, It's guesswork from here on out!

I'm pretty sure that the cuffs are embroidered with plain squares. In PoF4, I'm kind of digging the embroidery and lace patterns on pg. 111 from a smock....(If I use these, they're at least documentable, not some crazy thing I made up from looking at the portraits.

I'm thinking the lace pattern may translate well to the neckline embroidery...


And a possible pattern for the verticals on the sleeves. (With or without the flowers on the sides?)