Sorting stuff

I got rid of the most annoying UFO:s little over a year ago before moving, but there are still projects that I gave up in the middle lying about here.

Yesterday I finished a silk veil, a long oval or maybe a rectangle with very rounded corners. I think that the reason why I stopped hemming it was the realization that it is a slippery silk that will probably make me go crazy when trying to make it stay on my head. Well, it's soft and shiny so I will probably give it go, but I need to find som thin good-looking pins to keep it in place. It's also possible that I stopped because the rolled hem was uneven and that I really, really didn't want to unpick it.

Pink Skjoldehamn hood

I don't think there will be nuch done by made for the Historical Sew Fortnightly. It looks like I never made the blog roll and the things I should finish won't fit in the challenges.

This is a hasty version of a viking hood, and the fit is not great. It's however very much what I'm missing for my viking garb, something to keep the cold off my neck and shoulders. I used information from the Internet, mainly from http://www.medieval-baltic.us/skjold.html and made alterations as I went along. The main piece had a fold on top of the head when I started, but it was much too long so I shortened it there instead of taking out the gores and cutting away fabric at the bottom.

Another UFO

I found another UFO the other day, a knitted wool cap that just needed fastening of threads and a run through the washing machine for felting. It is not yet fully dry, but I tried it on with a linen cap under for a quick photo. I think it turned out fine.

It had been sitting on a shelf for quite some time, but as I recall it the knitting was fairly straight forward. Lady Helwig suggested using nine needles and making all changes once per needle rather than by counting. I really liked that.

HSF14 Challenge #4: Under It All

Last time I moved I did actually get rid of some of the things that I would probably never finish. This shirt however I could not leave since it is such a lovely soft fabric.

When the Under It All challenge came up I decided to take it out of the bag where it had been sitting for five years or so. I soon realized that the problem was the ruffle. "What ruffle?", you ask. Well, the one that I unpicked, tried once more to attach neatly and then unpicked again and settled for doing without in order to actually finish the shirt. 

I also decided to sew the remaining long straight seams using the sewing machine. I then unpicked those since I had it inside out when sewing them. The only reasonable place to use the sewing machine at the moment is the kitchen table, and by the time I had unpicked the seams someone else had spread out an entirely different project there. So the shirt is hand-sewn since I wanted to finish it rather than wait for my turn to use the table.

The Challenge: A 16th century shirt

Fabric: Thin hemp

Pattern: Loosely based on somebody's description of the Sture shirts, I think. 

Year: 16th century

Notions: thread (linen, silk and cotton by the looks of it)

How historically accurate is it? Reasonably

Hours to complete: No idea, how about thirty?

First worn: Only for the photo. I intend to make a dress to go on top of it.

Total cost: None now, and I don't remember how much it was when I bought it.