The Shirt

To start the ensemble I decided to work on the shirt first. I acquired a copy of Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion4 which covers in detail smocks, shirts, and other accessories 1540-1660

For the open collar I will be basing my pattern off of the collar of the shirt worn by one of the Sture family on the night they were killed. It falls open nicely and will show off the tatting to be attached to the ruff.

POF4 PG 20Shirt worn by a member of the Sture family

open collar prototype

I designed the embroidery pattern for the shirt; here is a little less than 3x3 pomegranate to be embroidered in green and red. This pattern is loosely based on an extant example found in POF (pg 69 1585-1620 shirt-under arm gusset).

POF4 PG 69 Shirt 1585-1620

Here is a photo of the finished prototype. I was intrigued by the description of the open worked seams on many of the little boys shirts showcased in POF4, but I have come to the conclusion my hand stitching sucks, so to save time and frustration I will still be machine stitching the main seams. Hand finishing will go in to the embroidery and smaller details like a worked buttonhole bar at the bottom of the neck opening.

the prototype

The Button Bar

I have all the pieces for the “Good” Shirt cut, now just to place the embroidery motifs get those done and then assemble it.