Yes; there are two I can immediately call to mind. One is Lady Throckmorton (from about 1620-30) wearing what is clearly a satin jacket with black and gold embroidery (the picture is the one with the motto "no spring until now"), and there's one of a young man in a green jacket (not a doublet; this is clearly a more informal garment) in green satin with wold and silver work leaves all over. I'll try and look up the exact names of the portraits, but you can probably find them from the descriptions I've given. :)

I love this painting :).

Book 2 of the Medieval Clothing and Textile series has a chapter on these jackets and I think it mentioned a couple that were not on linen, altho the vast majority seem to have been. Unfortunately it is at home so I can't check it.

Thank you! Yeap, I can find 'em now.

holy crap, I've been doing it backwards! Running stitch to join the fabric and whip stitch to bind the seams. I love whip stitch and I can turn that out at a fairly prodigious rate. Very nifty, thanks for sharing!

No worries there! I can do tiny :D

Yes there is :>
In Hell the rain falls down, In Scotland the rain falls sideways.

Well, I rather like Scotland (when she's not in it)...

Come to the dark side, let the zen of hand-stitching draw you in......

Thank you! It *really* makes a difference in fit - especially when you consider that any pattern set up before the advent of sewing machines is not designed for that style of construction. :)

All those weird curved seams and fancy edges work completely differently with hand sewing - and *much* better. *evil grin*

You're really welcome! :)

You won't believe how easy it makes the curved seams and inset gussets/gores; it's like magic. :)

Do you do your eyelets with grommets, rings, or alone? I find tht if I use a slightly heavier linen thread and keep the shape with an awl, they go pretty fast. I sometimes use grommets for extra speed and consistency in covering, but I have to be careful to use thinner thread, because they turn out pretty small. For some reason, I've never used rings - my bodies fabric is usually pretty sturdy, so has less tendency to rip out.

Hmmm - without knowing what fabric you're using, it could be a couple of things:

1. Shrinkage. If you're using a running stitch instead of a whip stitch as a seam, then it's possible that the thread has shrunk in the wash (assuming you're using linen thread and have washed the fabric), and as the threads have shrunk, they've pulled the fabric together.

2. Your fabric likes to bunch or fray, and has either ravelled on the seam a bit (check for clumps of loose threads all knotted up) or will straighten out with a little judicious ironing. Linen blends like to do this more than straight linen, and heavy cotton can also fray some because the fibers are usually shorter and break more easily.

If it's #1, then switch to washing in cold water - it works as well as hot for most things, and stubborn stains can be pre-treated. Or you can use the smaller whip/overstitch method of sewing the seams, which will counteract any tendency of the thread to shrink. If it's the hem stitching (turnover at the seams, rather than the seam itself) that's shrinking, you can ease it back into shape by ironing the seams where they're stitched down,a nd the linen thread should stretch back out again. Making the running stitches smaller will put less fabric in between each stitch, and will also help it to stop bunching.

But washing in cold water should alleviate much of the shrinkage, as will hanging the tunics to air dry instead of running them through the dryer (80% of shrinkage happens in the hot air of the dryer).

If it's #2, you have bad-tempered fabric that will need a quick iron each time it's washed. If you double-turn the hems at the seams, it won't ravel the same way. If you're already doing that to prevent fraying, swear at the fabric a little and threaten it with death - I'm afraid it's about as effective as anything else.

...but I think it's probably the thread shrinking if you're using linen thread. Switch to cold wash and air-dry - it will help, and it's good for your budget. :)

I don't know - all I know is it's nicer for the hand-sewing (use beeswax). If you're not pre-washing, that's probably what's causing it. Most modern fabrics are sized and pressed so that they're stretched nice and flat for the bolt - count on losing about 1/2 inch per yard for shrinkage (which only really matters when you're buying in bulk yardage). :)

It's the small spacing that makes it work - if you make the stitches too big, the fabric will pull together. It goes faster than it looks, because you don't have to think about spacing the threads.