Help! Too many ideas and not enough time!

[isabelladangelo]

I posted this in my blog but I thought everyone over here could help too (so some of you will see it twice)


001 by jubileel_insaneone, on Flickr

I need a new Italian styled dress by the 25th - which is plenty of time for me. What is an issue is that the only things I've settled on are Italian, 16th Century, and one of these two fabrics. Other than that, I keep bouncing around! With the orange/red/gold brocade, I keep thinking a nice Venetian 1550's style or maybe a nice 1560's dress with a doublet gown in black velvet over it or maybe a good old florentine, 1500's style, with a black or gold or maybe even red overdress or maybe... well, you get the idea. I can't decide!

So, I need your help. The burgundy colored fabric is linen (or a linen blend, all I recall is that it was linen and it has a pretty design on it) and the red/gold/orangy fabric is acetate. Which one should I use and what should I make out of it?

[operafantomet]

What you need is mainland Veneto style. I SOOOO see this fabric coming from that orange pomegranate fabric:



The cut of the dress is the same as on the island of Venice. But in the mainland they often skipped the front opening with V ladder lacing, and instead they had side/back lacing as further down on the peninsula. With redwork on sleeves and in neck opening, and with lots of smashing pearls, it'll be a killer outfit!

The painting is attributed both to Veronese and his pupil Fasolo. It's of an unknown family from the Veneto, ca. 1558, and the original is in the care of Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco.

[DonaCatalina]

Why not both?
Then you can do the Saint Justina of Padua.

[isabelladangelo]

Thank you both for your wonderful suggestions!   Based on everyone's input (I got some emails and I posted it to my blog as well), the red/orangy/yellow brocade is the way to go.   One thing I forgot to mention is that the brocade is barely 3 yards by 54".   I can't get sleeves out of it (without a ton of piecing) but I can get a dress out of it.  I've been going back and forth with a couple of ideas (far better than the 50 I had bouncing around in my head!) and I think I'm going to go with a variation on Anea's suggestion.  :-)  A 1560's Venetian but open front.  We'll see how this turns out!

[Auryn]

I am late to the party but i figured id put in my 2 cents
- LOOVEEE the orange and gold brocade- so i definitely vote for that

as far as having enough fabric- you can always make the sleeves a different fabric and use the trims of the orange brocade as decoration on the sleeves

[isabelladangelo]

Haven't cut the fabric yet so you aren't late.  :-)   


The only problem with a different fabric for the sleeves is they don't seem to have done that during the 1560's.   There are plenty of depictions of without sleeves (chemise sleeve showing) and a lot with same-fabric sleeves; but none with a different fabric at during that decade.  Since this won't just be for the Renn Fest but for SCA as well, I'm trying to keep it a bit on the H/A side despite it being acetate.  ;-)

[Auryn]

I got ya, your trying to make it as difficult as possible
hmm...
well I think in that case,
I would go with just having the sleeves of the camicia
if you try to spread the fabric too thin, it will all look a little laking.
I say make the main dress gorgeous and leave the sleeves off.

[operafantomet]

You could make contrasting sleeves like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/licinio1530s.jpg

Or cutwork sleeves! That could be made from a solid orange fabric, matching the brocade one in colour:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/veronese1555douai.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/veronese1561giustinabarbaro.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/micheli16thcvenetosotherbys.jpg