I’m Still Making Undergarments: The Birth of My Spanish Kit
Project Specs:
Patterns: I made some (somewhat) educated guesses.
Calzones Fabric: IL020 from Fabrics-store.com, 3.5 oz bleached linen, softened, 2 yards
Camisa Fabric: IL030 from Fabrics-store.com, 2.8 oz bleached linen, 5 yards
First event attended: Ha. That's cute.
The first try on underneath my black Tudor kirtle.
Growing up near a mission in California, Spain and its influence is hard to understate. It's an area I've always been fascinated with, and at Atlantia Summer University 2020, I finally got the chance to take a class on Spanish garb and personas. Needless to say, it solidified my interest in the region.
I like my English persona and garb, don't get me wrong. However, I'm finding a lot of limitations to it in terms of variability, comfort level (especially as it pertains to heat-related matters), and creativity. That may be my own fault, but lately, I've struggled to get excited about English garb. I still love blackwork, but even that was likely introduced to England through Spain. Spain seemed the logical place to go next.
Surprisingly, Spain is a very limited area of discussion, at least here in Atlantia. I know one person working on Moorish inspired blackwork- from him, I got the idea to turn to architecture and ceramics for pattern ideas. As of right now, I know of one amazing Laurel who specializes in Spain- she has been hugely helpful and kind and all-around fun to talk to about this. But other than that, I can't name anyone. Which is a real shame. Spanish garb seems varied and exciting as well as logical in its construction. And don't get me started on Spanish cuisine- modernly and within the SCA, it is one of my favorite areas to cook and eat from. Why don't we see more of Spain and Portugal?
But curiosity aside, once again, the only place to start with building a wardrobe is from the ground up. No one tells you this when you first start playing, but really the only way to achieve the look you want in your garb AND be comfortable in it is to have the right undergarments. So once again (or rather thrice again), that's what I made.
Due to Moorish influence, Spanish women began wearing body garments for the legs (bloomers) much earlier than the rest of Europe, called calzones. These were fairly simple to construct and I already had acceptable linen for them so this is where I began. This part of the project took a bit of a hit to my self-confidence. I made these off my body measurements and a drawing in a reference document by some very learned sources. The calzones are made in two legs sewn together, then tied at the waist with a cord. This basically translates to my combined thigh measurement ends up around the waist, and it's not a great thing to draft if you're having body image issues that day. But, they are nice and loose around the legs and very comfortable. I'm looking forward to wearing them in the heat- I expect they'll be a comfort.
Being a prototype, there are things I would have done differently. First, they're a bit short on top, particularly in the front and back (the sides are fine)- my next pair will have a bit more height. Second, I did the cord on my lucet. Now, this cord wraps fully around my midsection twice and then some That's a LOT of lucet. I do not recommend this. Next time, I will likely try finger loop braiding, when I have the mental capacity to teach myself how to do that. I finished the cord with brass aglets, but I would go with smaller ones for the next pair.
The calzones are shockingly comfortable. I was expecting to feel encumbered by them, but I really love how they feel, especially with the looser camisa. I think they'll be a great tool for staying cool and comfortable in warm climates or warm clothing.
Next, I made a smock. Or rather, I made a camisa. There are some major construction differences from the other body pieces I've been working on recently:
It uses a different fabric. It's still linen, but it is noticeably finer linen. Why is this? Well, this is because there is so much more fabric that the smocks. Unlike the Motif and Forest Smocks, this camisa took about four yards of fabric. It is for this reason that I decided to use even lighter linen than I usually do. If I'm going to be drowning in fabric, I should at least make it the nicest I can. The major downside to this fabric is that it's naturally stiffer, so it took a decent amount of softening work to achieve the right texture I wanted.
There are big sleeves. I know I said I didn't like this. I really do. However, to quote my personal hero in life, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, "I'm a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I like." The big difference here is these sleeves are wide open and flowy at the wrists. I can get them out of the way so much easier than with the Original Smock with its stupidly tight cuffs or the Forest/Motif smocks which have tight sleeves that can't be rolled up at all. For the Spanish, more fabric=more prestige so camisa sleeves tend to be flowing and large. These sleeves are approximately 30" in total circumference.
The neckline is gathered too. Not only are the sleeves gathered into the armscye, but the neckline is also gathered into a band. Because of this, I actually relied on what research I could find from Italian camicias, which are similarly constructed. The neck is gathered into a band of linen approximately 3 inches in total width, 45 inches in length.
This camisa has no embroidery. This is my prototype so I did not decorate it. I have some practice embroidery going for a much more ornate version but it is a huge undertaking in both methodology and time, so as long as this prototype goes well, I can move forward with the much more ambitious version.
The camisa is genuinely my favorite piece of SCA clothing right now. It is SO comfortable and the sleeves are absolutely glorious. They make me feel special while not being too garish and the best part is that they can be tucked up while I'm shooting or cooking quite easily. The neckline in the front is also in a great spot. It's high enough up on both my chest and shoulders to keep sunburn at bay, but not so high up that I feel stifled.
Rolling up my sleeves for work!
The gathering on the neckline didn't go great... I used a basting stitch to gather the neckline and it JUST would not hold. It kept popping out while I was trying to get things to line up. The back ended up too low, and I'm not sure if that's a sleeve issue or a back issue or what. Overall, less than ideal. I did find a diagram in some old pictures and files that may be helpful for the next time I try this. I do think I'll need another prototype before I embark on my ultimate camisa project.
I think next time I'm also going to try some side gores. I chose not to do that on this piece because there was already a lot of fabric and I thought that didn't make sense. On reflection, I think it would have really improved the neckline gathering if the fullness in the body could come from gores and just have the sleeves require a lot of the neck gathering.
