Blackwork Partlet

One of the earlier projects I did was a blackwork partlet. The Partlet is a small piece of clothing much like a modern dickie made to be worn over the shoulders and chest underneath a low cut gown. I made mine to go under an Elizabethan gown. Here is a picture of me wearing it. It is not a great picture of the partlet, but you can see how it should be worn. The pattern on this piece is from the Italian sampler made in the late 1500s. The pattern was originally posted online, I believe, on Bronwen's blackwork library. This site no longer exists. I have heard she took it down to publish the patterns, but at the time it was a viable source for the pattern. Nowaday I always create my own patterns. It is not difficult to take a piece of graph paper and play around with it until you get a pattern that is similar to the one you are trying to recreate.

Here is a close up of the partlet by itself. I chose to make the blackwork pattern only lining the front opening and collar. When blackwork first started appearing on partlets in the mid 1500s the geometric patterns often outlined only these areas. For an example see:

http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownChild7.jpg

Here is a close up of the pattern. It does look a lot like the pattern I used to make the blackwork hood which I wrote about a couple days ago. I like that Italian sampler as a source of patterns. It is currently housed at the Victoria and Albert museum, but unfortunately does not appear to have a picture up at the moment.

I chose to execute the pattern in backstitch because I was not expecially comfortable with double running (Holbein) stitch at that time. Also the back of the pattern was not going to be visible. There is some indication that backstitch was commonly used for blackwork where the back would not be visible. However, at this point I have no proof of this, having never been priviledged to see the back of any pieces. The fabric is an evenweave linen, and the pattern for making the partlet came from one of Margo's patterns.

Blackwork Hood

This is a project I have been working on for quite a while. It has taken my a couple years to finish the blackwork. The pattern around the front edge is my version of one of the patterns from a 16th century Italian sampler. It is done with backstitching. I used a smaller motif to cover the back because I wanted to do it in double running stitch, and I did not trust myself to do too complicated a pattern at first.

A close up of the front edge shows both the more complex pattern and the bobbin lace which I edged it with. Of course the only references I have for the blackwork hood say it was a little used fashion which was mainly worn by little old ladies, and indeed I have never seen a picture with someone wearing one. There are 2 examples of this kind of hood in the Victoria and Albert museum, which is where I got the idea.

So what would I do differently if I were to do this again? I would definately do the blackwork with silk thread, and the bobbin lace with linen. At that time I had only used cheap cotton thread for the bobbin lace because I was just starting, and I didn't want to waste the expensive linen. I have since done some linen bobbinlace, and I am amazed at how much better it handles. The linen has a crisp nature that makes the lace stand out better.

Thus ends the first installment of A&S projects.