Handsewing

Covers many details of handsewing, including stitches, construction, and textiles.

Some different stitches and suggested applications for handsewing garments.

Manufacture sewing needles using wire and hardware.

A typology and brief discussion of some stitches that have been discovered on extant textiles from the period between the seventh and eleventh centuries in Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and related cultures.

A rough survey of the sorts of stitches found in surviving material, and the purposes they are used for. It is not exhaustive, but simply representative, with examples chosen to illustrate general patterns, rather than to exhaustively document all the times and places each particular stitch is found. Although a great variety of specific combinations and applications are presented, they derive from a relatively small number of basic stitches and sewing strategies.

So, just how period do you want to get in your constructi on techniques ? Period enough to not use your sewing machine? No? Me neither ... but it is helpful to know the difference s between modern and period constructi on techniques .

There are several types of seams known to be used in the 14th century. Many of the seams are quite intricate and surprisingly inventive. This article covers the simplest seam constructions found, from Greenland to Germany, common across many times and locations.

Examples of handsewn buttonhole s, largely from 16th century garments.

Instructions for construction techniques observed in 15th-16th century clothing, including methods of lining and edge finishing, butted construction, and eyelets and buttonholes.

The illustrati ons from the Mendel and Landauer Housebooks , indexed by profession and with lists of items found in each illustrati on.

A simple class handout on seam treatments on early period clothing.

Considering the scant current mention of pins in costume and clothing articles, it may be hard to believe how common these simple items were to the wardrobes of the Elizabethans. They were made in many sizes, from the "great verthingale pynnes" used to hold heavy skirts, to the smallest pins used to hold veils and delicate fabrics.

Includes patterns and techniques for tablet-weaving, embroidery, handstitching, nalbinding, handspinning, and more.

Bibliographic entries compiled to serve my research purposes on the subject of costume rhetoric in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Sections include: sumptuary laws; history of costume; accessories/accoutrements; miscellaneous (fur, embroidery, buttonholes, narrow wares, etc.); fabric, clothmaking, and prices; costumes depicted in two- and three-dimensional visual arts; costumes depicted on funeral brasses; costumes depicted in literature; and dictionaries for costume terms.

Even if you make most of your garb on a sewing machine, hand finishing can provide a lovely finishing touch of authentici ty in those places where a machine sewn seam would be the most visible.

A practical guide to hand stitching and hand finishing your medieval style clothing. Even if you make most of your garb on a sewing machine, hand finishing can provide a lovely finishing touch of authentici ty in those places where a machine sewn seam would be the most visible.

Descriptio n of Viking metal needles, constructi on materials and methods with references .

References to stitches seen in archaeological finds and extant garments.

Descriptio n, constructi on methods, extant example, chain and reference.

A class handout with an overview of medieval needlework & textile techniques, with an extensive bibliography.

One of the things that constantly comes to light when examining extant Elizabethan clothing is the skill with which the maker of the garment created such mundane things as seams and hems. Beyond the admittedly glorious embroidery for which the period is known, a smaller, quieter grace can be found in the exquisite needlework that was probably never given a second thought by its creators.

Discussion on medieval buttonhole s, with a tutorial for sewing your own buttonholes.