The Chemise Commision Photos of the process....

Process one: make the lace for the sleeve panels. (after measuring, of course)

As with all projects I gather my research first. In addition to extant garments I found myself engrossed in "Giardineto Novo di Punti Tagliati" a pattern book written and first published in 1542. It's a little tricky to make out the patterns at first, because they are all negatives of what they are depicting.



Then laying out the major features of the pattern takes place. That image is to the left. Each sleeve is going to have seven blocks of pattern. Four of the blocks will be filled with whitework, and between each pair of whitework blocks will be an block of open work. For a total of three block of Punto Tagliato in each arm.

Once the decision of where the blocks of lace are to be placed the next step is to outline each of these regions to the exact thread that will be used in each block.



This process, while tedious, is essential. This allows each of the blocks to line up precisely. Also it prevents the top and bottom of a block where threads will be removed from becoming unaligned. After you have outlined your blocks, and checked that they are accurate, you then can secure the edges of the block where threads will be removed. Among the methods that were used historically are overcast edges, buttonhole edges, and reweaving. On this project I wanted a smooth finish, so I overcast the outlined edges with silk thread.

The next step is the removal of threads. It is best to remove all threads in one plane first. This helps to reduce the stress on the fabric and on the edges of the block. Also it is best to remove the long threads first, because that will help to facilitate getting to the ends of the more frequent shorter threads. In this pattern 4 threads are removed, and four threads remain.



OK... bad photo, but hopefully you can see that the removal of the short threads is in progress and that the gathering of the threads is started. It is wise to gather the threads as you create your open areas, there is less chance of snagging. Also gathering the remaining threads as you go helps to reinforce the edges, and prevent threads from slipping and fraying.

Keeping with the simplicity theme I continued the overcast of the edges in the gathering of the threads. The bundles are simply wrapped tightly with silk floss.



Continuing the process you will develop a ground of squares, a net, upon which you can execute your filling stitches. And that's where you can really start playing...



What you see to the right is one test block of pattern. Many ideas in the "Giardineto" were rejected on the basis of the number of columns that were required to execute the pattern. I have five columns to work with.

And then there was the need to create a pattern that was unique... I hate to copy by rote. So in creating a pattern I first had to deduce the rules of 16th century Italian Punto Tagliato. That's where the Giardineto proved irreplaceable. This is what I deduced.

- Every frame or square holds something... there are no unfilled squares.
- The pattern within each square plays into a larger pattern.
- Both geometric and vine like patterns were used.
- Picots are allowable.
- Picots only appear on wheel or curve structures (still looking)



This is approaching the final pattern... but still needed tweaking.