Calontir Challenge Plan - Chemise

 I have decided to enter the Calontir Clothing Challenge and am aiming to make a 1520s Portuguese outfit to be complimented by a 16th century Portuguese dinner.  I have entered for the Historically Focussed Advanced section as I wanted to extend my skill set.  I feel this challenge is a good way to continue to educate people about the wonders of Portuguese dress!

I decided that rather than focus on one painting I would incorporate elements from a variety of different Portuguese period images in my dress design.  This will hopefully result in an outfit suitable for a wealthy upper class lady from Lisbon.  

Layer 1: Chemise

I bought some very nice linen/cotton blend when on holiday in Auckland.  It is the right weight for chemises and feels like it has a good amount of linen in it.  

I have found that most of the linen in our local shops tends to be heavy so doesn't have the right body to make a chemise.  This is really important in Portuguese where you often have the chemise puffing through gaps in the sleeve!

Section from the Martrydom of the 11,000 Virgins, St Auta Altarpiece by the Master of St Auta.  (Image from -https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bottega_di_lisbona,_retablo_di_sant%27auta,_1522-25,_pellegrinaggio_di_s._orsola_a_roma_e_martirio_delle_11.000_vergini_1.jpg)

I decided for this challenge that I wanted to use the chemise in the portrait of Queen Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal as inspiration.  I loved the placement of trim on it which looks like the rays of the sun.  I felt this will compliment the gold of the brocade I am using for my dress.

St Catherine of Alexandria (possibly Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal) by Domenigo Carvalho (Image from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domingo_Carvalho#/media/Archivo:Catalina_de_Austria,_reina_de_Portugal,_como_Santa_Catalina_(Museo_del_Prado).jpg) 

I have started this chemise by cutting the material out in to 6 pieces.  Two body pieces which are the width of the fabric x measurement from collar to knee, two sleeves - the width of the fabric x length of arm, two gussets of 8 inches squared.    I then hand hemmed all of these pieces using a whip stitch.  This technique is used on the extant Italian 16th century chemise on pages 110-111 in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 4. There are no extant Portuguese clothing items that I am aware of (please let me know if you are aware of any!!) so I am having to look at nearby regions for costruction techniques. 

My next steps are to whip stitch this pieces together and then gather the neckline/add trim.