The 16th century high necked shirt.

In mars 2019 my laurel, Meisterinne Renike Tucher, took a new apprentice, so I got a little brother! When I was new in the SCA people helped me with sewing advise and gave me clothes so I could have some garments to start with. I think thats one of the beautiful things with the sca and that we create the society that we want for eachother. He is not brand new to the society but I thought that I needed to make him something. Me and our laurel both do german, me 16th century and she 15th century. So, of course its going to be german! He has nothing like that yet, I needed to start with basic, so...shirt.

I looked through Patterns of fashion 4 and chose to use the pattern for the high necked shirt worn by one of the members in the Sture family, murdered in 1567. Its swedish but had the look I wanted. But I made it a little less high necked and with embroidered wristbands and collar. Since I started my golden egg-project I tend to make embroidery on everything. Its very common in germany during the time period to have embriodered collars.

The fabric in the stureshirt was linen with a width of 80 cm so I thought it was fun to cut the pieces in the same widht. I usually make my shirts 150 cm with one seam at the front so this one is not that much smaller. Happy that my household brother could fit in my usuall shirts... To make sure the pieces where straight, I pulled a thread and cut in the line that arose. The thread used is waxed linen thread. 

The front and back are sewn together with back stitch. So is the sleeves and gussets. The seam allowens is folded down and whip stitched. 

But making all of that beeing on Nuijasota - Cudgel war in the barony of Aarnimetsä I didn´t take as many pictures. But the detailjs is the most fun anyway right?!

The collar

Both the collar and wristband embroideries comes from German renaissance patterns for embroidery A Facsimile copy of Nicolas Bassée´s New modelbuch of 1568. The embroidery on the collar is also the same as on the sleeve of the daughter of Jakob Meyer in the painting The Darmstadt Madonna from 1526-28. Its made in black silk on linen. 

The back is still not as beautiful as the front. But that is now hidden... 

I chose to put a small neck ruffle on the top of the embroidery. 

The ruffle is made of a narrow strip of folded linen put between the embroidery and the back piece. 

The collar is then sewn to the bodies with whip stitches, on the front... 

...and in the back. 

And with worked bars for closing the shirt, the collar is done!

And the wristbands.

The embroidery is easier then for the collar and therefore I didnt need to draw it beforehand. 

The worked bars are made by blanket stitch over several strands of threads, three is this case, anchored  at two points in the fabric. 

And the wristbands is done!