![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
via http://ift.tt/2doiyu8:
operafantomet:
spazzbot:
ardatli:
annathecrow:
ardatli:
itwashotwestayedinthewater:
fabledquill:
killerchickadee:
intheheatherbright:
Costume. Chitons.
Marjorie & C. H. B.Quennell, Everyday Things in Archaic Greece (London: B. T. Batsford, 1931).
Wait, wait…. Is that seriously it? How their clothes go?
that genuinely is it
yeah hey whats up bout to put some fucking giant sheets on my body
When you’re carding, spinning and weaving everything from scratch, using the big squares exactly as they come off the loom must seem like a fucking brilliant idea. 90% (or more) of pre-14th century clothing is made purely on squares (and sometimes triangles cut from squares).
How did they get the fabric so fine it draped like that? Was that something medieval europe forgot? Or do I just have a completely misguided image of historical clothing?
Medieval Europe also had incredibly fine weaves, though the ancient world tended to have them beat. Linen was found in Egypt woven with a fineness that we’re still trying to replicate, and there was a kind of cotton woven in India called ‘woven wind’ that was supposedly still translucent at eight layers, and wool shawls so fine that the entire thing could be drawn through a wedding ring.
The way they could get away with pinking and slashing doublets in the 16th century was partially because the fabrics were so tightly woven that you could simply cut a line on the bias and nothing would fray.
Modern fabric machining sucks ass in terms of giving us any kind of quality like the kind human beings produced prior to the Industrial Revolution.
*yells about textile history*
Constructing clothes with squares was done in Europe at least up until the early 19th century. Difference being that triangles were sometimes inserted to make more width at say the hem, or under the arms, while ancient Greek and Roman clothes often depended on just the squares.
Modern tailoring is usually said to have started with military uniforms, where movement was of the essence. Each piece of fabric was especially cut to offer maximum movement and comfort, and soon this was adapted in civil wardrobes as well, especially for men. But we’re talking as late as the 18th century. The preferred construction up until the early 19th century was big square pieces sewn together and draped/tucked in place in various ways. One of the benefits with this was that the seams could be removed and the fabric reused and resewn plenty of times.
To show some examples: here is a pattern taken from a 1560s Italian dress. The skirt is pretty much four long strips of fabric, with four inserted triangles. The bodice is two square pieces with shoulder straps. It creates this style.
Or this Robe à l’Anglaise pattern from the 1770s, with its long, square panels and rich pleats, which amazingly enough results in this style of dress.
Or a Coptic tunic from around 800, resulting in a garment in this style:
Primary constructions is the basic of historical fashion (pre-1800), and once you’ve tried it there really is no going back. It creates fab garments, and it’s amazingly comfortable to wear. It can also still be found in folk costumes around the world, for the reasons stated in the initial posts: it’s the best way of using all the precious fabric and avoid unnecessary waste.
operafantomet:
spazzbot:
ardatli:
annathecrow:
ardatli:
itwashotwestayedinthewater:
fabledquill:
killerchickadee:
intheheatherbright:
Costume. Chitons.
Marjorie & C. H. B.Quennell, Everyday Things in Archaic Greece (London: B. T. Batsford, 1931).
Wait, wait…. Is that seriously it? How their clothes go?
that genuinely is it
yeah hey whats up bout to put some fucking giant sheets on my body
When you’re carding, spinning and weaving everything from scratch, using the big squares exactly as they come off the loom must seem like a fucking brilliant idea. 90% (or more) of pre-14th century clothing is made purely on squares (and sometimes triangles cut from squares).
How did they get the fabric so fine it draped like that? Was that something medieval europe forgot? Or do I just have a completely misguided image of historical clothing?
Medieval Europe also had incredibly fine weaves, though the ancient world tended to have them beat. Linen was found in Egypt woven with a fineness that we’re still trying to replicate, and there was a kind of cotton woven in India called ‘woven wind’ that was supposedly still translucent at eight layers, and wool shawls so fine that the entire thing could be drawn through a wedding ring.
The way they could get away with pinking and slashing doublets in the 16th century was partially because the fabrics were so tightly woven that you could simply cut a line on the bias and nothing would fray.
Modern fabric machining sucks ass in terms of giving us any kind of quality like the kind human beings produced prior to the Industrial Revolution.
*yells about textile history*
Constructing clothes with squares was done in Europe at least up until the early 19th century. Difference being that triangles were sometimes inserted to make more width at say the hem, or under the arms, while ancient Greek and Roman clothes often depended on just the squares.
Modern tailoring is usually said to have started with military uniforms, where movement was of the essence. Each piece of fabric was especially cut to offer maximum movement and comfort, and soon this was adapted in civil wardrobes as well, especially for men. But we’re talking as late as the 18th century. The preferred construction up until the early 19th century was big square pieces sewn together and draped/tucked in place in various ways. One of the benefits with this was that the seams could be removed and the fabric reused and resewn plenty of times.
To show some examples: here is a pattern taken from a 1560s Italian dress. The skirt is pretty much four long strips of fabric, with four inserted triangles. The bodice is two square pieces with shoulder straps. It creates this style.
Or this Robe à l’Anglaise pattern from the 1770s, with its long, square panels and rich pleats, which amazingly enough results in this style of dress.
Or a Coptic tunic from around 800, resulting in a garment in this style:
Primary constructions is the basic of historical fashion (pre-1800), and once you’ve tried it there really is no going back. It creates fab garments, and it’s amazingly comfortable to wear. It can also still be found in folk costumes around the world, for the reasons stated in the initial posts: it’s the best way of using all the precious fabric and avoid unnecessary waste.
