Fabric Choice

[hrj]

So while starting to clean up the sewing area I cut out the second pair of black linen joined hose, converted the old red wool hose (which I cut up to make the new pattern) into two pair of knee-length hose, and cut out the linen lining for the fitted gown that thread_walker draped for me back in March. Now I just have to pick the wool for the outer fabric of the gown, so here are the choices in the stash (specs are 60" width with at least 96" available length, medium weight with a dense finish):

* a dark strawberry/brick red flannel
* a slate-blue/white herringbone twill (probably not, it calls for a solid color)
* a bright peacock blue
* a dark charcoal gray
* the rest of the dark royal blue I used for the butler's gown

The herringbone isn't quite right, the gray is a bit boring, and I'd hate to be repetitive and use the royal blue for two projects in a row. So what do people think: the strawberry/brick red or the peacock blue? The red is almost exactly the right length, while the blue would have about half a yard leftover.

ETA: Oh, and I'd meant to get to bed "on time" after doing just a little clean-up. Well, guess I've just hard-reset myself back onto California time.

Comments

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Of those two choices, I'd go for the red, but that is because I have a strong preference for dark colours. (Blue may be my favourite colour, but I like my blues to be dark, or if bright, to be an accent, not the primary.)

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Since, in theory, this would be the middle layer in an upper-class outfit, then it would be a kind of "accent color", since it would only be visible in flashes. I actually bought the peacock blue thinking I'd end up using it for someone else (no one in particular, just on spec) but since I'm trying to get out of ruts, I figured I'd include it in the mix.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Ah, well if the dress is going to be covered by another layer, and you are looking to do something different, try making it out of the peacock blue, and covering it with the brick red.

(But whatever you decide, please share photos once it is done. I miss having time to sew, and so am getting my fix through other people's projects just now...)

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

If it were me, I'd go for the charcoal grey (in fact, I have some charcoal grey wool waiting to be turned into a cote), but I like grey :-) If that's not an option, I guess I'd vote for the red (although I'm curious: why no patterns?).

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I like gray, but for some reason I'm feeling like this project calls for a bold statement. The blue/white herringbone is a fairly noticeable color effect and doesn't match my experience of what wools of the relevant era were doing. A very subtle warp/weft difference that ends up blending together visually would be ok -- in fact that's what's going on in the fabric for my "laurel anniversary dress". But the very bold herringbone and birdseye twill color effects just seem much more early period to me. For that matter, I'm not sure the very bold white/black birdseye that I've been lovingly hoarding for a Migration Era outfit is quite right precisely, but it's much righter then. (There's also an issue that the blue/white herringbone feels like it might have just a touch of silk mixed in and isn't quite as densely fulled as the others, which seems a minus in this case.)

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

I had been advised that birdseye twill had gone out of fashion before the mid-fourteenth century :-) but hadn't heard the same about herringbone. (Admittedly, the herringbone I've used is much lower-contrast than yours, so it may have been a non-issue.)

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

Blue! Use the leftover to make a hat.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

That idea did occur to me -- there would be enough left over for either a hat, hood, or both.

[etaine-pommier.livejournal.com]

I vote for the strawberry, but the peacock is a very close second. That's probably because I have a decided weakness for reds as accent colors in general.

We missed you last night, btw - hope you can make the next one.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

What timeframe is the outfit for?

I ask because the Tudor Tailor ladies indicated in their lecture (gosh, that was last year!) that in Henrician times the common wisdom was that wearing red near the skin was good for one's health.