Chemises/Camicie

updated ?

I need a variety of chemises/camicie to go under my late period gowns, so I've been slowly building up a collection.

Camicia #1 is made of cotton bubble gauze from Jo-Ann following Lady Madylyne Grey's pattern, with an extra 12" or so added to the sleeve length so I could make the little puffs. I made it to go with the turquoise gamurra and pink giornea. I put satin ribbon in the cuffs and collar, then tied them off at the width I wanted them.

Camicia #2 is one I made to go under my late 16th century Venetian gowns. Here's what I wrote about it on my page for my "Venetian Deadpool" outfit:

I threw this camicia together super fast for Pennsic. It's made of white handkerchief weight linen - I believe it's IL030 Bleached from fabrics-store.com - and white 0.25" double fold bias tape. I followed a couple of camicia patterns: this one by Lady Madylyne Grey and this one by Festive Attyre (the latter for step 3, making the neckline lower in front). The collar ended up being too wide because I measured the thread I was using to gather the fabric rather than the bias tape I was stitching it to. D'oh! As you can see I haven't finished the hem yet, heh... For the sleeve cuffs I used my handy rolled hem stitch that I learned from the lovely Baroness Greer Jonsdottir. I was trying to figure out how to get enough volume of fabric to have poufs at the shoulders while still fitting inside a narrow sleeve, and what I came up with was THE BIGGEST GUSSET EVER. It's not ideal but it works okay for now.

Camicia #3 was my next attempt to make a more period accurate camicia. It's the same IL030 Bleached from fabrics-store.com that I used for camicia #2. I used double fold bias tape again (0.5" for this one), and this time I measured around the neckline of the dress to try and get a better fit and measured the bias tape to the right dimensions, but it still ended up being too big. Sigh. The sleeves on this one are much wider (too wide, frankly), the hem is below my knees, and I didn't end up putting any gussets in, but otherwise it's largely the same construction as camicia #2. I wore this to the Atlantian Courtesan Guild Pajama Party at Rip Rap War III.

Chemise #4: I started working on this chemise years ago, so I would have something to wear under my bliaut. I made it out of cotton bubble gauze from Jo-Ann left over from Camicia #1. I stitched the entire thing by hand, and I finally finished it, though I have yet to wear it.

You can see I once again made the neckline too large, and it looks like I initially made the sleeves too short (hence the square inserts). I followed the same basic T-tunic pattern as my first T-tunic, though obviously without any gores.

Camicia #5 is designed to be a menswear item, to go under the Carpaccio gondolier jacket made for me by Maestro Lorenzo Petrucci for my friend Justina di Silvestri's elevation in April 2022 (see my Miscellaneous Garb page). I'd never made one with a gathered round neckline before. I knew German Renaissance hemden often had round necklines (albeit usually much higher than my ultimate goal) so I took a look through the patterns I had saved and ended up referencing Cathrin Åhlén's hemd pattern here and Gottfried Kilianus' translation of a Swedish pattern here. I used some handkerchief weight linen from my stash and 0.5" double fold bias tape once again for the neckline and voilà! I made the hem at what I hope is the optimal length and width to tuck into my waist-high hose with codpiece from T'ger Toggs without bunching too awkwardly.

These next several "chemises" were not ones I made myself, but were purchased by myself or others. Chemise #6, for example, is a 55% linen 45% rayon J.Jill blouse I found in a thrift store. I thought it sort of resembled some of the late period openwork/insertion lace chemises I'd seen so I picked it up. It's a bit on the small side so I don't button the buttons on the sleeves (which are 3/4 length).

Chemise #7 is a 100% cotton Michael Kors blouse with short puffed sleeves and a faint stripe pattern. When I thrifted this one, it was a button down. I cut all the buttons off and sewed the button and buttonhole plackets together. I stitched the tops of the plackets down to the edge of the neckline so they wouldn't stick up over it. I wore this under my blue and gold brocade Venetian (see my Miscellaneous Garb page) to the 14th Annual Cathouse Halloween Party - my first time wearing the gown!

Chemise #8 is a 100% cotton New York & Company long sleeved blouse with a drawstring neck, also thrifted. It works okay except the facing on the keyhole neckline doesn't want to lay flat, and I keep forgetting to tack it down. I've only worn this one a couple of times, with my olive green 15th century kirtle from FiorentinaCostuming on Etsy (see my Miscellaneous Garb page).

Chemise #9 is a roughly knee length 100% linen Eileen Fisher dress which I also found in a thrift store. It has pockets! Initially I was thinking I might be able to use it as a sort of apron, maybe like a late period "midwife" apron. Then I was looking at images of the so-called "Bohemian Bathhouse Babes" from the Bible of Wenceslaus IV (Codices vindobonenses 2759-2764 in the Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, Austria) from the 1390s. Since some people think it likely these are depictions of sex workers, I thought it was a great use for this garment, especially in the heat at Pennsic. Just add a sash!

Chemise #10: After the passing of my beloved late partner, Lord Vytautas Vilkas, I inherited his garb. Though I passed most of it on to others who could wear it, I kept a few pieces for myself. I am not sure where he acquired this lovely late period shirt, which he already had when we met, but I am confident I can wear it with a late period gown at some point in the future. There are no tags, but it feels like cotton to me.

Chemise #11 was a gift from my friend Lady Héloïse "Ellie" de Bruyères, who picked up a few of these 55% linen 45% rayon "Oversized Long-Sleeve Smocked Linen-Blend Top for Women" blouses from Old Navy for her Barony's Gold Key (loaner garb) collection. With the smocking at the collar and wrists we thought it looks rather later period German. The sleeves are not quite long enough on me, so I plan to add panels at the shoulders to lengthen them a bit.

Chemise #12 is a 3 tiered puffed sleeve chemise with a drawstring neck from DungeonDudsNJewels on Etsy. I am very fond of Mameluke/Marie sleeves so I indulged on this purchase. Unfortunately I've only had occasion to wear this once - an outfit I'd planned for a German themed event but was ultimately unable to attend, I ended up wearing in a photo for SCA Quarantine Spirit week (created by Dame Sibella Denton).

Photo Gallery

November 2022 - my various chemises and camicie hung up on my garb rack, with a photobomb of my towel bog dress (link to inspiration below)	November 2022 - Camicia #1	November 2022 - Camicia #1, closeup of the neckline
November 2022 - Camicia #1, closeup of a sleeve	Ruby Joust 2015 - Camicia #1, worn with my turquoise gamurra and pink giornea. It was so hot I didn't care too much about how I looked, so I left off the gamurra sleeves. (Yes, that is a wristwatch - I used to never take it off)	October 2017 - Camicia #2
October 2017 - Camicia #2, closeup of one side	October 2017 - Camicia #2, closeup of a giant gusset	October 2017 - Camicia #2, closeup of the neckline
October 2017 - Camicia #2, closeup of a sleeve	November 2022 - Camicia #2, now with finished hem!	November 2022 - Camicia #3
June 2018 - Camicia #3, closeup of the neckline	November 2022 - Chemise #4	November 2022 - Camicia #5
November 2022 - Camicia #5, closeup of the collar	November 2022 - Chemise #6	November 2022 - Chemise #6, closeup of the neckline
November 2022 - Chemise #6, closeup of the sleeve	November 2022 - Chemise #6, closeup of the hem	November 2022 - Chemise #7
November 2022 - Chemise #7, closeup of the neckline	November 2022 - Chemise #7, inside out	November 2022 - Chemise #7, closeup of the plackets sewn together
November 2022 - Chemise #7, closeup of the top of the plackets	October 2016 - wearing Chemise #7 with my blue and gold brocade Venetian to the 14th Annual Cathouse Halloween Party	November 2022 - Chemise #8
November 2022 - Chemise #8, closeup of the neckline	November 2022 - Chemise #9	November 2022 - Chemise #9, closeup of the upper half
November 2022 - Chemise #10	November 2022 - Chemise #10, closeup of the collar	November 2022 - Chemise #10, closeup of the sleeve
November 2022 - Chemise #11	November 2022 - Chemise #11, closeup of the collar	Chemise #12
April 2020 - for SCA Quarantine Spirit week (created by Dame Sibella Denton) I wore Chemise #12 with this outfit I had put together for a German themed event.