Garb Quest - Huvet Progress

The huvet progress has been pretty slow, mainly because I've only been able to work on it a bit at a time. I've sewn the hems along the back/top edges of both sides, but that's all. This was my first time sewing with linen thread, and sewing a hem without pinning it into place first. The thread is interesting. I got unwaxed thread, so I have to draw the thread across the beeswax piece Dearg molded for me. It makes it a little stiff, and it doesn't pull through the linen the same way the silk thread I'm used to using does. The best way I can describe the feeling of the thread going through the fabric is "uneven". The results, however, have been perfect.

It takes a lot of focused attention, though, since I'm literally grabbing (or trying to grab) one thread out of the fabric from both sides, so the sewing thread is basically lost when you look at it. It's a modification of a typical hem stitch- instead of coming up all three layers, I'm just grabbing the thread closest to the inner fold and the thread directly below it on the ground layer.


I can go two different ways for the next step. I can either do the gathering at the bottoms of each side, or I can sew the two pieces together. That part's going to be a bit tricky, since I'll probably need to put them on a rounded form to keep everything from going wonky as I sew. I'm not going to do the fancy interlaced stitch that's on the original (like the recreation Joanna did), it will probably look more like Sarah's version. There are a few types of stitches I'm looking at using, so I'll probably take some scraps and test each to see which I like the best (and which I find easier to do). The three I'm looking at are the double blanket stitch (Fig. 25), herringbone stitch (Fig. 6) or fishbone stitch (Fig. 42).

I've also got to get going on Dearg's garb and a new dress for me. There's not enough time in the day....