February 2021 – Sibella Says

This jacket, which is housed in the Museum of London, is dated to about 1610-1620. The jacket, tabby woven linen, is covered over with fine wool embroidery in a barberry pattern.

https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/84662.html

Above: the European barberry.

The jacket is a fine tabby linen. This jacket is lined!

This photo courtesy of the Museum of London. All rights resaved.

It appears that the jacket outer fabric was constructed, and then the embroidery was completed. You can see this as it is embroidered over the seams of the inset gores. The jacket measures about 18″ from top to bottom and the center back. Other measurements, as provided by the Museum, are: W 441 mm (shoulders); W 745 mm (widest elbow to elbow); H 465 mm (back); H 385 mm (front); L 540 mm (sleeve); C 820 mm (bust).

Then, the outer edges were slightly folded in and a coarser linen lining was inserted using a slip stitch, much in the way that linings were inserted into doublets in the 16th century. It is important to note that the edges were then finished with fine, diamond shaped embroidery. In the picture below, you can see the interior of the front edge, showing the bottom corner folded up to review the slip-stitched lining; the fine edge work is completed on the top fabric only.

The embroidery is notable in contrast to the jacket of two weeks ago. It’s nearly all complete, suggesting that the mordant used in the wool was not iron. This suggests that this was imported from Spain, since English black tended to use iron in the mordant. This is suggestive of professional work or at least that the work was completed for someone of a higher station. The embroidery is very fine.

Enjoy these further photos of the jacket.

I’ve taken a bit of a detour here from my slightly earlier period to talk about this jacket, another Museum of London find that isn’t on display. This time, a great chunk of this jacket was cut our of the lower right front, possibly to reuse as a handkerchief. Whoever did it, I bear them a decided grudge, I must say.

This jacket presents a very different pattern to the previous ones, notably in the balloon sleeves. It’s also a very curvy jacket, that is, the gores are a full 9″ deep into the jacket, which would allow this to spread nicely over a rather full skirt. This is a 1630-1640 style.

You will note that the embroidery is done over the gore seams, which means that the jacket was all but complete when it was embroidered. This suggests that it was made and embroidered by different people. Further, this probably means it was fitted and embroidered outside the home, by professionals or semi-professionals.

The lace at the neckline and at the armscye is .5″ wide, and the lace at the bottom is 1″ lace. The sleeves are 16″ long, with a 3″ cuff that is 7″ in circumference. The cuff is set with .5″ lace. The shoulder seam is only 4″ long, and the overall size gives the impression of a very small lacy indeed. It is just over 21″ in total length, and only about 12″ from the shoulder to the high point of the gore, which typically should bit the waist.

Lace has been removed from the left side of the garment and possibly used on that lady’s handkerchief, which I am still holding a grudge about. The lace matches the embroidery which suggests it was made for this jacket.