I'm working on putting together a new Turkish outfit for the upcoming 12th Night Coronation to be held in Portland. I made a new pattern with some muslin (went out to buy it for the purpose) and pulled out some fabrics that I bought many months back to create new outfits. This garment is the entari, an over-dress, which is generally only worn in the privacy of the home, not out on the streets to the market. There are several layers typically worn when going out, which can best be demonstrated by Mistress Agnes Creswyke, my former apprentice sister.
She posted these on her LiveJournal page some time back, so with great admiration for her skill (and with her permission, which you can view more photos at her flicker site
here), I post these little thumbnails here:
First, the underdress--the pirihan, and the pants--the salwar.
Then the chirka, or short jacket...
Then an entari...
And another entari.
So there is a brief overview of the layers, and where I am starting from. I also consulted with Mistress Laurellen's page of
Turkish clothing construction. This generally gives directions for a loose overcoat, but the right measurements can also create this series of garments.
I already had the bottom layer, the long gauzy tunic, and I have actually made a chirka, the orange layer, but I wanted to start making the top-most layers.
I chose a thin, striped cotton fabric for the coat, lined with red linen. I have enough of the striped green fabric, but barely enough of the red linen...I had to flip pieces sideways and squeeze it in, and I'm hoping that it won't have any negative effects on the wearing, like sagging and stretching.
I pulled out the muslin, a piece of paper and measuring tape, and spent a couple of hours getting things measured, drawn up, and cut out. Then I sewed the first draft together. After several attempts, I finally got the pieces the right size and shape...I think. I measured, tried it on, measured again, took it apart, cut bigger sleeves, sewed it together, tried it on again, took it apart, trimmed the armpit gussets...several times...eventually, I think I got it to the point where it's going to work.
Then I laid out the fabrics and started cutting. First the "outside" fabrics, a green and red stripe, then the red linen liner. If this works as well as I hope it does, I can use this pattern for more garments.
And now...the sewing begins!
PS. Finished the jacket! Now it just needs some buttons and loops for closures on the front. Crazy Pumpkin Head man in the background is actually cheering me on, tipping his boot at me. Honest.
