Category
Dulcius ex asperis (sweeter after difficulties)
Entrant
Rose Taillor
Entry
Gamberson
I hope I will write this project up properly with more details regarding decisions and construction, but given St Sebastians is tomorrow, this was my main project in the latter part of 2024, and it really fits the brief of Dulcius ex asperis, I thought I really should enter it in the challenge.
I embarked on making a gambeson for Lord Leo, after his fighting gear was lost in a car break-in. We elected to copy the Pourpoint of Charles de Blois, as the grande assiette sleeve was very permissive for range of motion, and it fit the period Lord Leo was playing within. We had a long discussion around materials and methods, and settled on accepting anachronisms for sheer practicality and prioritising function over historical accuracy. We got a tightly woven linen for the shell, and a lighter weight linen for the lining. The interior was bamboo wadding; 2 layers throughout with 3 layers on the shoulders and elbows.
I have very little experience sewing for body types that are not similar to mine, and even less experience in patterning for said body types. I have no experience with a grande assiette sleeve. I have further never quilted anything before, let alone made a quilted garment. Therefore, lots of difficulties awaited me, but the main ones were in the patterning.
We went through the following stages:
- Get the original pattern from Lord Leo and Sir Inigo, which his old gambeson was made of. Make 2 mock ups of this, before realising that one of the sleeve gusset pattern pieces was missing.
- Draft said missing pattern piece and do 2 more mock ups.
- Re-draft the entire pattern based on the reference photos of Charles de Blois – who, I note, had a VERY different body shape to Lord Leo. 3 more mock-ups
- Eventually figure out that the armscye had to be about 3 inches higher to improve range of movement. 2 more mock ups.
- Second guess everything. Ask Mistress Christine for help and have her confirm your pattern, and fix the lower sleeve (which, to date, had been ignored). 2 more mock ups for luck.
Pictured – all of the mock up fabric left after our 11 mock ups. - Make the gambeson, breaking 3 needles and running out of thread twice. The structural seams were sewn with upholstery thread on my basic sewing machine, and I finished all the interiors and neckline by hand.
Pictured – construction photos - Be entirely unable to set the eyelets, and dump the entire thing in Lord Leo’s lap for a weekend to get them set in. Metal eyelets were accepted given sewn ones would have added an extra 20 hours I did not have to the project.
- Insert the kidney belt pockets into the interior
- Finish off everything and then realise a fourth needle broke inside the gambe – found when Lord Leo was wearing it!
This was a real test of my perseverance. We started in August 2024, and only finished in January 2025.
The actual sewing was the easiest and most fun part, but I really struggled with the patterning.
Seeing Lord Leo fighting in it at Canterbury Faire however, was wonderful. Knowing that it didn’t have to be perfect, it just needed to be functional, was easier when I could see it function for its intended purpose.
References
https://cottesimple.com/articles/observations-pourpoint-charles-de-blois/
http://forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/garments/Charles_blois/Charles_blois.html
https://clothingthepast.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/recreating-a-14th-century-pourpoint/
