FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Morgan Le Fay
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Outline the story …
I based my project around the character, Morgan Le Fay, from Arthurian legend. More specifically the book 'King Arthur and his knights' by Sir James Knowles, I used the drawing of her on page 125 as inspiration as well. She appears throughout the novel many times mainly as the antagonist. I chose to base my project around her because the stories of King Arthur are the first that come to mind when thinking about the words "Once upon a Time..". Due to the nature of the stories, the character of Morgan Le Fay is many things but she was a powerful character and she was portrayed as both an antagonist and a protagonist. She was always described as a powerful enchantress and a queen and I wanted to delve deeper into this, researching what nobility would wear and the fabrics they would use etc. The project consists of three dresses all set in the 11th century when the stories were written. There is the over kirtle inspired by the noble dresses of the time especially the bliaut, and there is the under kirtle and the smock. two garments that were used often in all classes. I wanted to create something that a noblewoman would wear at the time and try and make something that would befit an enchantress like Morgan Le Fay.
Outline the construction…
The construction of the dress took several months as it entirely hand-sewn using historical methods of the time. Although not 100% accurate as there is not a lot of information on tailoring at that time as well as a lot of the documents of clothing being deteriorated due to the length of time and all methods of sewing such as the steps and process are not as detailed as later eras. Despite this, I was able to find different sewing techniques and some of the stitches they would have used from my research and where certain stitches were implemented. I chose historically accurate materials for the dress, the smock made out of linen, the under kirtle out of wool, and the over kirtle made out of both linen and silk. I drafted the patterns for the under Kirtle and over kirtle myself, and the smock was based on a commercial pattern. I spent several months researching for this project looking up sewing techniques and the construction of the garments. I used several books such as 'Dress in Anglo-Saxon England' and 'Textiles and Clothing, c.1150-1450' which helped me research sewing techniques as well as which textiles to use. I had a challenge with patterning the dresses and it took several tries to make sure it was correct. Another challenge was sewing as it was entirely done by hand it took several months but also with some elements such as the lace holes on the back of the under kirtle.
You did a bliaut as a beginner??? O.o
The under-dress looks like the comfiest thing.
You did a beautiful job!
I love Morgan le Fay. I think the outfit and color really fit the character. Well done!
Love the patterning details !
It looks so pretty and comfy and glamorous. I’m amazed at the amount of work you put in. Entirely had sewn? Go you!
That’s a lot of research and a lot of work! The final result is so striking – that green! – and a period hairstyle into the bargain. Well done!
Gorgeous! I always envision the Lady Morgana in green or blue…
Great job! I really love that woollen kirtle!
Wow, so nice. I love the color, the fabric and the design! I love the whole package! Thank you!
Really beautiful and so much careful research 🙂