Idea Board for Mauve Italian Gamurra

It all started when a fellow SCAdian posted several Italian gamurra photos that were idea’s for her.  I fell in love with the look of one of these right away.

This gown is absolutely gorgeous.  I loved the contrast between the bodice that appears to be velvet and the skirt that appears to be silk.  I loved the center piece of a contrasting fabric.  I loved the complex sleeves that mirrored the different fabrics in the dress.

I realized this was a perfect use of the mauve cotton velvet I had purchased at Estrella 2017.  I had two pieces and together they were not large enough for a complete garment.  This would be a perfect project for it.

I started trying to locate a suitable center fabric.  After several samples came and were dismissed, the same person that posted the original idea suggested a wide trim.  I started looking at trim and found a lovely 4 inch wide, vintage, brown sari border on Etsy.

I also needed to find a silk for the skirt.  I looked through the various swatches from Silk Baron that I had and ordered a few others with yardage I bought for a different project and settled on a silk dupioni called Rosewood that is a luscious dark peach-and-black color.

I also needed some trim to offset the sari border.  I purchased velvet ribbon in two colors (one in two sizes).  I got a narrow (9mm) and wider (22mm) brown velvet ribbon and a narrow light brown velvet ribbon.

With the supplies purchased, it was time to draft the pattern.  The bodice is a sidelacing bodice. My previous gamurra have all been front lacing.  I spent an afternoon drafting a new pattern and cutting a sample from an old bedsheet to try on.  the bodice is nice a snug and should offer good support to the girls.  It may be a bit more difficult to get into compared to the previous front lacing bodices I have made.

The skirt I plan to do a long rectangle that is gathered to give it shape.  This will make trim application significantly simpler