I have not come across the actual name of this type of apron, but The Doppelschürze (or double apron)is noted in in Textiler Hausrat (pg 70) (thank you Michaela de Bruce for pointing me in the obvious direction for the garments name) it is most commonly seen on women engaged in medical (lots of midwives) or other very messy activities/professions. Although clothing accessories are becoming more and more common in Avacal, I have yet to see anyone actually wearing one of these aprons. Being the only German Renaissance woman for a few hundred kilometers around might have something to do with that!
I spent some time trying to decide if this was 2 rectangles sewn at the sides and pleated at the top or a giant tube pleated in two sections. Looking at various images, I decided it was 2 rectangles sewn at the sides. The hems would be wavy/droopy if it were a tube hanging loose at the sides and only parts going over the shoulders. Since all the images I can find showing the hemlines show them as a level hem, 2 rectangles it is!
These aprons aren’t overly full the way other pleated ones appear to be. The minimal pleating at the front and back combined with an assumption that fabric wouldn’t be wasted with shaping means the widths of the rectangles is pretty narrow. There are exceptions, such as the woman below from an Albrecht Durer painting below:
This apron appears to be very full and of a very fine linen.
Since I will be working with materials on hand in order to meet a self imposed deadline of September Crown, my linen will be 5.3oz bleached from Fabric-Store IL019 – Bleached White. Although not as fine as I’d like, it is quite durable and holds up well to wear and washing. Next apron I make like this will likely be Pure Linen Envy – Middleweight White. It is a Canadian vendor and the sample I have is LOVELY. Because of the weight and density of the linen, I will be opting for a more narrow apron. By wearing my latest wool gown and loosely measuring around the guard I come up with approx 65″ diameter of the apron. That will make a fairly narrow apron, so I decided to go to 80″ diameter. Making each rectangle 40″ + 1″ seam allowance. My height from hem to bust (where these seem to loosely sit) is 47″. I want approximately 5″ of pleating across the top and the pleating will be about 3″ down. Beham’s November/December engraving shows nicely how the pleating sit’s fairly long down the apron rather then just pleated around the top band.
The only thing left to decide will be whether the straps tie at the shoulders or I rely on math to decide their length. There is visual evidence of both. But that is for another day. First up, ironing and cutting the linen!
Keep an eye out for development and progress posts on this project. And see my pattern below to make your own apron.
fröliche Frau 