Linen x History of natural lingerie (nursing pad)
Here is a good point to differentiate undergarments that were used in history. It is good to know what is the meaning of nursing pad or nursery bra which helps us to have a more clear view of how it is used. Then we can connect this products to their historical textile ancestors like brassiere and corsets and inspire from them for our research.
Nursing pad: It is used by mothers as a part of the breastfeeding apparel. This differs from mother to mother how strong her leaking flow is. Some mothers never leak and some leak a lot. What the nursing pad does, it absorbs the liquid and keeps the area around the nipple dry between breast feeds. That is important so that the nipples don't get sore and sensitive. Nowadays a lot of nursing pads are disposable and have absorbent based on petroleum and that is bad for the baby as for the mother. The perfect pad would consist of 100% cotton that allows aqueduct air flow and reduces infections.
One of the infections is also Thrush that is a fungal infection caused by the organism Candida albicans. One of the symptoms is nipple damage, so it is important for a mother to take care for her breast in this delicate period. To keep the area dry as thrush thrives most in the warm and moist environment.
Organic bamboo velour nursing pad. Source
Nursery bra: It is a type of brassier that has a primary function to be comfortable and convenient while breastfeeding. It is designed that way that it has a special plug that can be removed without the removal of the bra. But it also has a role as a breast supporter depending also on their cup size. If the bra is too tight her milk supply may be reduced, and she can experience plugged milk ducts.This can cause mastitis.
Maternity bra: The difference between the nursery bra and maternity bra is that the maternity bra is designed to fit and accommodate to the mothers breasts (stretchy fabrics, adjustable straps,...)
Research about the usage of lingerie and decoration that will later help us in the decoration of the outside of nursing pad. This outside will be inspired by tradition and history of decorated undergarments.
First record of worn lingerie in the history comes from ancient Egypt around 3000 B.C. High ranking woman wore tunics as undergarment. Slaves and servants had no undergarments, just simple loin cloths. A loin cloth was known as a one-piece garment that covered the area of the genitals.
If we move to ancient Greece, there are paintings which show the usage of linen bands. This were knows as zoné around the waist and lower torso. Other names for bras are apodesmos, mastodeton and mastodesmos and are all predecessor of the bra and the corset.
Undergarments shown in a ancient Rome painting called mamillere and fascia. Source
What is learned from the ancient Egypt and Greeks/roman is that under wear was worn differently regarding your status, rank. And it was worn primarily for function not for aesthetics.
This changed in the Medieval age where linen clothes got a bigger role in the underwear department. It was worn under garments as a protection against cold and for better hygiene. Two interesting pieces of underwear came in the fourth and sixteenth centuries A.D. They were called the chemise and later the corset. I will explain more about the chemise as it plays a bigger role in our research about lingerie and the usage of natural materials.
Chemise comes from a French term and it means shirt. So chemise was used in that age as a protective shirt for the upper clothing against sweat. It's usage lasted until the late 18th century where it was still called a undergarment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemise
This a example of 1690s chemise from the portrait of Lieselotte von der Pfalz, La Palatine, Madame, Duchess d'Orléans, wife of Philippe, brother of Louis XI. On the natural fabric lace was sewn all around the neckline. This was a delicate detail that made the chemise more feminine. Source
Because we are researching embroidery on natural materials, chemise is very interesting. That is because history records say that it was frequently embroidered. But also other historical garments had interesting embroidery techniques. We were inspired by a number of techniques that we will modernize for our nursing bad's outside layer. Here are the examples:
Wedding chemise (men's), Salamanca school, 16th C, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid. Source
Close-up view of corset ca.1825-1835 showing details of construction (this one is cotton with silk trapunto embroidery). In the early 19th century corsets were less structured and often had fancy quilted designs. Source
Many linen chemises from the year 1890 had embroidered monograms. Source
Heather Rose Jones explains on her site Archeological sewing about linen fabric:
Linen has a high tendency to ravel, so the techniques used with it pay strong attention to finishing edges especially by turning cut edges under so that they are not exposed. (Since linen garments are more likely to be washed than silk ones, seam finishing is more critical here than for silk.) Sewing thread is typically linen. Source
This is a good tip while sewing our nursing pad's outside. Especially as it will be washed multiple times and it needs to stay the same after washing it over and over.
1820–30Costume Institute Benefit Fund, 1999. Source
These are two examples of embroidery that are colorful and give off a nice effect that would come great for decoration of the nursing pad. It's technique also doesn't make them so visible and if made with gentle pastel colors it would come off very feminine.
Embroidery pattern executed in loose twist filament silk. Source
The embroidery was inspired by floral manuscript borders of the 15th century, such as those in the Grimani Breviary and the one to the left from the Hastings Hours; and is stitched in 2-strand cotton embroidery thread using satin stitch, split stitch and backstitch. Source
Our process of designing:
Sketches and digital illustrations of the decoration of our nursing pad. We are inspired by the historical embroidery techniques, but for the motifs we took traditional Slovenian motifs. Now we have to try these techniques on linen fabric.
