This is a collection of seam finishes from 16th- and early 17th-century undergarments in the Topkapi Palace collection, as documented by Raziye Çelik in her thesis Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi’ndeki iç giyim örneklerinin incelenmesi üzerine bir araştırma (2013). (Link coming when I can find a copy that’s not via Docplayer.) I translated the paper using Google Translate and a lot of digging about on the Web to confirm terminology, so my translations are imperfect by necessity.
Sultan Selim II’s Quilted Underpants (Don)
16th century; Selim II died in 1574. Pp. 94-96.
The underpants are made of two layers of fine white cotton cloth. The legs have a filling of a layer of cotton fiber about a centimeter thick, quilted with oyulgama dikişi, running stitch. The crotch gore is also double-layered, but rather than being heavily quilted, it’s filled with “a fine sprinkling of cotton” (çok ince serpme pamuk) tacked down with intermittent running stitches (aralıklı oyulgama). (If you’re interested in Ottoman quilting, this pair of underpants is an excellent study of how they varied the thickness of fillings and the closeness of rows of stitches to achieve maximum comfort and warmth.)
The waistband was made by turning the lining fabric to the outside, turning the edge under, and sewing a single line of backstitching (elde makine dikişi or makine dikişi) along the edge. Another line of backstitching was added just below the seam, on the body of the garment.
Lines of backstitching were used on both sides of the seam between the crotch gore and the leg pieces, though the paper doesn’t explain how the seams were made.
The inner leg seams were joined with double rows of backstitching. Again, the paper doesn’t explain how the seams were made.
Osman II’s Comically Huge Summer Underpants
Osman II was born in 1604 and died in 1622. He was rather slim for a sultan, so it’s not clear why his underwear was so huge, or how the low crotch worked with the closely fitted trousers of the day. Pp. 98-101.
The underwear are made of a translucent gauze, so all the seams are as narrow as possible.
The waistband was made by folding over the top of the waistline, turning the raw edge under, and stitching it down with çift sıra elde makine dikişi, a double row of backstitch. The folded-under section is minute, and the two rows of backstitch, in golden silk thread, are astonishingly small.
Most of the other garment pieces are edged with selvage, so they are joined with whipstitch (çırpma dikişi). The crotch gusset, which presumably has raw edges, is sewn to the leg pieces with an extremely narrow French seam (temiz dikiş).
The ends of the cuffs are finished with another double row of backstitch.