After making a medieval smock, it was time for a kirtle! Definitions are tricky, and I'm no expert on Medieval fashion, but as far as I could find the term 'kirtle' generally just means a close-fitting dress. Usually they were worn underneath another dress, or layered, but this depends a bit on the era and the…
*** Welcome to the photo dump for my new blue kirtle (the construction of which was recently documented in my latest Dress Diary). Based on early 16th century illustrations, the kirtle laces up the front and features short sleeves, a 'V' back, and a shaped skirt (constructed with piecing). It was originally inspired by a page from Catherine de Medici's Book of Hours. Although less popular later in the century, blue seemed to be a fairly ubiquitous colour in the first decades of the 16th century (and earlier). Inspired by period images, it was clear that it could be infinitely adapted by swapping out a few accessories. So first things, first: I whip up some new sleeves! A LOT of sleeves... (so many that I won't be able to get to all the different combination in this post) All the sleeves are 3/4 length and are simple tubes which taper to the wrist. They are lined with various colours of linen (basically whatever I had in my stash) Okay... Let the Mix & Match begin!!! The first look is just the basic kirtle with the addition of a white, un-gathered apron. The result is a sort of low-rent, early 16th c. Belle... Adding on.... A lot of the images of female field workers show blue kirtles and red sleeves, so that seemed a fun place to start. This look incudes a large vintage sunhat. And a leather belt and purse from Karl Robinson - Leatherworker. The next iteration is basically the same, but with the white apron swapped out for a beige one...and a broom! The broom is a one that I picked up at the Renaissance Faire some years ago. It's aggressively rustic in appearance and I love it! Next up...more props! This time, a basket and some fake bread and veg that I picked up at a craft store. Right. These red sleeves are great, but it's getting a bit boring... Let's do it all again, but with green! Next big hat is swapped out for a smaller, conical one and the skirt bustled up for work. (I think this look is just okay...I really needed a partlet or shoulder linen to get closer to the period images.) Okay, field workers are fun, but it's time to dress things up a bit... Let's start with one of the staples of early Tudor fashion: a black, pointy partlet. Details of two Brueghel paintings The partlet is made of black wool and lined in black linen. (The pattern is self drafted.) A small pewter hook from The Tudor Tailor is stitched to the point. This is combined with my black apron. And a large, white, felted hat from Sally Pointer. And finally, a pair of white wool sleeves. I like this look a lot. I feel like you most often see this style of hat worn with a large, linen shoulder square (as in several Holbein paintings and sketches). I did make a linen yard square specifically for that purpose....and then forgot to get any photos of it. Oh, well... Lastly, one of the inspiration images that kicked off the blue kirtle project to begin with: A Witches' Coven! (I mean, who doesn't love a good hexing?) The Witches' Cove, Follower of Jan Mandijn The ensemble uses most of the pieces from the outfit above, but with the white sleeves swapped for light yellow ones. And of course every self-respecting Witch needs a broom! And that's it! Blue kirtle Mix & Match is (sort of) complete! Really, I could have tried even more iterations and combinations but ran out of time. However, I did take a couple of more costume-y variations....but this post was already getting crazy long, so look for that in a separate upload later this week. (NOTE: That post can now be found HERE) ***
I made this kirtle from the pattern diagram in the wonderful book The Tudor Tailor. The wool was a gift from a coworker that came from...
At the end of August, my husband let me know that he wanted to try a different era of costumes. We decided to give 14th century a try for...
I finally had some sun and a weekend at home to take some pictures. I had 4 garments that were finished and not photographed, including this kirtle and smock. I made the kirtle earlier in the year for a faire I ended up not being able to attend, so I don't have any pictures of…
*** Well, it's been a hot minute but I finally have an update for this (very neglected) blog! It's been a year (or three) of starts and stops. Despite the radio silence I've actually been working on quite a few slow-burn projects, including two that didn't quite go to plan. First, I was in an early-period mood after re-watching the excellent "Tudor Monastery Farm" and managed to source some absolutely lovely wool for a Brueghel inspired outfit... But shortly after I started patterning, Samantha Bullat, of the Couture Courtesan, posted her AMAZING recreation of the same gown (seriously, go watch the video if you haven't. It's fantastic) Now, that's not a comparison I'm eager to invite. Having said that, I spent WAY too much on fabric to abandon the idea completely so I will definitely be coming back to it at some point the future...but for now I decided to switch gears and shift focus to another outfit which --at the time-- I'd been planning for about 2 years: Lucas de Heere's market woman. (which was suddenly very pandemic/PPE appropriate) Again, I found some great fabric and --I kid you not-- the day after it arrived the Tudor Tailor ladies posted their stunning interpretation (Though, given the situation in 2020 I suspect more than a few people had the same idea). So that one also went on the back burner. And with my rolodex of inspiration quickly running low, I finally turned to the painting I'd been wanting to reproduce since the moment I first saw it: Pieter Aertsen's Market Scene (specifically the woman in the green kirtle). Pieter Aertsen, Market Scene circa 1560-65 Now, I'm a sucker for green outfits and had been on the lookout for the right wool for at least the last couple of years. I finally found it at Renaissance Fabrics; a lightly brushed olive green twill in a light to medium/light weight. And I jumped right in. To begin with, the painting is rather unclear as to what the front of the kirtle looks like. There seems to be low, white linen partlet which may or may not tie under the arms. Over this a black partlet (possibly with a rounded front and low back) is likely pinned. But as to the closures and the front of the gown, that remains obscured...at least in the images I was able to find. Unfortunately I was never able to locate a high-res version which may have hinted at more details. Many of Aertsen's other market and kitchen scenes feature women with wide lacing kirtles and (often) a contrasting stomacher. However, this was a road I didn't really want to go down. A large part of what attracted me to this image in the first place was the green kirtle and red sleeves; complimentary colours that literally could not be better suited to each other. Combined with the brown apron and stark black and white of the partlets, the outfit seemed very visually balanced and I didn't want to expand the palette any further. So instead I decided to take a cue from the woman in the back of the painting. She's wearing a simple tawny kirtle which laces at the front. It has a slight gap but no stomacher. And let's be honest, it was also a style of kirtle I'd made previously and knew I could knock out relatively quickly... Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to finish that I don't really have any process pictures at all. It's basically the same pattern as my blue Trevelyon gown but with the sleeves left off. Like the Trevelyon gown, the front is boned with spring steal at the lacing edge and synthetic whalebone (intermittently, skipping ever other channel). I also shortened the front point and added about 1/2" to either side of the front opening with the intention that it would close completely. But then lockdown (and lockdown snacking) continued and it, well...didn't. Oh, well. You can see that, unlike the blue gown (and many of my other kirtles), this doesn't have hidden internal lacing strips. Instead, the eyelets are worked directly into the kirtle between two boning channels (again, see previous post for rough boning layout). The eyelets are off-set for spiral lacing. The kirtle is lined in brown linen cannibalized from my first brown kirtle (which sadly did not survive a stint in the washer/dryer...back in the day when I thought you had to completely launder your costumes). As with the Trevelyon gown, the lining of the skirt is free-falling, effectively creating an integral linen underskirt. Other accessories include a pair of wool pin-on sleeves: Well, I say pin-on... In truth I've never had any luck with pins and sleeves (they usually result in stabbing and sore shoulders), so instead I cheated with set of hook and eyes. The sleeves also have a fold permanently worked into the sleeve head; both to help with the drape over the shoulder and as a theatrical cheat to more closely resemble the folds of the sleeves in the original painting. The sleeves are hooked into an eye set behind the shoulder seam (though I added two since I wasn't sure where the sleeve would sit more comfortably). Next up is brown linen apron. It's a 26.5"x 36.5" rectangle, finished on all sides and with the middle 16" whip stitched to a matching 1/4" band. Also making an appearance is my trusty white partlet. As seen in period images, this style of partlet is pinned at the front corners and then ties (attached to the back corners) are wrapped around and tied across the chest. Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael, circa 1620-25 A small ruff is pinned or basted to the collar of the partlet. This ruff is 1" deep with 3/8" sets, but it really should be quite a bit smaller to match the portrait. Next is a black wool partlet lined in white linen. Because I couldn't quite tell what was going in with the over-partlet in the painting I decided to just be lazy and use my old one, despite the fact that the painting definitely doesn't show a partlet that connects under the arms. Again, lazy. (though technically this partlet is also new-ish since the original suffered a little accident...) Topping it all off is a veil which is just a 20"x24" linen rectangle, worn over a close fitting coif. The front 6-8” (framing the face) is starched. It’s then folded in half lengthwise and a crease is ironed into the starched section. Then it’s flipped over and pinned to the coif on top of the head and at the ears to push the sides up into a “heart” shape. Then the sides are folded back, under the drape of the veil and pinned behind the head. And that's it! My White Whale is done! And then it sat on the shelf for months... Unfortunately, I recently moved and so the trusty, neutral cement wall that served as my photo backdrop for so many years is no more! And with lockdown restrictions still in place at the time, the only blank wall to be had within my apartment was behind the bedroom door. Not bad, all things considered. But something was still missing... THE CHICKEN! I feel like poultry are central to so many of the images I want to reproduce. So the hunt began. And I have to say, it's actually really difficult to source a convincing chicken...and especially one that has to play dead. In the end I stumbled upon Hansa, a stuffed toy company who makes several very good options, though it took a few tries to find a chicken of the right size and proportions. Consequently I now have quite a few stuffed chickens adorning the background of all my Zoom meeting (Like, way too many. Enough that it causes comment. A lot). (No, seriously...this isn't even all of them...) Fast forward another 10 months. I'm now in possession of a chicken and a makeshift photo backdrop (though ironically, on a sunny day the bounce light from the janky behind-the-door setup was actually way more even and flattering...) So let's document this thing! And finally, the obligatory side by side (colour adjusted to more closely match the original). And that's it for this one! Still a couple tweaks I need to make. The kirtle is a tad long, especially in flat shoes, so I might have to take it up a couple of inches. I also set the veil a little too "heart-shaped" and so will pin it closer to the head in future. But all in all, very happy with how it turned out! Now, I've got quite the backlog of half-finished costumes to work through, so with any luck it won't be another three years before I post another update... *** Resources & Materials Pattern: -The Tudor Tailor (book and/or ready-made pattern) Fabric: -Green wool flannel from Renaissance Fabrics -Brown "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Red "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -White linen (2.8oz) from WM Booth Draper -Red worsted wool from the Historical Costuming Fabric & Trim Buy/Sell (Facebook Group) -Hemp/cotton muslin for interlining (10.5) from Hemp Traders -Muslin for mockup (also from Hemp Traders, but any muslin should do) Trim and Notions: -Linen tape (1/4") for lacing from WM Booth Draper Thread: -Green silk thread -Brown silk thread -Red silk thread -White cotton thread (silk finish) for veil Boning: -7mm Plastic coated spring steel bones (4) from Vena Cava Design -5mm Synthetic whalebone also from Vena Cava Design Other Supplies: -Swedish pattern paper from Amazon. (This stuff is great! You can iron it!) -Pattern weights
Explore V_M_G's 29797 photos on Flickr!
16th Century Kirtle
Learn how to create a simple 13th century kirtle, using two shapes!
This 14th century adapted linen kirtle is super fun to wear! I made it entirely with hand sewing but it could be done by machine just as well. This is such a...
*** This is another project that has been on my to do list for a while. It started almost exactly a year ago: I made my first mock up during the July long weekend last year and took these photos over the same holiday weekend this year. It was meant to be a quick summer project, but it was almost immediately derailed...because I have the attention span of a gerbil. I'd wanted to make a red kirtle for ages and fell in love with the bold, black and yellow accessories of the one featured in the Hampton Court painting "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" (circa 1545). But (as explained in the the write up for my Blue Kirtle) on the verge of cutting my fabric I became distracted by this image... ... and completely shifted the colour palette of the whole project. It was super fun (and I went a bit nuts on the Mix & Match), but with that out of my system I immediately returned to the red kirtle...reasoning that if I put off off again I would never get it done. On the plus side, after creating a bevy of different accessories for the blue kirtle, I now had virtually all the pieces I needed to complete this outfit! Minus the kirtle itself... I won't go into detail on the construction since it's basically the exact same process as the blue kirtle. The only difference is that I folded back an additional 1/2" or so on either side of the center lacing edge to create a larger gap at the front of the bodice (to mirror the fact that the bodice in the original painting doesn't close all the way). The skirt is constructed and pleated exactly the same as before. I did leave the skirt a little longer this time (again to match the painting) but I think I actually prefer the shorter length of the blue one. So through the magic of editing, the kirtle is done! On to the accessories! The linen headwear is a little different from the blue kirtle. Instead of the white trapezoidal veil, I opted for the split veil from my my linen veil experiment. The look is similar, but has the option to be a bit more polished and structured. The over-partlet is the deep 'V' style seen in many Breughel paintings. It's made of black wool and lined in black linen. A small pewter hook from The Tudor Tailor is stitched to the point. This is worn over a white linen, under partlet. (Which has been in the rotation since my blue Trevelyon gown/kirtle hybrid thingy) Next is my classic black apron. This is a large rectangle of black linen (approximately 27"x36") and hemmed on all sides with a 1/4" hem. The middle 12" are then whipstitched to a matching waistband. Finally, pair of mustard yellow wool sleeves, lined in linen. And that's it! Field of the Cloth of Gold kirtle is complete! I really, REALLY love this look. It turned out exactly as I was hoping and I absolutely adore the colours. I'm so happy to have been able to find equally saturated wools in the exact hues I was was looking for. I also LOVE the back of the final outfit. The pleats and slight flare of the skirt in contrast to the dramatic V of the partlet really floats my boat! Now... I had originally meant for this to be a much longer post and had intended to take a bunch of additional photos with some of the accessories I had made for my blue kirtle....but it ended up being WAY too hot to stay dressed up for long (even indoors). I think you can see it in my face, but I basically lost the will to live... Also, the lighting just wasn't cooperating with me at all. It was a real struggle to just get these dozen or so photos to turn out (and that was with a lot of post processing to try to balance the light and dark levels). So look forward to another Mix & Match post at some point in the future! *** Resources & Materials Pattern: -The Tudor Tailor (book and/or ready-made pattern...but really, the bodice is mostly self drafted at this point) -The Queen's Servants (book and/or ready-made pattern) Fabric: -Red wool from B.Blacks & Sons -Yellow wool from Dorr Mill -Black "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Tan "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Red "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -White linen (2.8oz) from WM Booth Draper -Hemp/cotton muslin for interlining (10.5) from Hemp Traders -Muslin for mockup (also from Hemp Traders, but any muslin should do) Trim and Notions: -Black cotton tape (1/4") for lacing from WM Booth Draper Thread: -Red silk thread -Mustard silk thread -Black silk thread -White cotton thread (silk finish) for linens Boning: -7mm Plastic coated spring steel bones (4) from Vena Cava Design -7mm Synthetic whalebone also from Vena Cava Design Other Supplies: -Swedish pattern paper from Amazon. (This stuff is great! You can iron it!) -Pattern weights
This pattern draft will create a woman’s late 15th/16th century sleeveless unboned supportive kirtle. The bodice is made up of four pieces, the skirt is made up of four pieces. The bodice seams are at the side (as opposed to side-back). The bodice ends at about the bottom rib (natural waist). The center front seam of the bodice is curved.…Continue Reading→
Explore authenticthreads' 48 photos on Flickr!
*** My first foray into early period! While my heart still belongs to the insanity of the 1590s and beyond, I have to say that I have a soft spot for the simpler, elegant lines of the early 16th c. silhouette. It's just so darn pretty! Having said that, it should come as no surprise that this outfit (as usual) began life as something else. I'd long been planning on making an early-period kirtle inspired by one found in the 1545 Hampton Court painting of The Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520 (lower right hand corner). I had plenty of red wool left over from my petticoat bodies and always intended to make a kirtle out of it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity! I already had a black apron and partlet, so all I needed was to a half-yard of yellow wool for half-sleeves and I could whip out a fast, easy, summer project! No problem! Well, famous last words...as usual. Right out of the gate I struggled with a mockup. I decided to try a pattern from 'The Queen's Servants' (by The Tudor Tailor), but I ended up falling in between two sizes and really wrestled to get a fit I liked. To be fair, this isn't the fault of the pattern. I become oddly obsessed with folds under the arm, which in all honestly likely would have resolved themselves in the final garment. But I COULD. NOT. LET. IT. GO. After MONTHS of going in circles and countless mockups I finally thought, "This is ridiculous. You have bodice pattern that fits. You've made it three times before. You know it works, for the love of god, stop this insanity and just use that." So I did. But I had to tweak it. The bodice in question is the same pattern I've been using since my blue Trevelyon gown (check out that post of you want a step by step construction of the original bodice). However, this doesn't shape really work for early period. It's too long in the torso and has a fairly long front point. The sides will need to be shortened and the point removed. Also, the neckline should be lower and and a tad wider. Finally, the side-back seams pose a bit of a problem. As you can see, the bodice has a fairly narrow back piece... ...however, I want to add additional seams to mimic the look of gowns seen in Bruegel paintings. (It's not strictly necessary, but my thinking is that I can use this project as a quasi-mockup in preparation for a Bruegel inspired outfit down the road). Adding additional back seams to the current pattern would look cramped and odd. This means the side-back seam needs to be moved to under the arm to make room. Also, I decide to add a 'V' to the back to further mimic the look of the Bruegel paintings. Old back on the left, new 2-piece back on the right The final pattern is adjusted... ...And mocked up! The shape is pretty good, but can you spot the elephant in the room? Yes... I went back to boning. (For EARLY PERIOD! Shock! Horror! Hiss!!!) I know. But at this point I just wanted it done. I can't help myself. This 'summer' project had now been going for the better part of 5 months (and counting) and I wasn't even out of the mockup phase! Boning is my security blanket. However, I do only use it along the lacing edge along with one synthetic whalebone at the side. It's still wrong...but slightly less wrong? Maybe??? ANYWAY... With the pattern more or less working it's time to start on the foundation layers. As usual this is made up of two layers of 10.5oz cotton hemp, pad-stitched together and with additional channels sewn in for support. Now, at this point you're probably wondering where those additional back pieces are? Well observed. But we'll come to that in a moment...because this is the point where the whole project starts to go off the rails. On the verge of cutting the red wool, I stumble upon this image and can't get it out of my head. It's from a book of hours once owned by Catherine de Medici and probably dates to the first half of the 16th c. (roughly 1500-1530) The next thing I know, blue kirtles are popping up everywhere! Maybe it's because it's the shiny new thing. Maybe it's because everyone has red kirtles...but I was suddenly gripped with the need to make this kirtle BLUE. It was also at this point that I realize I'd made a slight mistake in my mockup and foundation layers. I'd made the front close edge to edge, but my inspiration from the Field of Cloth if Gold painting has gap of at least 1.5" which I wanted to honour. Unstitching the channels in the foundation layers to fold back the front edge further and increase the gap would have been possible, but it also would have been a massive pain. That clinched it. I'd do a last minute pivot for this project and save the red wool for a later date. It certainly helped that I'd already found some beautiful blue and violet wool from Dorr Mill fabrics. Okay! So back to the foundation layers... I had wanted to keep the multiple back seams in the final look, but realized that that would get very bulky considering the weight of my foundation layers. So instead I decided to cut the back as a single piece for the internal layers, and then stitch the two back pieces in wool on top of that. Yes, the boning is horribly obvious here. Thankfully it's a lot more subtle when worn. Yes, it's a totally theatrical cheat. I'm not totally in love with the outline of the seam allowance that is visible with the back is pressed...but oh well, that's what I get for cheating. (Thankfully this looks way worse pressed flat than it ultimately will on the body.) The bodice pieces are then joined together and the seam alliances stitched down. It’s then lined in blue linen and the front edges are worked with eyelets (offset for spiral lacing) Next it's time to make up the skirt. For this I returned to 'The Queen's Servants' and used one of the patterns from their gowns rather that the kirtle. I wanted a shaped skirt, but also one that has enough volume in the back to pleat (as seen in my inspiration image). The required quite a lot of piecing, which I had never done in a skirt before but rather liked. In the end the skirt ended up being a tad too voluminous for a lower-class kirtle...but it sure is pretty! The skirt is then shorted by turning under a wide band and hemmed. Finally, short sleeves are lined, finished on all sides and whip-stitched into the finished armscye. (The sleeve pattern is adapted from the gown pattern in The Queen's Servants) Kirtle done! Next it's time for the accessories! For the linen head wrap I used the white trapezoidal veil I recently finished for my linen veil experiment. Then I need a new apron. I already have plenty of white aprons of various widths and lengths, but all are gathered at the waist. So I quickly whip up and un-gathered apron. It's just a large rectangle, approximately 26.6x37", hemmed on all sides and whipstitched to a matching waist band along the top edge (leaving the sides free). Next, the wool sleeves. The pattern is basically a simple wool tube, tapered to the wrists. The sleeves a made of wool and lined in linen. Bur then at the last minute I decided the purple was a little too warm (based on the inspiration image), so I swapped it out for a more thistle shade. Lastly, the shoulder linen. This ends up being tricker than I thought. Originally I figured it was just a square cloth folded into a triangle and worn around the shoulders (sort of like a later fichu) but had a difficult time finding any other examples of that style this early...though it's a very common look into the next century. There are lots of linen squares worn around the shoulders, but not triangles. Conversely, there are a lots of pictorial evidence of pointed black partlets, but not white ones... ...or, again, at least not this early. I can find plenty of later, Italian examples but (so far) nothing for Northern Europe at this time. And of course there is always the possibility that this is just a very low cut, back, as some images seem to suggest. But the (albeit vague) gathers and folds around the neck make make think that's not the case. This also suggests something wrapped around the shoulders that doesn't have a rounded/cut to fit neck. There are examples of white partlets with similar folds, but annoyingly the back is not visible. The only thing that comes close is this image, "Danse des Paysans", by Nicolas Baullery (1560-1630), which appears to be be mid-16th c. but (as is evidenced by his dates) is a later pastiche in the same style as Bruegel. It's not as early as I would like, but it does at least purport to represent an earlier style and seems to show a triangular shoulder linen. It's sheer enough to see that it is being worn OVER a white linen, square partlet, which also suggests it is cut to shape and is not a folded square. On the other hand, this look (with a sort of tassel or something hanging off the point) does definitely seems to be a later style, though these mostly appear to be folded squares. Backing up again... There do seem to be triangular shoulder linens in earlier paintings, but they always seem to be part of a larger head covering. "Battle of Carnival and Lent" by Breughel the Younger (1564-1638), Based on the 1559 painting by Bruegel the Elder Based on that, I decide to stick with a folded linen square...at least until I can find more concrete evidence of anything more specific). This one is 24" square. And with that, the outfit is done! An 'easy' summer project...that only took 8+ months. (Note: I don't know that I'm loving the shoulder linen. Something about it looks sort of wrong. But, oh well! Something to fix for next time!) Final thoughts... I really like the overall silhouette and feel of this outfit. I'm obsessed with the wool and think it's the perfect weight and drape for the skirt. I'm still a little annoyed that I continue to fall back on boning, especially when it's completely inappropriate, but I keep on liking the results...which I guess is why I still think of these as costumes and not clothes. (which is okay) I can definitely see myself coming back to this period. In fact, since I've already started on a second version of this kirtle in red, I can pretty much guarantee it... *** Resources & Materials Pattern: -The Tudor Tailor (book and/or ready-made pattern...but really, the bodice is mostly self drafted at this point) -The Queen's Servants (book and/or ready-made pattern) Fabric: -Blue wool from Dorr Mill -Purple wool from Dorr Mill -Blue "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Natural "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -White linen (2.8oz) from WM Booth Draper -Hemp/cotton muslin for interlining (10.5) from Hemp Traders -Muslin for mockup (also from Hemp Traders, but any muslin should do) Trim and Notions: -Linen tape (1/4") for lacing from WM Booth Draper Thread: -Blue silk thread -Purple silk thread -White cotton thread (silk finish) for linens Boning: -7mm Plastic coated spring steel bones (4) from Vena Cava Design -7mm Synthetic whalebone also from Vena Cava Design Other Supplies: -Swedish pattern paper from Amazon. (This stuff is great! You can iron it!) -Pattern weights
Explore authenticthreads' 48 photos on Flickr!
Blue short-sleeved waisted cotehardie started July 30,2012 then I paused and didn’t work on it during Pennsic (8/2-8/13). Finished on 8/22. Third time’s the charm. Based on my success with my Black kirtle (kirtle, cote, gothic fitted dress, whatever you want to call it) and Crimson kirtle I’ve decided to make another. This time it will be Cobalt blue (A…Continue Reading→
*** Another attempt at "Medieval Cosplay"! But this time with my new red kirtle. I know basically nothing about clothing pre-1500, so this is very much me playing historical Dress Up... But I do love this ridiculous bycocket hat (originally made for a similar attempt at styling my blue kirtle) and will take advantage of any opportunity to wear it. The base of the outfit is my new red kirtle, which is adapted from a bodice pattern that I've basically been using forever (but with sleeves and more shaped skirts taken from "The Queen's Servants"). This is paired with the above mentioned bycocket hat, a simple linen yard square, a white silk sash, and a pair of rust coloured 3/4 length wool sleeves. And that's it! A pretty simple, but very silly and fun, outfit. As I've mentioned before, I love this veil style. I think it's super flattering around the face. And despite this bodice being quite a bit shorter than other iterations I've made, the sash creates the optical illusion of an elongated torso, and the A-line nature of this combination (from the hat and veil right down to the flared skirts) makes for a very elegant silhouette. Or at least I think so. And let's be honest, it's as close as I'm going to get to a stereotypical "princess dress" and so I am totally here for it! *** *** Resources & Materials Pattern: -The Tudor Tailor (book and/or ready-made pattern...but really, the bodice is mostly self drafted at this point) -The Queen's Servants (book and/or ready-made pattern) Fabric: -Red wool from B.Blacks & Sons -Rust wool from Dorr Mill -White "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Red "Judy" linen (5.5oz) Gray Line Linen -Hemp/cotton muslin for interlining (10.5) from Hemp Traders -Muslin for mockup (also from Hemp Traders, but any muslin should do) Trim and Notions: -Black cotton tape (1/4") for lacing from WM Booth Draper Thread: -Red silk thread -Black silk thread -White cotton thread (silk finish) for linens Boning: -7mm Plastic coated spring steel bones (4) from Vena Cava Design -7mm Synthetic whalebone also from Vena Cava Design Other Supplies: -Red felt hat blank from Amazon -Swedish pattern paper from Amazon. (This stuff is great! You can iron it!) -Pattern weights
