A page on clothing construction
I never thought that I had a great skill with this. To me, the process of rendering wearable medieval garb with a few tools and some measurements was just... obvious. Something anyone could do. I have since learned otherwise.
The links below take you to schematics to make these various garments. These are not patterns; they are drawings that tell you where to cut. When you do this, you will replicate my methods of working from the center-line and shoulder line to lay out the garment directly on the fabric. Please note; I make no promises to the authenticity of these. However, this is a very simple system, it produces garments that look like the paintings, and seem to have their seams and folds in the right places.
These assume you are a fairly experienced sewer, familiar with the lingo of "roll hem" "seam allowance" "ease" and other terms. If you are not, go here, before you launch into this, and learn some of the terms.
Tools you will need:
--A helper. Some of the measurements you need for this are not standard, and at least one part of the cutting of a skirt demands either amazingly long arms or two people. It helps if they know what they're doing, but it's not essential.
--A yardstick.
--A measuring tape.
--Something to write down your measurements on, and something to write them down with.
--A piece of chalk OR other thing that will leave a visible mark on your fabric. You'll be working on the wrong side, so if that turns out to be a florescent yellow marker, okay. Just make sure it will show up, but not bleed through to the right side.
--A piece of string as long as the tape measure, plus a bit.
--lots of straight pins. When in doubt, pin it down.
--scissors. Good sewing scissors are about twenty dollars, but worth it. Use them for cloth and nothing else.
To sew, you'll need matching thread, a hand needle, and an iron and its board. A sewing machine speeds things up considerably, but isn't essential.
Have fun!
On to the patterns...
Kirtle
Side-laced cotehardie
Sideless surcoat
Basic shirt, 1500-1860
Email: bellagia@hotmail.com
