Female Garb

This was based on the Tudor Tailor design for a Henrician court gown, as was made for my induction into the Order of the Pelican. The kirtle is made from linen with silk where it would show below the gown. The gown itself is made from a fabric that was a mix of silk and wool, with velvet for the sleeve turnbacks. The gown was problematical as I didn't not really have enough of the fabric, so the part of the sleeve which is hidden by the velvet turnbacks was pieced out of many small leftovers! More details are given about the construction in the document below, first published in the "Baelfyr", the newsletter for the Principality of Insulae Draconis.

English fitted gown and kirtle, both from wool lined with linen, and based on the Tudor Tailor patterns. the shift was also linen and based on a pattern from the Tudor Tailor. The English fitted gown was altered from the original pattern, as I didn't have enough fabric, hence the skirt is a lot less generous than it should be! The head covering is loosely based on one from the Tudor Tailor, but it should have a long bag covering the hair, which then gets pinned to the top of the band. I didn't really want that, so I just made a short bag to cover my hair.

Another version of an English fitted gown and kirtle. This time the English fitted gown was made properly, with a very fine wool. The kirtle is also wool, with backstitch embroidery around the hem. Ultimately it is supposed to have the knotwork pattern repeated all the way round, but after 6 years it is still not done!

This was made as a warm coat to wear at events. It is based ona Spanish loose gown pattern, modified to make it was a coat. It is a thick wool, partly lined with linen, and trimmed with purple and silver silk

This is a simple linen kirtle and waistcoat, made from the Tudor Tailor patterns. I loved the fabric used for the waistcoat, which had a gold coloured surface embroidery. It was a linen-look fabric (though, I think, actually a synthetic)

Another linen kirtle and waistcoat from the Tudor Tailor patterns. This time the waistcoat is silk (traditionally it would have been linen or wool)

This was made as an experiment with the High Burgundian style. The kirtle was made from silk (the reason for the gold stripe was because I didn't have enough of the orange), and the overdress was made from a cotton damask (old curtain fabric). The kirtle laces at the side, so that the lacing doesn't show when the overdress is worn

This is based on the Tudor Tailor pattern for a loose gown. The kirtle is made of linen, with silk trim, and the gown is wool. The sleeves are made of the same silk as the trim on the kirtle.

This was the second Tudor outfit I ever made! It was based on patterns from Margot Anderson (Elizabethan Lady), and was made from silk. The stomacher was embroidered and beaded, based on a blackwork design from "The New Carolingian Modelbook". The skirt is held out by a farthingale, to give it the traditional bell-like appearance. When making this, I had difficulty in deciding how to attach the stomacher. In the end I stitched a ribbon down both sides of the back of the stomacher, leaving segments where a lace could run under the ribbon, then did the same on the bodice, where the ribbon would be hidden by the stomacher. That then allowed me to alce the stomacher to the bodice. This seemed to work very effectively! I have read several articles indicating that normally the stomacher would be pinned to the bodice, but when I tried this, all I succeeded in doing was bending lots of pins! 

(Photo courtesy of Ian Walden)

This is rather a generic Tudor/fantasy medieval skirt and bodice, with side lacing on the bodice. The shift has redwork embroidery on the cuffs and collar - my first attempt at decorating clothing using this technique!

This wa supposed to be a German style gown, but the bodice didn't turn out quite right! The shoulder straps should be furtehr across, making the nek much wider. It's made from wool - the blue is probably a bit bright and not corrrect for the period, but I liked it! The purple trim is made from wool left over from a purple wool kirtle, with grey linen underneath.

This was my very first attempt at aTudor gown. It was based on the Margot Anderson Elizabethan Lady patterns, with paned sleeves trimmed with pearls. The stomacher was cream silk, but the rest of the dress was made from cotton curtain fabric!

This was based on a Flemish design, and was based on the patterns and instructions given in "The Well-Dress'd Peasant:16th Century Flemish Workingwomen's Dress" by Drea Leed. The outer layer was wool, whilst the kirtle was made from linen. The laces were lucet cord, but would have been better if they were ribbon (luct cord was too narrow to give the correct look). It did have separate sleeves, which pinned to the outer layer at the shoulder.

A simple linen cotehardie, linen shift and a linen hat, taken from the Medieval Tailor's Assistant book

 Irish Leine and overdress and skirt, in linen. The pattern says this is 16th century. It was one of the first pieces of garb I made, and was based on an Alter Years pattern

This was an attempt at a 12th Century Bliant, made from silk, worn over a linen underdress.