Ultimate Kirtle Pattern Lady Asrune Russtikus-dotta Pennsic [email protected] Kirtle: (Kyrtel) is a fitted tunic-like dress with variations found from the 1350s all the way up to 1650s. It was a staple of the medieval wardrobe.The Kirtle was worn by all different classes of women all over Europe. Typically, a chemise, or underdress, is worn underneath. An overdress such as a “houplandie” or “cotehardie” would be worn on top when needed. The kirtle acts like a bra. The body of the dress can be 2, 4, 8 or more pieces. They can be lined, or not. They can have long, short, or no sleeves. They can have a waist seam, or not. They can be laced or buttoned, on the side or in front. They can be elaborate or simple, heraldic or plain. In short, there are a lot of options to work with when it comes to Kirtles that are all “period,” and can be made with just one pattern! The Pattern (Draping method) Fabric- Linen (most common), Silk, or Wool. Leather is also period, but rare. Avoid synthetic fabrics. You will need 3-8yds of fabric to make a kirtle. You will need 1-3yds to make the pattern. American Size Yards for dress Yards for pattern Size 2-6 3-4 1 Size 8-14 5-6 2 Size 16-24 6-8 3 Before you start- Make sure you have · Lots of pins! · 1-3yds of linen (the lighter the color the better, so you can write on it) · Scissors · A sharpie or fabric marker · A friend to pin you up · And a good bra on Step 1: Take your measurements Bust (A) Waist (B) Hip (C) Sleeve (H) Upper Arm (O) Wrist (N) Waist to floor (K-M) 1. Divide you Hip measurement (C) by 4, add two inches and cut 4 rectangles of fabric of that width. This should make four large bits of fabric, that combined are large enough to cover your back and front. They should be long enough to cover your bottom. Hip/4 + 2in = Rectangle width 2. Pin 2 rectangles together to form the back of your pattern. Pin the other 2 together to make the front. 3. Get a friend to center and pin the back and front pieces together at the shoulders on you. 4. Have you friend pin the sides closed, being careful to keep both sides even. You should look like this: 5. Pinch the fabric on the pined “seams,” to tighten the fabric around you and re-pin. Work slowly, be careful to keep the sides even, and the front and back centered. 6. Tighten the shoulder until you feel “lifted”. You should look something like this: 7. Get a sharpie or fabric marker, and mark: l Your natural waist line. (An easy way to do this is hold a string around you, it will automatically go to the smallest part of your waist.) l Where you want your neckline(s) to be. High(neck), low(normal), and sexy (boobs) are the three I usually mark. TIP: if you leave the neck high, you can use this pattern for a doublet too! l The joint where your arm meets your shoulder. This is where your sleeve should start. 8. Trace all the pinned seams on both sides with your marker. Make sure you get front, back, sides and shoulders, both sides. 9. Remove all the pins. 10. Compare the two front pieces and the two back pieces by laying them out. There will be slight differences between them. Chose the front and back you like best, or try to mediate between them. This will be your final pattern. 11. Cut the pattern out, leaving 5/8in (or whatever you like to use) seam allowance. 12. Put your name, the date and your seam allowance on the pattern. Label back and front and viola! You’re done! The Sleeve 1. Make a “T” with your Sleeve measurement. One line horizontal. One line vertical. 2. Center your wrist measurement at the bottom. 3. Center your Upper arm measurement at the top. 4. Add seam allowance 5. Measure 1 in down and 2 in up from the top of your “T” and draw a curve OR… 6. Better yet, take a piece of string, measure the sleeve hole on your new made pattern and cut to the exact length on string. Then move the string to fit a curve like the one above on your horizontal “T” line. The Chemise Use the same pattern as you did for the kirtle, but cut it on the bias for more stretch and no closures. If you don’t have the fabric to do this, then add 1-3in to the width of the pattern. You may also want a slightly looser sleeve. Modifications: 1. You can shorten the sleeves, simply cut off the sleeve pattern where you want it. 2. You can add gores to make a fuller skirt. I usually add 4 gores; front, back, and sides, for the full “princess effect” 3. You can also make it into more pieces, this makes a more fitted garment and can help when you have narrow fabric width. It also serves to allow you to add more gores. (think princess seams) 4. Adjust the neckline shape. 5. Use buttons instead of laces, you’ve got a cotehardie! TIP: wrap pennies in bits of scrape fabric from your dress for the perfect buttons! 6. Try hand sewing your button holes by pushing a hole through the linen and working your way around, you’ll be surprised how easy it is! (on that note, try to avoid using metal grommets, they were not used on dresses in period) 7. Cut the pattern off at the waist and make a doublet! How you can use your kirtle pattern drawings by Heather Morgan for this class, all right reserved Kirtles in History (in broad sweeping terms, not an end all be all) Kirtles begin to appear in the early 1300s all over Europe. The fashion seems to have started in the north and worked its way south to Italy by 1400. Like all fashions Kirtles are first worn by the upper class only, but work their way down to the lower classes fairly rapidly. 1350-1400: The most commonly seen kirtle style from this time has short sleeves, a wide scoop neckline, no waist seam and closes in the front, usually with laces. Solid colors. (This style of Kirtle stays in fashion up until the 1450s with the lower classes of women.) 1400-1450: Long sleeves become more common. Wide scoop neckline, no waist seam, closes at the front usually with laces. They were mostly of solid color, but can also be found in heraldic styles (such as quartering), cloth of gold, and other patterned fabrics. 1400-1450: the neckline seems to narrow into a closed scoop or a “V” shape, and side closures become more popular. We also start to see the sleeveless kirtles, often with detachable sleeves. So you can “dress up” your look. 1450-1500+: brings the waisted kirtle into vogue. At first, the skirts attached to these kirtles were pieced skirts that were wider at the hem and narrowed into the waist. However, there is a rapid progression to gathered and then pleated skirts. The waisted kirtle is used in many forms, for many styles all the way into the 1650s. Kirtles in Action Front laced, classic Kirtle. Notice the fake sleeves. German style, the yellow kirtle is likely a side laced kirtle with a wide square neckline. The overdress or kampfrau uses the same pattern with a scoop neckline and a closed front lacing or hooks. waisted square neck sleeveless Kirtle, working class . Notice the wide lacing. Two short sleeved working class kirtles. The left is a looser pull over gown, the right kirtle is front laced with a wide scoop neckline. You get a good look at the Chemise here too. Waisted Kirtle Waisted Kirtle with short sleeves and box pleats Split Skirt Wide front lacing and cloth of gold underskirt with metal eyelets Heraldic Kirtles Bi-colored Kirtle. Alternative Pattern theories: The Quick and Dirty Geometric Method-Some people will swear by this method as the “most period” due to its simplicity, and there are some extant examples....but there are extant examples of other styles as well. It is a perfectly wonderful way to make a early period kirtle, it is NOT however form fitting enough to be a bra substitute. In my opinion it's a less flattering method as a result, but great for looser wear-around-the-camp dresses. 1. Fold you fabric lengthwise. 2. Divide your Hip measurement by 4 use that for width of rectangles 3. Cut either 2 large rectangles (leave the fold), OR 4 smaller rectangles (cut on fold)* 4. Cut 4 gores, the height of your waist to floor (W-F) measurement, and width desired. 5. Cut 2 rectangular sleeves the width of your arm-2 +1 in. 6. For long sleeves, make sleeve as long as arm-1 + 1in, and narrow to wrist + 1in 7. Cut 2 diamond shaped gussets 2-4in across. *if you would like a front lacing kirtle, you must cut at lease the front into 2 pieces. Measure and draft Method 1. Patterning the good old fashion way! Instead of draping, take all of your measurement form the first chart and plot them out on graph paper. Continue as before. This method is great if you don't have a buddy. If you measure very carefully, you'll get something very close to the form-fitting Kirtle like you would get from draping. I find that this method doesn't always produce the support that I want, and generally has more wrinkles but they still look nice!

Introducing our first digital sewing pattern! The Darcy Bloomers are your perfect undergarments. They are inspired by bloomers worn in many historical eras, with our staple V-shaped waistline. The bloomers also feature ribbons, to make it extra cute and easy to wear. Perfect to wear on their own, or under clothes to offer some extra coverage, the Darcy Bloomers are super versatile. The sewing pattern features a short version (pictured), and a knee length version as well, to give you two different options.

The Kirtle Fabric: Silk Weight: Light with a medium weight lining Color: Green Yardage: 4.5 yards So I have a drapped Kirtle partern that I can pretty much make in my sleep at this point. Below is an image from the class I teach on drafting a kirtle pattern, drawn by my friend Heather. The second image from the left is the one I will use to modify my 13th C kirtle pattern to at 15th C German appropriate kirtle pattern. The Kampfrau will also be based on this. Alterations to be made: Square and lower the neckline in front an back. Side lacings instead of front lacings as pictured. I want the front to be a solid peice of fabric too, so I'll have to move my "boob bump" from the inside edge to the outside edge of the pattern. Sleeveless and thin strapped (maybe 1 in)

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Progress! sleeves have been lengthened with a long, diamond-shaped gore in the long seam under the sleeve (they were too short before; I added about thirteen inches of both length and width) seams finished and flat-felled where they'll show (sleeves, lower hem) trim applied to the upper arms and sleeve hem. I also split and hemmed the side seams in the body so that I can lace the sides; I'm honestly not sure if I want to mess with it (hand-stitched eyelet holes...blergh...), so after I did that, I sewed the sides back up again. Means I can wear it right now, and if I decide in the future to do the side-lacing, I only have one seam to undo and no prep-work on the edges, just the eyelets themselves. Next: neckline trim & lower hem. sleeve gores to widen and lengthen .

OR HOW TO MAKE A ROMAN COSTUME by Caroline Lawrence, author of The Roman Mysteries Girl fans often ask me 'How can I make myself a toga so I can go to World Book Day dressed as Flavia Gemina or Nubia?' First I set them straight. Only naughty women wore togas. Roman men and boys wore togas, and they heartily disliked them. The toga was essentially a large blanket that had to be draped just so. You needed a slave to help put it on, so by the very act of wearing a toga you showed you were rich. If you are a boy and want to make a toga, you can use a big sheet. Good luck putting it on. By the first century AD, when my books are set, the only women who wore togas were disreputable ones; and they had to wear them to show they had been (or still were) naughty. Respectable women wore stolas and good girls wore tunics, usually long-sleeved for modesty. (Technically the stola was a kind of apron-like garment that went on over the female tunic, with a strap over each shoulder, but I'm using the umbrella term stola here for a girl's or woman's tunic.) If you are a boy and want to make a tunic, just wear a big tee-shirt, belted. If you are a girl or woman and want to make a stola or girl's tunic, here is a simple way to do it. (below) I actually had to put this into practice once. I was on my way to an event in Newcastle and realised I'd left my costume in London. Luckily, a kind librarian donated a single sheet from her airing cupboard. I found one of those sewing kits you get free in hotels and frantically stitched it up in the back seat of the car as we drove to the event. When we arrived, my publicity manager Rowan loaned me her blue scarf and I used another scarf to tie up my hair. I added chunky ethnic jewellery and sandals and voila! I was a Roman lady... Remember: the tunic is the tee-shirt thing, the toga or palla is what you wear over it. Of course you must always carry your sponge-stick (ancient Roman toilet paper) and your copy of a Roman Mystery with you! For more information on Roman clothing, go to the article on ROMAN CLOTHING at vroma.com And check out my blog over at The History Girls to see some of my other Roman wardrobe malfunctions. lovely "extras" in The Slave-girl from Jerusalem P. S. These two extras from the TV series based on my books are wearing lovely stolas, with pallas draped over their heads. [The Roman Mysteries are perfect for children aged 9+, especially those studying Romans as a topic in Key Stage 2. Carrying on from the Roman Mysteries, the Roman Quests series set in Roman Britain launched in May 2016 with Escape from Rome.]

A look at how I finished the neckline and laced opening for the gray cotte.

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While we were taking the photos for the book The Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut, we held more than 30 photoshoots, and our models were so amazing, that we often had a difficult time selecting the images for the book. Malia DeFelice is a dance and style icon. She possesses impeccable taste, glamorous beauty, […]

I can't remember any more how I stumbled across the moy gown, but I immediately fell in love with the design and decided that I just -had- to make it. I drafted a pattern, basing it off a standard t-tunic with a few shaping adjustments based off the extant example. Truth be told, there's one piece that is missing from the original--the gores at the front of the sleeve. If I really wanted to add that piece, I could shave down the width of the sleeve at the armhole and taper to about the elbow. Being a novice seamstress (and an impatient one at that), I use modern construction techniques. Currently I use a Brother PE-400 machine and a Bernina serger. I sewed the sides together and did the initial fit. Unfortunately, it hung off of me like a tent. After a few fittings, it now looks like this: The sleeves aren't finished yet--I'm curious to see how they'll turn out. The buttons were made with a DIY metal kit; I cut out forty (give or take) one-inch circular pieces of fabric while Olaf assembled the buttons for me. If I could change construction, I'd do a few things differently: First, as the fabric is pretty thin, I'd strengthen each piece of the neck, torso, and sleeve with black linen underneath. I may yet do this once I can dye some linen. Second, I would find a way to stabilize the neckline-- I staystitched the neckline and then topstitched over it, but the front is still a little too spacious and the back waffles somewhat. I've been able to get some of it out with a good steam iron, but it still feels pretty flimsy on the whole. Third, I would do the buttonholes differently. They're already beginning to fray a bit on the inside edge. I was thinking that after I attach the linen underneath, I could slit the buttonholes in said fabric, then create a fabric-bound buttonhole. That way, all the alignment work is already done, there's plenty of strength in the pre-existing modern buttonholes, and it'll look nicer than shiny cotton-coated polyester thread. Fourth, I would contour the front seam to match to my body better. I have a flat panel for the buttons and buttonholes, but I find that once I clear the widest point of my bustline, I have an increasing "gaposis" at the neckline. Because I've already put in the buttonholes and buttons, though, it looks like I'll have to add a couple darts to offset the extra room. Fifth, as a final stabilization factor, I would topstitch on one side of the seamlines. If I were making this gown out of wool, things would be quite different (naturally). I love this fabric, though! It's a light/dark green herringbone in linen: (picture pending) It's really not that shiny--the smallness of the weave and the coloration almost give it an iridescent look with flash, though, as shown in the picture of the fitting.

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