elizabethan
This was the dress that started it all, which might be amusing, given that it's also the one most likely to never be completed. Without this dress, I wouldn't have tried Tudor (nor would I have had the underpinnings all ready), and without the Tudor, I wouldn't have tried the Victorian. So you can see that, clearly, upper class Elizabethan is a gateway drug, one that least to huge expenditures of time and effort and all for nothing.
One of the things I have to face, with this dress, is that there is no reason to finish it other than the desire to do so. The odds that I will ever be called on to wear it are slim, given that you don't, repeat don't wear upper class Elizabethan to SCA events, I don't go to SCA events any longer anyway, and Washington is renowned for its lack of Renfaires. So I basically have a half-finished dress that, if I don't finish it, will remain a waste of time and money (particularly on the forepart), and if I do finish it, will live in a box in a closet. Neither is an attractive option. I suppose I could, if I had more confidence in my skills at faking Elizabethan, sell it on eBay for shitloads, but at the moment, no.
Maybe I'll get really carried away one of these days and decide that it should be my costume for Halloween 2007. I mean, it's not as though my Tudor is going to do any more duty than it has done. At any rate, the things that are currently holding me up are a) the lack of ten yards of suitable upholstery fabric and the attendant money to purchase same (when you spend $75 dollars on other fabric and then find out you're overdrawn, you lack money) and b) the lack of interest in continuing to attach jewels, pearls, washers, and assorted other bits and bobs to the forepart. If I can get back into a regular stitch n' bitch, that will change.
My original inspiration was from Jean Hunnisett's Period Patterns For Stage And Screen, her dissection of the dress in the Portrait of A Young Girl. I really liked the dress, and, since it seemed a lot easier than the dress from the Pelican Portrait, I decided to go ahead with that pattern. I'd visited Drea Leed's site before, so I started there. Then I found her link to the Sempstress site, and she had already made the same dress. That proved that the idea was clearly feasible, and the advice and instructions on both sites are of high quality, (far higher, in my opinion, than Hunnisett's, actually - while she is sometimes providing a not-obvious solution, she's also costuming from the standpoint of the requirements of stage/screen costume, rather than recreation) so I decided that this would be a neat project, and a lot of fun, and, best of all, was relatively feasible.
I was both right and wrong. It is a neat project, one that I am looking forward to completing - not because it'll be done - but I am not one of those people - we all know them - who can find some monstrously perfect curtain on sale for 50 cents apiece and realize that it would make a great Elizabethan dress. I also don't have any interest in watching television, which, ironically, cuts out a whole lot of time that I could use for beading up a forepart. Hence, the aforementioned halt to the whole thing. In the meantime, feel free to check out what I've done.
Note that, since I wear many of these pieces with my Tudor dress, the descriptions are strangely identical.
goal: completion ... someday
chemise
petticoat
farthingale
corset
bumroll
kirtle
forepart
skirt
bodice and sleeves
hat
everything else
The chemise was made using white batiste. I had intended for it to be knee length, but it wound up a bit longer. The sleeves and collar are cuffed and both embroidered with blackwork pansies. The collar and hem are both trimmed in a lace that looks more like crochet
than machine lace. The sleeves have bands of eyelet with blue grosgrain ribbon threaded through them. The ribbons are terminated in aiglets, and serve to puff out the sleeves when they are tied. I had planned to make the ruffs integral to the sleeve, but later decided to make them separately.
I took the idea for the chemise off Drea Leed's Elizabethan Costuming site, under her Tudor Smock section. I didn't use the pattern generator but rather used the pattern - if you want to call it that - that I used to make my medieval chemises, which is as follows.
Figure out how loose you want the body and sleeves to fit, and write down
all your measurements - yours and the ones you want. I have no idea how this happened, but when I measured for this chemise, I wound up with one that didn't fit because I couldn't divide my hip measurement by two, apparently. I had to add another panel, but I'll get to that. Now that
you've got all your measurements, cut out two large rectangles based on the measurements for your body and two smaller ones based on the sleeve measurements.
This is the geometry part. Lay out a large rectangle. Put one of the smaller rectangles on it, right sides together, so that the top left corners are matched. Sew diagonally across the shoulder - you'll have to play with where you want to sew. This seam controls the size of
the neckline, so if you want a low-cut chemise, make your line further out. Cut off the excess and finish the edge as you want. Now take your partial sleeve/body, and use the same process to sew the other half of the body on to the same sleeve. Repeat with the other sleeve.
Turn the whole thing wrong side out and sew the sleeve and side seam all as one. Hem the bottom.
For the Elizabethan chemise that I did, the main difference between it and my medievals was the neckline. What I did was to sew it in such a way as to create a square, the sides of which are formed by the sleeves and the body pieces. If your square isn't large enough, you can actually cut it bigger. If, as in this case, the body is not large enough around, you can add in the missing width at the front, then pleat the excess under the front edge of the collar, which is what I did here. I then took 4 5 inch wide strips of the batiste and sewed them together so that they would form a mitered corner when folded flat. This means that your seam will look like a triangle. The point of it will be where the collar folds over. Do this with all four corners. The collar should look like a picture frame. Make sure that your head can fit through it now before you do anything else. If you plan to add decoration (such as beading, pearling or embroidery, do it now. You can do it after the collar is sewn on, but it will be a lot more difficult, as you will have to make sure that the back side is perfect also. Now just sew the collar on as you would any other collar - lay it flat, right sides
together and seam, then fold over, fold about half an inch up inside, and sew the whole thing shut.
The cuffs are exactly like the collar, except that, obviously, you don't have to cut four and sew them in a square. Now embellish it any way you want, as long as your way at least looks period.
The petticoat was very straightforward. This was designed to go under the farthingale for warmth, if necessary. It was made out of about 3 yards of a deep green flannel that was quite wide. I made a tube of the fabric to the length I wanted, minus 2.5 inches. I left the
top 5 inches unseamed, but finished the two cut edges of the side seam with serging. (I know, not period.) Then I cut a strip of the material that was 6.5 inches wide and roughly three inches longer than my waist measurement. This was folded over into the waistband, and wound up, with
the seam allowances, being the missing 2.5 inches of my skirt length. The skirt was knife pleated by eye to the waistband, the whole thing was sewn closed, and a skirt hook was put on.
I later guarded the petticoat with two strips of inch wide black satin ribbon. The bottom was not hemmed, as I used the selvedge for the bottom edge.
Originally I had intended to tie the petticoat closed with the satin ribbon, but it did not grip well and I didn't like the way it worked out, so I redid the waistband and used the hook. I don't recommend planning to tie anything like this, because it seems like it would add a lot of bulk to the waist and there's quite enough bulk in Elizabethan costuming without searching for more.
I bought 3 and a half yards of an unknown 60" cotton blend from Wal-Mart and started there. I used the EZ Elizabethan Farthingale pattern from Drea Leed's Elizabethan Costuming site. Again, this is a very simple garment, rather like the petticoat. I started with a tube of fabric that I gathered to a waistband.
While using Drea's pattern, I saw that she listed the amounts of boning you would need. The only problem is that she listed the ring lengths in feet and inches. I had boning measured in yards, and fabric that measured in yards one direction, and inches the other. In addition, I had bodily measurements that went in inches and feet also. Not in the same directions as my fabric. In the can-do spirit that I bring to all sewing, I threw all the measurements out the window and went with a measurement I saw for average farthingale width. (Don't remember where, but it was probably on Sempstress as I recall.) That width was 120" for the maximum on an Elizabethan farthingale.
Since I have a serious height issue, I went with the 120". Probably less would be less intimidating on me, but it's reasonable I think from an appearance standpoint.
The plan and sizing were the same as the other farthingale, but the style was quite different.
What I decided to do was to fold over the material to make casings for the boning that were integral to the farthingale as a whole. Since the boning is roughly 1/2", I decided that 3/4" casings would be good. So I marked 1.5", 2", 1.5", 2", 1.5", 2", 1.5", 2", 1.5", 5", 1.5", 5", 1.5". I then sewed the side seam, which I did as a French seam. I sewed the casings so that they were on the outside of the farthingale, except for the hem casing, which I folded to the inside. That one used the selvedge, so there was no need for a real hem. I left spaces about 4" long on each casing right next to the side seam.
To sew the casings, I folded my fabric on the lines I had marked and sewed them down with one seam. The casings are actually not part of the farthingale's length, as they are loose - only anchored at one side. The 1.5" wide sections folded over to make a 3/4" casing.
Then I threaded the boning through, with the usual excitement of watching 120" of boning thrash around, inches from breakable items. The same boning lengths were used for this farthingale as for the other one - I don't remember exactly how I measured them but I have some vague memory of describing it on the other farthingale page, so if you really want to know, check there.
To join the ends, I got some 5/8" plastic tubing from Home Depot and cut to the appropriate lengths. The width of the boning being what it was, I butted the ends up to each other rather than overlapping. I did not use any additional fastening materials, although I may decide - based on how the thing wears - to tape the tubing down somehow.
Then I knife pleated the waist and added a waistband. For my height, I used the whole width of the material, because so much of it was used in making the casings, but it meant that I had a comparatively long farthingale. I deliberately made a narrow waistband - only about 1 inch or so - as I did not want the farthingale to brush the ground. I fastened this with four #3 hooks and eyes, which I alternated in two pairs so that it would be harder for them to accidentally let go.
Overall I am pleased with this farthingale. It will need some minor tweaking to really be good, but the only problem that I've found so far is that the tubing does not fit into the casing so it needs to be shorter than the opening. Also, the tubing makes a kind of squishy spot,
where the hoop is not as hard as it is over the boning. I believe that this will even itself out with the weight of skirts, kirtle, and forepart, but if it does not, I will have to come up with a more permanent solution.
EDIT: After wearing it, I can safely say that, though the weight of everything evens out the lumpy bits, for sheer sturdiness, this solution blows. If I were going to wear this more often, I'd shell out the money for the farthingale connecters. There is a reason I bought the precut bustle wire for the Victorian outfit - those come with caps on.
The plan was for a tabbed strapless corset, front lacing, with decorative edging on the top and down the front over the busk pocket. The first thing I said, in the event, was "Bugger the plan!"
This pattern was from both the Elizabethan Costuming and the Sempstress corset sites, as in the inspiration was from EC, but the actual pattern was from Sempstress. It mutated a lot in process. I decided to stay with the strapless untabbed corset from the Elizabethan Costuming site - except for two tabs at the center back - but I changed it to the front-side lacing corset that Sempstress does, where there are two openings, one on either side of the front, towards the back. I didn't do an effigy corset, or anything that seemed terribly complicated, because I was planning to use this for both Tudor and Elizabethan. While I might make another corset someday, my current costume usage is such that it's totally unnecessary.
The first thing I did after I created the pattern was to measure and cut the boning. I had to use a pair of tinsnips to get through the damn things - be warned. Then I dipped the cut ends in tool dip and hung them to dry following the instructions on the package. I dipped them twice, just to cover the rough edges and avoid getting cut every time I put the thing on. I didn't want to do any more or there would've been unsightly bumps in the corset. I would strongly suggest using something else, in the future. I thought I'd try my draft Victorian corset with cable ties - I know that practically everyone swears by them, but I still don't have faith that they'll do the proper job of containing. Still, I do know that using metal boning is a bitch, and one that is probably unnecessary, especially if you're doing the cut-to-fit routine.
I also cut and shaped the busk. What I wound up using was four of the light-duty paint sticks, glued to each other in such a way as to make the two halves. I sawed the whole thing into shape - the bottoms are angled to match the shape of the corset, while the tops are flat - then painted them white. I drilled two holes in the busk, cut two holes in the front of the corset, buttonhole stitched those, and threaded a quarter-inch white ribbon through it all to hold the busk in place. Otherwise, the two halves tend to move around a bit.
For the actual corset I cut out three layers - one of white duck and two of a heavy green cotton. I sewed the duck onto one layer of the cotton, all the way around. Then I trimmed the duck to the seam line. I then sewed the second layer of the cotton on - leaving the top open for the bones to be inserted - treating the cotton/duck piece as one layer. I bagged out the pieces.
Then I marked the lines for the busk and the bones. The front of the corset has 6 bones, 3 on each side of the busk, all of them the springsteel ones.. The inner two come down to the point of the busk, then radiate out to the top. The outermost bone on either side is between the grommets and the edge of the corset. The back has 14 bones in a mix of hoopskirt boning and springsteel boning. I followed the Sempstress pattern for boning layout here, with one bone at the outside edge of each side, 2 bones in each of the back tabs, and the other eight laid more or less evenly across the back.
I sewed the casings and inserted the bones, then dealt with the top, partly by deciding that there was no chance the front of this thing was going to get decorated. The top edge was folded together to make a closed seam, then whipstitched into place, except for over the busk pocket. I took the white ribbon and sewed it on, both sides in one seam, to cover the rather ugly whipstitching. I sewed the ribbon on to the front of the busk pocket, but obviously not the back.
Then came my favorite part of any medieval costume, setting the grommets. I love to set grommets. I specifically design outfits to include them. I set them, on the corset, so that the thing could just be X-laced, rather than spiral laced, which I never found a good description of that made sense to me. I used a lot of them. A lot. I have no idea what size - basically whenever I go to get grommets (which I get from the hardware store) whatever size they have available is the size I don't have a setter for. They were either 1/2" or 5/8".
The grommets were side laced. Sempstress recommends that, if you're prone to weight loss or gain, because you can just remake the one piece rather than the whole thing. It also makes it possible to get into the corset by myself, as I seem to have mislaid my servants, and does not add lumps to the front as I sort of think a front-lacing corset would.
The only problem I can see with the corset is that, even though I subtracted 2 inches from my measurements to actually make a corset, it's a little loose, and if I did it over I would go with 3" off. To make it work I lace it so that the bones at the edge of the grommeting overlap and then it is jim-dandy.
This is a very cool garment, and one that I am quite proud of. It looks spiffy, both on me and off, and it has an entirely reasonable intimidation factor. You may be able to make a Vogue Very Difficult (or whatever the rating is) pattern, but can you make a corset?
1 yard green material (probably cotton or cotton poly blend) This pattern was from the Elizabethan Costuming site. I started with a faithful pattern as described by them, but wound up making it smaller. Also, in order to really get a tightly filled bumroll I put in 2.5 bags of polyfill (either 12 or 14 oz. size) but I wound up taking about 1 bag's worth back out.
On an extremely basic level, you cut out a crescent that has an inside measure of your hips (in corset!) and an outside measure that is up to five inches wide at the widest point, depending on your height. Obviously, a shorter person with a wider bumroll will simply look silly. Actually, cut out two of these. And when you measure your hips, leave out the "front" of your body, because that's where the ribbon will go. Basically, every part of your skirt that you would leave flat in front should not have a bumroll under it. Sew your two pieces of fabric together, not forgetting to sew in your ribbon ties, and then stuff it. Stuff it! Stuff it tightly, because a loosely-filled bumroll will collapse under the weight of everything. If you want to make it like I did, take a bunch of the stuffing back out and hang on to it for the next six years (seriously!) because such a stiff bumroll just looks...odd. Like you could serve tea. On your butt.
I include this because I made one. I do not now nor ever plan to actually wear the damned thing - I think either I got it reallywrong, I am not looking at accurate pictures of period costume, or I don't need it, or some combination of all three. But given that my (non-corseted) waist to hip measure is between 10 and 12 inches different, and the corset shoves everything either up or down, I think I will simply skip wearing this forever, because really, with that much hip differential, I don't think I need it.
3/4" white grosgrain ribbon
2 bags polyfill.
Not completed.
Not completed.
Not completed.
Not completed.
Not completed.
Not completed.