These two kirtles are made to patterns from The Tudor Tailor in Sew Classics Linen-Look from Jo-Ann's, respectively "Potting Soil", a much nicer-looking color than it sounds, a lovely chocolatey-brown, and "Natural" and "Clear Lake", which is a rather tealish-green. I like this fabric a lot - - it is a linen/rayon blend, machine-washable and dryable, and looks and behaves halfway between linen and wool. The rayon keeps it from wrinkling as easily as 100% linen does -- in fact it is pretty much wearable straight out of the tumble dryer sometimes. (Curiously, the brown has a slightly different hand from the tan or the teal, which looks the most linen-y of the three.)
Julia's smock is from an old top sheet; I was hoping to be frugal and not buy something when I had this nearly-endless supply of white cotton, but it was perhaps not the best choice, as it turns out to be a bit stiff when made up into a smock, and the underarm gussets are rather more ungainly than my usual middling attempts. I used a "simple smock" pattern found on the internet, but made the sleeves short for Julia's comfort, and added a bit of chain stitch embroidery both to disguise the neck facing and to pretty it up a bit. The neck is too big, I'm afraid, but there wasn't time to make another one.
My inspiration was mostly this,
Bouguereau's 1884 "Little Knitter". Not the right period, of course, but not completely wrong, either -- and as it happened, the idea was reinforced by a woodcut in a book of an Elizabethan toddler in a similarly short-sleeved smock. I figured that Julia would certainly be much more comfortable on a California summery-spring day in short sleeves!
The trim is some "antique blue" grosgrain ribbon, which went on surprisingly easily - - 3/8-inch on the bodice and 7/8-inch around the bottom of the skirt. I really like the blue and brown combination, which is one of the reasons that I chose the dark-blue quilting cotton to line the bodice as well, giving it a little secret dash of color in relief from the brown.
The bodice is interlined with some drill-like stuff I had sitting around, much of which I used to make a sloper for the same kirtle, but there is no boning as Julia is still slim enough not to need it.
My sewing machine was absolutely not up to buttonholes through two layers of linen, two of muslin lining, and one of drill interlining, and I did not listen to either my own inner voice or my husband telling me that something was wrong with them, so I cut them all open and watched, dismayed, as the stitches popped right and left. I sewed around them with zigzag stitch and, on some of them, used some extremely wonky hand-sewn buttonhole stitch, to little avail. Luckily, they are at the side and under Julia's arm, so perhaps will not be noticed except by the more eagle-eyed viewer. The cord is made of some I hope distractingly pretty sapphire-blue crochet cotton, five very long strands twisted for hours until they folded back upon themselves and made a very handsome lacing cord.
The skirts are knife-pleated along the waist, and the Linen-Look, which is very forgiving of amateur stitching anyway, takes this beautifully.
Laura's smock is also made to the Tudor Tailor pattern, with bleached muslin and lace I knitted from crochet cotton. Now, this last is absolutely not "period", as knitted lace didn't come into general use for a couple more centuries, I think, after the Elizabethans, but well, it's just too pretty not to do it. I suspected that Laura would be a little disappointed not to get a gown like, say, this --
and she would certainly not mind as much as I would that her smock is not strictly period, so I went for prettiness and a vaguely-historical look instead. This is the pattern for the lace:
Faggoted Picot Edging
Cast on 6 sts.
Rows 1, 2, and 3: Sl1, K2, yo, K2tog, K1.
Row 4: [K1, P1] 3 times into 1st st (6 sts), sl the 5 sts just made (beg with first st) one at a time over last st -- 6-st picot, K2, yo, K2tog, K1.
Rep rows 1-4 until desired length.
I cut the sleeves for Laura's smock to the "narrow" version -- these are pleasantly full, but not "puffy," which Laura said she didn't like. The sleeve and collar ruffles are about 1 1/2 times the length of the cuff and collar, to give a nice fullness but still show off the lace.
The bodice took about 2/3 of a yard of the tan fabric, and the skirts two 45-inch lengths of the teal, using the full width of the fabric. The bodice is lined with unbleached muslin. The pattern is really splendid -- the V-back is very flattering anyway, but the extra seams make it much easier to get a really snug fit, darts not being historically accurate.
Laura's bodice is also unboned, but I used a slightly different method of interlining, following a suggestion in The Tudor Tailor. I used a piece of quite heavy chambray from my stash, and sewed it to a piece of muslin (which I also topped with a piece of the tan linen to keep the blue from showing through) -- this made a pleasingly stiff bodice that when laced up is quite supportive for Laura's slim figure.
The hand-sewn eyelets on Julia's bodice were such a failure that I didn't even try with Laura's, but took it straight to our local shoe-repair shop and had them put in grommets. I still feel strangely guilty about this, having read for years, I guess, those more historically-rigorous costumers who decry with various levels of vociferousness the wench/Ren-Faire look more suited to Oktoberfest than historical re-enactment. "No grommets!" Oh, well. If I'm up to it, I might sew over them with thread to disguise the tell-tale glint of aluminum. I put in a piece of boning (actually cable-tie, trimmed) at the very edges for stability -- of course, the use of boning at that place is historically-accurate, though cable-tie not so much!
I took someone's suggestion of setting the grommets a half-inch from the edge of the fabric, making it easier to lace the bodice tighter or looser as needed.
The lacing is a pretty sort of taupe cord, whipped at the ends with regular sewing thread to compensate for not having aglets. The whipping might not be sturdy enough to take much abuse, so I coated it quite thoroughly with Fray-Check.
Laura's skirts are also knife-pleated. The girls' hats are from Cora Hendershot of Wheat Goddesses, at the Faire.
Huzzah!
For anyone wanting to make costumes for Renaissance Fair this book has everything you need to know. if you can sew and follow i diagram this book has what you need. you will have to draft the patterns from the diagrams but its not that complicated. i may never have to buy another period costume again.
Posted by: Pheasant Hunting Kansas | May 16, 2013 at 08:34 AM
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Posted by: Jeanne | May 16, 2013 at 08:57 AM