Elizabethan Noble Woman
This dress was made using Simplicity 8881 with some obvious modifications. I had already made this dress once before, but I wanted to take another stab at it after having learned so much more about the time period and what is historically correct.
Let me start with the foundations. The Simplicity pattern doesn't have a chemise pattern, but most of us already know thatyou are not properly dressed without a chemise, so I used the chemise pattern from Simplicity 7756. (My chemise is not shown in these pictures.) Eventhis pattern needs some modifications though; the sleeves are too short(they end up inching their way halfway to your elbows), the overalllength is too short (it is only T-shirt length), and the neckline is toohigh in back. All of these problems are very easy to correct. Ialso made the bumroll and farthingale that come with Simplicity 8881, whichwas quite an experience. First, the bumroll. It is a very neatidea to mount the bumroll on a kind band, but the way it is constructed,the bumroll ends up closer to my waist than to my hips; this might justbe because I have a particularly high waist. I would recommend pinningthe stuffed bumroll to the band and trying it on before you sew the twotogether. Also, make sure that you stuff it well; in this pattern, the farthingaleis designed to go over the bumroll, so the bumroll will be carrying an awfullot of weight if you also have heavy outer skirts. The farthingale was a bit difficult, not because the patternwas particularly complicated, but because I choose to use hoop steel forthe hoops. I knew that I would be wearing heavy skirts over thisfarthingale, and I therefore wanted it to be very strong. The difficultyI ran into was connecting the ends of each hoop together. Fortunately,Farthingales has come up witha hoop connector that solves this problem, so if you are going to attempt this pattern, I suggest spending the few extra dollars for the hoop connectors. I also like the suggestion that you sew the bone casings to the outside of the skirt, that way you do not have to struggle with getting the hoop steel past the seams. I learned this too late to do it on this farthingale, but I applied the technique to my Victorian hoopskirt with great success. (Historically, bone casings were sewn to the inside of the skirt to help prevent the ridge of the bone from showing through to your outer skirts. With modern hoop steel this is not an issue because it is so thin; outside or inside will make little difference to the final look of your gown.) Also, be very careful with the length of the farthingale; it was obviously designed to be wore by someone much taller than me or someone wearing high heels (which are not period correct). I am only 5' 3" and didn't take that into consideration when I first put the farthingale together;I had to remove three bones from the bottom of the skirt before I could walkcomfortably without stepping on the bottom hoop.
Farthingale Measurement Directions: With this type ofA-line skirt, it is actually very easy to figure out how long the skirtshould be. All you have to do is apply good old geometry; the squareof the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squaresof the base and height. Here is the practical application: 1) figureout the diameter of your bottom hoop (circumference divided by pi) and then half that to get the radius, which is the base of your triangle. 2) measure from your waist down to where you want the length of the skirt to end up (I like mine about five inches off of the floor). 3) Multiply both measurements by themselves (i.e. if measurement 1 is 30 inches you will get900, and if measurement 2 is 40 inches you will get 1200) 4) add thesetwo numbers together (900 + 1200=2100) 5) find the square root of thissum (okay, this part takes a calculator and what you end up with is approximately46 inches). Add a few inches for the hem and this is the length thatyou will want to cut your farthingale FRONT pieces. (Remember thatthis farthingale pattern is designed to go over a bumroll, so the back piecesMUST be longer than the front.) Also keep in mind that you will needto redistribute the boning, or eliminate the bottom hoops in order to compensatefor shortening the skirt.
The final foundation piece is the corset, which I must admitis the only part of this costume that I did not make. Of course,you do not absolutely need a corset, IF you are going to heavily bone thebodice. Very few women can pull off the Elizabethan silhouette withoutsome sort of structural support. The corset I purchased is wonderfullysturdy, fits beautifully, and I got it at a steal for only $55 plus shippingand handling. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the websitefor the life of me. Although the corset provides me with the correctshape, it is not period correct; it is made with sturdy cotton drill, plasticboning, and a nice wide, triangular Plexiglas busk in front. Aperiod correct corset is, of course, much more work and hence, much moreexpensive. If you are determined to make your own, both AlterYearsand The Mantua Maker have patterns; both carry a tabbed version, which Ihave heard is more comfortable than an untabbed corset, preventing the boningand the weight of the corset from digging into your waist.
One of my favorite parts of this gown is the underskirt. I saw the fabric while shopping in Berkeley, and I simply could not pass it up. I knew that it was not period correct (it is a polyester satin) but the gold embroidery was too stunning to ignore. The fabric was abit on the expensive side, so I bought just enough to make sure that I couldget the front panel of an underskirt out of it. (If you look at my Italian Renaissance gown, you will see that I had a little of this fabric left over.) I wanted to embellish the fabric a little more, so I outlined the crosses in red metallic embroidery thread and then attached red jewels to various spots using fabric glue. I then hemmed this front panel with a piece ofblue velveteen to match the outer gown. (This helps protect the whitesatin from getting too dirty at the hem.) The rest of the underskirt is made up in a white cotton sateen.If I remember correctly, the overskirt has a good six yards of royal blue velveteen. (I know, I know. It isn't a very period correct color, but it is my favorite color and the resulting gown is absolutely gorgeous.) I cartridge pleated all this fabric onto a waist band with a hook-and-eye closure in front. (For wonderful instructions on cartridge pleating, check out The Elizabethan Costuming Page. There is a tutorial complete with instructions in the Costuming How-Tos section. When I read the instructions that come with thepattern, I was completely confused. The only instruction I endedup following from the pattern was the wonderful technique of using ginghamto space my stitches rather than measuring and marking the entire widthof the skirt. I would suggest, too, to remove the thread you usedto pleat the skirt after you attach the pleats to the waistband, or at leastmake sure that they are loose enough for the skirt to drape nicely over thebumroll. For a long time I couldn't figure out why my waistband wouldnot lay flat; then I discovered that my pleats were too tight too far downthe skirt, keeping the top of the skirt close to my hips and pulling thewaistband away from my waist. Once I pulled out the gathering threads,this problem was completely solved. This also means that the picturesthat come with the pattern are completely wrong; the overskirt should springaway just below the waist, rather than elongating the waist as on the model.) I also do NOT recommend placing the opening for the overskirt in theback, unless you really want to follow the patterns instructions to attachboth the underskirt and the overskirt to the same waistband; the benefitof their method is that it decreases bulk at the waist, but it is not periodcorrect, makes cleaning a bit more difficult, and makes attaching the cartridgepleats a bear. I then applied a woven trim to the front opening ofthe skirt and all the way around the bottom and applied a gold bobbin lacetrim to either side of the woven trim, giving a beautiful four inch widetrim that wraps around the entire skirt. (The added benefit of attachingthe trim all the way around the bottom of the skirt was that I did not needto hand stitch a hem.)
The bodice was the next piece to be constructed. (Remember that in building a Renaissance dress, you must build in a specific order sothat each successive piece will fit over all of the other layers. Achemise, bumroll, farthingale, underskirt and overskirt will add significantlyto your waist, no matter what your corset does to counteract the effect.)There are some serious modifications to be made to the bodice, but nothingthat a beginner couldn't do with patience. The curves MUST be takenout of the front side seams. I'm sure that there are very technical,accurate ways of doing this, but my simple solution is to just take a straitedge ruler and draw a new cutting line omitting the curves. So far,my technique has worked. The next modification is to drop the frontneckline; it is far too high in the pattern. I dropped it two fullinches and could have taken off at least an inch an a half more and stillfelt modest. The major point of squishing yourself into a corset isto produce a little cleavage--make sure that the bodice doesn't cover itall up. (Of course, I don't recommend going overboard. Afterall, this dress is trying to achieve the look of a noblewoman, not a barmaid.If you are not sure how much to cut off, use your corset as a guide.) Thenext modification I can't emphasize enough: do not attach the sleevesto the bodice. You will regret it all of your faire days. TheElizabethans knew what they were doing; they understood the concept of layers(which we in the Bay Area should also understand). If you wear thisgown to a summer fair with the sleeves permanently attached, you will bemelting by midday. Make tie-on sleeves that you can remove when youstart to get a little overheated. It won't solve all of your problems,since you still have all of your other layers, but it will make you a littlemore comfortable. Remember to add ties when you sew the armscye closed. If you are doing the sleeves that the pattern calls for, attach thepuff part to the bodice and tie on the undersleeve part. I made onefinal alteration, and that was simply out of preference; I shortened thebodice point and made it more pointed rather than curved, using my corsetas a guide. I would recommend following all of the other directions,at least the first time you make this bodice; this is a really good patternto show you the fundamentals of lining, interlining, boning, and turning. Once you have the basic concepts down, then enjoy experimenting. Samegoes for the back closure; try it their way, then if you don't really likeit, shorten the back pieces, insert eyelets and lace it up. (I willbe making this modification to my own gown in the near future. My measurementsend up being slightly different every time I wear the corset; lacing thebodice will give me the flexibility I need to get a good fit every time.)Oh, and one last thing; it really is much more common for the bodice to matchthe overskirt rather than the underskirt. The trim on the front was doneas an afterthought with leftover trim from the skirt, and I'm not entirelypleased with it; with so much embellishment on the underskirt, overskirt,and sleeves, the bodice was looking a little plain, and I was trying to solvethat problem. I guess I should have just dressed up the bodice by draping a long string of pearls across the front (which I did end up doing anyway,so I guess I didn't really need the trim after all).
Tips on boning and lining: DO bone the bodice, even if you are wearing a corset; it stabilizes everything and gives the bodice a smooth look. I made the mistake of not boning my first bodice and you could see the outline of my corset underneath it, with the front neckline falling in over the top of the corset front. If you are not wearing a corset, choose a sturdy lining material and steel boning (or at least something stronger than the featherweight boning that the pattern recommends). If youare wearing a corset, muslin should be sufficient for the lining and featherweight boning should work. I must admit that I have never used featherweight boning myself; I can't stand how it comes all coiled up and won't straiten out. Instead, I use electrical ties; they come in a variety of lengths, widths and thicknesses, have the same effect as plastic boning, and aresafe for both home cleaning and dry cleaning. (Be careful with thethicker ties, they tend to show through thin outer fabric. See myStarWars PicnicDress.) If, through careful choice of lining and boning, you createa bodice that fits correctly, you will not need to attach the bodice to theoverskirt as described in the pattern; everything will stay in place becauseit fits closely and you don't have attached sleeves pulling things out ofplace.
I am so proud of the sleeves on this dress. It isn't that I don't like the sleeves from the pattern; it was just a matter of been there, done that, since I had already made those sleeves for my first gown. For inspiration, I borrowed Janet Winter's book Elizabethan Costumingfrom a friend. (I have heard that the book is difficult to find, butI generally see if for sale when I go to fair. I haven't read the wholething, so I can't really comment on the book as a whole, but it was veryuseful in showing me the basic pattern types for sleeves.) Winter discussesmany different sleeve options and suggestions/pattern designs for how toachieve them. I knew that I wanted to bring a new color into the ensemble(I had not yet embellished the underskirt nor chosen a trim for the overskirt and things were looking a little bland), so I decided to do puff-and-slash sleeves with a colored undersleeve. I don't think that this is a period look; generally, the sleeve that puffs through the slashes is the whitechemise sleeve. But, as you may have already guessed, I'm not a purist,so I went to Silk Road Fabrics and picked up some red silk habatai and setto work. First, I used the pattern piece to cut out the sleeve lining. I then cut the pattern into five strips and cut these out of the velveteen, being careful to add a seam allowance. I cut the red silk into long rectangular strips about two inches wide and four inches longer than thesleeve. I sewed these strips together, alternating between the velveteenand the silk and easing the extra length of the silk to fit. I finished the top edge of the sleeve by sewing it to the lining, remembering to sew ties into that edge, and I finished the bottom edge with leftover pipingfrom the bodice. Finally, I sewed pearls (yes, they are fake) onto the sleeveto close the gaps, pulling the silk out into puffs as I did. The finishing touch was to tack the lining to the sleeve (something I haven't done yet, so every time I take the sleeve off the lining turns inside out; not a problem, just a nuisance). Reminder: Before cutting out any part ofthe sleeve, measure; the sleeve needs to fit comfortably over your chemisesleeve.With leftover silk and trim, I made a snood (not shown in the pictures), and with some scrap velveteen I made a flat cap using Simplicity 9256. Both were very simple to make, and I wear them with a feather I boughtat fair and a decorative hat pin.
I choose not to make the partlet and ruffs for this gown. Frankly, I don't like the pattern for the partlet; not only is themethod of attachment extremely far from historically correct, it is verydifficult to place correctly. In my first costume, I was always fidgetingwith the partlet to keep it positioned correctly and tucked in. I wouldrecommend making a full blouse, or extending the partlet so that it is longenough to tie under your arms or at least tuck into your corset. Iwas glad to have the experience of making the ruffs, but they got a bit annoyingat fair and I just didn't want to deal with them this time. They aretime consuming to make, but the directions with the pattern are excellent.
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