Maroon Wool Kirtle

When inspiration strikes, I grab it and run. With just over a month until the renaissance-themed marriage of two good friends, I decided I would finally make that 16th Century kirtle I'd been planning on. I ended up wearing it without a lining and it definitely needs some fit adjustments, but I managed it finish it in time!

For this project I used a gorgeous light weight wool broadcloth from Burnley and Trowbridge that I had originally purchased to make a modern coat. I drafted a pattern using primarily the Modern Maker Vol. 2 and followed the construction instructions from The Tudor Tailor.

I didn't like the separate strap piece called for in the Modern Maker book so I eventually integrated it into my front and back pieces. However, I did find it useful for fitting and getting the right strap angle.

I started with a muslin mockup. When I was generally satisfied with the fit, I machine basted wool onto each of the pieces to better imitate the thickness and stiffness of final bodice. After another round of fitting, I was satisfied enough to cut the structure materials.

I used a linen canvas (another B&T special) cut to the pattern of the bodice as the main structure. These pieces are cut with seam allowance only on the lacing edges, back seam, and shoulder seams. All other edges will have the fashion fabric wrapped over them and stitched down and need to be the exact size of the finished piece.

I then cut wool to pad and stiffen the canvas through a process called pad stitching (find a great tutorial here). I couldn't find a lot of Period details on the direction the pad stitching was supposed to go or if the body should be held/shaped in a specific way to create the right shape, so I made my plan off modern reconstructions I'd seen and stitched channels into the bodice front.

I eventually decided to abandon the wool and pad stitching for the back pieces of the bodice as I thought they'd add weight (heat) and stiffness I didn't really need.

Next was the process of cutting the fashion fabric, smoothing it gently over the structured piece, clipping the corners and curves, and basting the seam allowances down. On the right image, you can see where I've based the seam allowance over and where I have not. During this step, check regularly that your fashion fabric does not have any wrinkles or pulling.

Once basted into place, I used a herringbone hem stitch to secure the seam allowance into place. You can use a whip stitch here, the important part is that you only go through the wool and/or the canvas layer and not all the way to the fashion fabric. If you catch threads from your fashion fabric in this step, you'll have puckers on the outside of your bodice.

With each individual piece complete, I sewed up the back and shoulder seams and pressed the edges and seam allowances before moving on to the skirts.

The rough time period I chose for this outfit (1560-1580) was a transitional period for skirt shapes. There is some evidence for fully rectangular cut skirts and some for flared skirts or skirts that flared for the back piece only. All cuts are heavily pleated or gathered into the bodice. For my skirt, I chose to do the front piece rectangular and the back slight flared. This wasted the least fabric while still giving a good shape.

Another interesting kirtle finishing technique that I learned from the Tudor Tailor was to finish the skirt hem before attaching it. All my modern sewing knowledge screamed at me that this was a terrible idea. Other than the ease of working with the flat skirt pieces, having to adjust the length at the waist seam and not being able to hang the skirt to relax before hemming was a challenge. I'm not sure if I'd do this again.

What I 100% would do again is this beautiful weighted hem guard inside the skirt. The guard serves several purposes: 1) it add body to the hem helping the skirt flair more, 2) this body also helps the skirt avoid getting caught between your legs while walking, and 3) the silk helps the skirt not get caught on shoes and under-layers.

To make the guard I used scrap silk and undyed wool I had in my stash:

1. Cut the wool and silk into 3" wide strips the length of your skirt hem

2. Sew the silk strips together to form one long piece

3. Sew the silk right-side to right-side to the skirt fabric

4. Press the seam open

5. Fold the silk facing to the inside of the skirt and pull it up passed the bottom of the skirt by one seam allowance (middle picture above)

6. Tuck the wool into the pocket created by the facing

7. Turn the top of the silk under the wool

8. Using a hemming stitch and catching only a few fibers of the skirt fabric such that it will not be visible on the exterior, sew the top seam

At some point, I added eyelets to the bodice sides so I could try it on and begin attaching the skirt. I used my dressform to test out cartridge pleating, big knife pleats, and small ones. Eventually I found a spacing I liked and I basted them so they would stay while I worked.

The attaching of bodice to skirt still kind of baffles me. The folded over (finished) skirt edge is whip stitched to the finish bodice edge very close to the bottom. When complete, you shouldn't be able to see daylight through the seam, but the two pieces are basically just abutted and held together by the stitches alone. I was so nervous I doubled up my thread and made my whip stitches quite small. I could have probably pulled them tighter too.

Th end result looked right enough and so I set about finishing the skirt openings and my stretch goal: sleeves!

I two days before the event, I modified my doublet sleeve pattern and cut out one layer in the maroon wool and one in a pink linen I had leftover from another project. I drew up a quick grid and punched the wool into a pattern I thought looked nice. I left the top a bit simpler to save time and because eventally I plan to wear this dress under a Tudor gown which will only show the bottom half of the sleeves. I flat lined the pieces and finished the top and bottom edges by hand.

I only took two pictures because I was working into the night and short on time. I ended up sewing the lacing rings into the sleeves on the way to the event.

In the end the kirtle turned out very well and I was comfortable in it all day. I did notice some fit issues (primarily the bodice was too long and needed to be stiffened a bit more in the front), but overall I am very pleased.

I've already got modifications underway and kirtle version 1.1 will be going for a test run soon!