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This set of costumes is my first foray into historically accurate Medieval clothing for reenactment in the SCA and Adrian Empire. The time period targeted is the mid 14th century.
The guide for the blue and purple kirtles with the sideless surcoat was The Evolution of Fashion by Margot Hamilton Hill and Peter A Bucknell, specifically the 1380 Richard II drawing on page 35, although other references were used including Medieval Costume in England and France by Mary G Houston and Medieval Costume and Fashion by Herbert Norris.
Since sewing the blue and purple kirtles with the sideless surcoat, I have read The Medieval Tailor's Assistant by Sarah Thursfield and have identified numerous opportunities for improvement, some of which agree with practical observations I've made from wearing them. I have noted these opportunities below in the Lessons learned and Future modifications planned sections and began to apply them for the white kirtle and green cotehardie.
This kirtle was sewn in a navy linen/rayon blend. The blend is not a historically accurate fabric but at half the cost of linen, with better drape, less wrinkling, and easier wash and dry instructions, I decided to go with the modern blend. At the sleeves are purchased navy linen covered buttons.
Deviations from the pattern:
The pattern for the kirtle was created by transposing the historically accurate neckline from the Simplicity 8725 pattern onto the body in View A of the McCalls 8826 pattern. I chose to do this instead of using the Simplicity pattern itself due to the excessive fabric requirements of the Simplicity pattern, which would have created a kirtle so full and long as to not be practical for walking around.
Instead of facing at the neckline, I used a store bought single fold bias tape to face and bind it on the inside.
I had planned to replace the zipper in the side seam with buttons but due to the slight cross grain stretch of the fabric, I was able to pull this on over my head, so just sewed the side up as a regular seam.
I added a half inch ease the entire width of the sleeve and ignored the bizarre cuff directions, hemming the cuff below my wrist. I sewed 10 buttons on the sleeve seam line to simulate the buttoning in the Simplicity gown sleeve.
Lessons learned:
The back length on the McCalls pattern envelope is incorrect, it's actually 7 inches longer which was plenty for my needs. I should have double checked the front length though before I cut it out as it turns out that this is what is listed on the pattern as the back length! And that results in a front shorter than the pattern's floor length picture would imply. So if you are taller than the 5'5" to 5'6" standard height that McCalls uses, you need to lengthen the front accordingly as the pattern only allows for a 5/8" hem, unlike most patterns which give 2 inches of play in the hem.
This kirtle was sewn in a purple linen/rayon blend. At the sleeves are silver buttons.
Deviations from the pattern:
The pattern for the kirtle was created by transposing the neckline from the Simplicity 8725 pattern onto the body of View A of the McCalls 8826 pattern just like the blue kirtle.
Instead of facing at the neckline, I created bias strips from the purple fabric to face and bind it on the inside. I think this looks nicer than the store bought single fold bias as the color is an exact match.
I had planned to replace the zipper in the side seam with buttons but like the blue kirtle, I sewed the side up as a regular seam.
I added an inch ease at the top of the sleeve, tapering to the original width at the forearm. Like the blue kirtle I ignored the bizarre cuff directions and sewed 10 buttons on the sleeve seam line.
I lengthened the front by 3 inches, tapering at the sides but leaving the back as original. Although it doesn't look exactly floor length in the picture, it does just skim the ground in the front and at the sides when I walk.
Lessons learned:
The purple fabric bias strip facing the neckline needs to instead be cut straight on the grain, to prevent the stretching at the neckline that is occurring from the weight of the kirtle over the course of a day. According to The Medieval Tailor's Assistant by Sarah Thursfield, 3 cm (about 1.25 inches) facing strips cut on the straight of grain are thin enough to bend around the neckline, sleeve edge, and any openings for lacing or buttoning.
The width of the shoulders needs to be increased to provide better support to the weight of the fabric than the current 1 inch is doing. The Medieval Tailor's Assistant by Sarah Thursfield recommends never going less than 4 cm (about 1 5/8 inches).
This kirtle was sewn in a white linen/rayon blend. This kirtle requires that a chemise be worn underneath due to the slight transparency of the fabric where it is formed to the body. At the sleeves are pearl buttons.
Deviations from the pattern:
The pattern for the kirtle was created by transposing the neckline from the Simplicity 8725 pattern onto the body of View A of the McCalls 8826 pattern just like the blue and purple kirtles. This time I increased the width of the shoulders to provide better support for the weight of the fabric.
Instead of facing or bias at the neckline, this time I created facing strips cut straight on the grain from the white fabric to face and bind it on the inside.
Like the blue and purple kirtles, I sewed the side up as a regular seam.
This time I used the sleeve pattern from Simplicity 8725 View A with a half inch ease the entire width of the sleeve. Using this pattern moved the seam to the back of the arm and provided a more dramatic mitten cuff look. I sewed 12 buttons on the sleeve seam line to simulate the buttoning.
I lengthened the original pattern 5 inches in the front and 2 inches in the back. I finally am happy with the length!
The cotehardie was sewn in a green linen/rayon blend, the faux kirtle sleeves in an embroidered white linen, and the tippets in a white linen/rayon blend. At the sleeves are fabric covered buttons I made using the green linen/rayon blend.
Historically, this would have been two gowns - a long sleeved kirtle with a short sleeved cotehardie over it. I made them one gown due to the heat where I wear this. The faux kirtle sleeve is sewn to the cotehardie sleeve at the armscye.
Deviations from the pattern:
The pattern for the cotehardie was created by transposing the neckline from the Simplicity 8725 pattern onto the body of View A of the McCalls 8826 pattern just like the kirtles, increasing the width of the shoulders to provide better support to the weight of the fabric just like the white kirtle.
I created facing strips from the green fabric to face and bind it on the inside just like the white kirtle.
I reshaped the front and back seams to be more fitted starting from just under the chest down to the waist, flaring out again starting at the waist. Instead of a zipper at the side seam, I faced the opening with facing strips from the green fabric and hand sewed eyelets.
Both the faux kirtle sleeve and short cotehardie sleeve used Simplicity 8725 View A with a half inch ease in the width added to the short sleeve only. I sewed 12 buttons on the faux kirtle sleeve seam line to simulate the buttoning.
I created the pattern for the tippets. The arm band is 2.5" wide by the circumference of my arm just above my elbow. The streamer is 4" wide by the length from the finished edge of the short cotehardie sleeve to mid calf. Both were cut as rectangles twice the finished widths plus seam allowances and sewn as a tube with the seam centered once turned right side out. The streamer was then sewn to the bottom of the arm band. I pinned the tippets to the edge of the short sleeve cotehardie with primitive safety pins I purchased at Pennsic XXVII from Lady Guendalina's Closet.
I lengthened the original pattern 5 inches in the front and 2 inches in the back just like the white kirtle.
Future modifications planned:
As I progress to the next iterations of this kirtle or cotehardie I am considering the following changes for historical accuracy:
The sideless surcoat was sewn in a blue silk dupioni with black Chinese silk lining. At the arm openings is a blue rayon celtic weave trim.
Deviations from the pattern:
The pattern for the sideless surcoat was created by transposing the historically accurate neckline from the Simplicity 8725 surcoat pattern onto the body of the surcoat in View B of the McCalls 8826 pattern. I also dramatically cut in the arm openings to better reflect the mid 14th century style. I chose to do this instead of using the Simplicity pattern itself due to the excessive fabric requirements of the Simplicity pattern, which would have created a surcoat so full and long as to not be practical for walking around.
Instead of facing at the neckline and arm openings, I lined it completely.
Lessons learned:
Silk is a historically accurate fabric but I have since learned that the nubby surface of silk dupioni would have been considered poor craftsmanship and therefore never used.
The length needs to be extended to be the same as the kirtle in both the front and the back, this pattern is way too short plus has the back the same length as the front.
The side seams need to be taken in a few inches at the bottom of the arm openings, tapering out to the hem. This will help remove the unflattering sagging at hip level.
Future modifications planned:
As I progress to the next iterations of this surcoat I am considering the following changes for historical accuracy:
The first hat was sewn with the white embroidered linen used for the faux kirtle sleeves on the cotehardie, the second hat was sewn from the same green linen/rayon blend as the cotehardie and the third hat was sewn with a lilac linen. The first hat was lined with a white linen/rayon blend, the other two hats were lined with the same fabric as the outside. The barbette (chin strap) was sewn with a white linen/rayon blend.
There is some debate about the authenticity of a 14th century pill box style hat. I read The "Pill Box Hat" Question with great interest, I have not yet contacted the author to find the source of the picture of the statue that shows one. I did find a reference to four pill box style hats found at Herjolfsnes, which is a modern diagram of the pattern for the four extant examples of 14th century pill box style hats. But I have not yet found pictures of the actual extant examples to see for myself. According to the often referenced Cynthia Virtue Medieval Clothing Pages we have no extant examples of hats from the middle ages, but this contradicts the inventory listed from the The Herjolfsnes Artifacts. Cynthia Virtue probably says it best when she wrote "Your conclusions may be different than mine, and that's OK."
I will concede that I am not wearing the barbette (chin strap) as it is shown in every example I've found, I wear mine with the bottom passed under the nape of my neck as opposed to my chin. That is for my own comfort.
Deviations from the pattern:
The hat pattern was a modified View B, I cut down the crown of the hat by 1.5 inches to make it 2.5 inches tall. I then recalculated the diameter of the top using the formula diameter = circumference / pi. For a size medium hat which results in a 26 inch circumference (without seam allowances) after cutting down the crown, this equates to a 9 1/4 inch diameter circle (which includes the seam allowances).
A time saving alternative to hand sewing the wire to the buckram was using a piping foot and zigzag stitch.
Instead of gluing the top to the crown, I hand stitched them together. In fact, everywhere it said to glue, I eliminated that step or found a sewing alternative.
I created the pattern for the barbette (chin strap). The barbette is 1.5 inches wide by 27 inches long. It was cut as a rectangle twice the finished width plus seam allowances and sewn as a tube with the seam centered once turned right side out. Unlike the pattern, it is not attached to the hat but rather pinned around my head at the top (hidden by the hat) and then the hat pinned to each side of the barbette above my temples.
Lessons learned:
The sides of the hat need to be adhered to the linen with fusible webbing just like the crown as the fabric and buckram pull away from each other in heat and humidity.
Hats are delicate things and need to be transported in hat boxes or something similar to ensure they don't get crushed during transit.
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