Dress Diary - Fitted Kirtle for Kat
Back when I was putting together a new dress (a 15th century Flemish fitted kirtle), I kept a diary of my research and how the construction was going. It seems to me well-and-truly time to put the diary up to public view.
BRIEF: 'Kirtle' can mean a lot of things depending on the time and place of the person wearing it (and the accuracy of the costumer). To be specific, I've been looking at a lot of pictures from the early fifteenth century, lately, and fallen in love with those smooth curves over the torso. They don't have the stiff flat front of a boned bodice, and yet they are somehow uplifting, too. Yummy. I want one. This is going to be a working dress, so the skirts, however full, will be ankle-length. As always, comfortable fit around the torso and good arm-movement is essential. The style lets me have cap-sleeves or no sleeves, with fancy brocade ones pinned on as the occasion warrants, which I feel adds a lot to the convenience. This essay here has convinced me that this style is probably considered casual - t-shirt and sweat-pants of the middle ages. That's fine: I'll have a period dress for working, and I can pretty it up with fancy overdresses at need.
I will be pleating the back skirt to the bodice to give a bit of extra bouffe. Not all of the kirtles in the pictures do this, but enough do that I feel comfortable with it. Also, some of the pictures show definite waist-seams. I will work the bodice and the skirt seperately, partly for the pleating, and partly because it's easier to adjust the fit of the toile without the skirts gathering around my knees and ankles.
**TODO// EVIDENCE FOR INTERLINING OF BODICE//**
As this kirtle will be very closely fitted, I am making a toile of the interlining layer, and will cut my lining and outer pieces from that.
RELATED TERMS: kirtle, under-kirtle, fitted kirtle, flat-fronted kirtle, Gothic Fitted Dress (GFD), supportive layer, under-dress
FABRIC: What I wanted was a pure wool outer, and a pure linen inner, for authenticity (yay!) and the ability of natural fibres to breathe - this is almost the closest layer to my skin. The Exchequer will not stand; there is no linen in the stores right now, and none of the wool or wool-mix fabrics I've found have me drooling either.
I ended up with a mid-brown, sturdy cotton with a fluffy nap for the outer (at a tenth of the cost of wool). I think it can pass for a period fabric in a 'peach-coloured' light. The inner is a light-weight mid-red. The interlining is an open-weavy cotton canvas-like thing - I chose the texture for extra airflow (and why not?). The colours are not offensive and work with each other. The brown could do with a little zip, maybe, and I'm thinking of re-dying it slightly.
The cotton fabric will breathe nicely, and can also be machine-washed (which is a very attractive quality for something that will be sweated in). It has different stretch qualities, though, which may lead to me cutting the bodice on the bias, and it will not be as warm. I'm chalking this up as a practice dress - if I mess up, it won't be heart-breaking, and I can duplicate the pattern in better fabric at a later date if it works well.
PIECING OF SKIRT: This will be from Alcega's farthingale pattern, minus hoops. I've pictorial evidence for unusually pieced skirts, though I can't confirm this one; I like the idea of matching bias cuts with selvedges; it lets me put extra cloth in the back for pleats without pain. I'm not sure why the front gore is smaller than the back, unless this is what helps the skirt shift to the back; I'm willing to take this piecing decision on faith. UPDATE: I later found a couple of dresses made by contemporary re-enactors that used the farthingale piecing, though I didn't grab the links.
I intend to use roll pleats on the bodice/back-skirt join. According to my research at www.elizabethancostume.net, roll pleats are springier than anything but cartridge pleats. They are also bulkier. I'm planning to make up the skirt seperately, stitching the outer and the liner together, then pleating, and then attaching to the bodice with a double line of stitching for strength. (UPDATE: I later decided on overhanding.)
Dying.The fabric for the outer is a mid-brown cotton, which will be lined with red cotton. It seems to me a good candidate for machine-dying a slightly deeper, redder shade - cotton apparently dyes well, and if the dye runs afterwards, it won't ruin the lining. However, the last time I tried dying something it was a complete disaster. I did a quick spot of research, this time, at Paula Burch's All About Hand Dyeing web page. There's a lot of technical information; it never contradicts itself; there are many queries from outside parties. I'll do a bit more reading around, but the site looks reliable to me.
Ms Burch recommends Procion MX, Cibacron F (Sabracron F), and Drimarene K (Dylon Machine Dye) for what I want to do (seperately, that is). I'll have a squizz 'round the shops and see what's available. EDIT: I picked up some Dylon Machine Dye in Dark Red from Spotlight. The packet doesn't say whether it contains Drimarene K or not. It's about a quarter of what I need by weight, but I'm on a budget, and I wanted 'just a hint' and not 'whole different colour', so we'll see how it goes.
UPDATE: The fabric ended up a little darker and a little redder. About what I wanted.
I've cut a basic toile out of the inter-lining and am experimenting with the seams to get it fitting snugly. I'm having problems. I tend to get lots of tiny stress wrinkles popping up, even when it isn't very snug, and alarmingly often there is this weird horizontal indent coming up, where the stress from the upper balcony is right along the weft grain, so I get a bulge below and a bulge above and a valley in the middle - Doh! Options: 1. Raise or lower the arm-holes to change where the stress goes; 2. Cut the toile again on the bias, to avoid that grain-line; 3. Take a break and think about it all in the morning.
UPDATE: I've tinkered with the armholes and seam-lines some and got something do-able. Then I said 'Why not' and cut the front again, but on the bias. The difference is remarkable! I couldn't do this unless I had a seperate skirt, but suddenly I have flex and ease and delightful curves again. Yay! A little more tinkering with the shoulder pieces, and I'll be done.
UPDATE: I scooped out the neckline at the front and back. This isn't just about getting the curving-swan-neck look - when the bodice is that tightly fitted there tends to be gapping if the material rises too high.
Pad-stitching the canvas to the outer took a while. The effect is amazing! With the fuzziness of the brushed cotton attached to the weight of the canvas, it now reminds me strongly of suede leather. Unfortunately, the heft of the material changed again, and I had to do a bit more tinkering, sigh. I'm reasonably happy with it now, but I'll be leaving an opening with the lining to get back inside if I have to.
In a fit of madness, I decided to overhand the skirt pieces. That means that I machine-stitched each piece of the outer to its lining mate, turned the right-sides out, ironed the edges carefully, put the right-side of the new piece to its similarly treated mate, and connected them with very small whip stitches. It takes flipping ages, but oh my golly gosh the flatness of those seams O_o. I'm planning on doing a similar treatment when connecting the skirt to the bodice which makes me a little nervous, considering the weight, but I've read about people doing similar. We'll see.
UPDATE: I glommed a pattern off the Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator and threw a smock together last night. It was so wonderful to make something in a short space of time - everything except the hemming. The smock fits well, except the sleeves are just a touch tight.
The skirt of the kirtle has been attached to the bodice - the back bit in roll pleats - and seems sturdy enough. I think that I made my stitches too large, though, because I can see them just a bit from the right side. Perhaps the linen thread is just too light a brown. There's not much I can do about it except buy black thread (the closest other match) and re-do. I don't want to re-do right now.
Right now I've sewn very small washers* to the inside of the side openings to hold the laces. It's cheap and relatively quick, and it lets me shift them if I don't like the stress pattern when the lacing is tight, but I don't like the way the cord pulls at the attachment points. Sewing proper eyelet holes is on my improvements list.
I've tried the kirtle on, with smock and lacing, and it's good. I have a snug fitting bodice with support (though not as much uplift as I'd hoped for) and lovely smooth curves, and flowing skirts.
Next is hemming (ick) and eyelets.
* From the Hastings Mitre 10, and can I just say that they are teh awesome? The staff were persistently helpful, even when I was just looking for a mingy two nuts and bolts, or a handful of washers. And they knew where things were. WONDERFUL!!
EXTRA LINKS:
ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressPosts.txt
ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressFAQ.PDF
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=693
http://www.cottesimple.com/
http://swein.campus.luth.se/lia/garb/redwoolGFD/
http://www.mathildegirlgenius.com/Documentation/KASF2006/15thCentSleeves.pdf
I will be pleating the back skirt to the bodice to give a bit of extra bouffe. Not all of the kirtles in the pictures do this, but enough do that I feel comfortable with it. Also, some of the pictures show definite waist-seams. I will work the bodice and the skirt seperately, partly for the pleating, and partly because it's easier to adjust the fit of the toile without the skirts gathering around my knees and ankles.
**TODO// EVIDENCE FOR INTERLINING OF BODICE//**
As this kirtle will be very closely fitted, I am making a toile of the interlining layer, and will cut my lining and outer pieces from that.
RELATED TERMS: kirtle, under-kirtle, fitted kirtle, flat-fronted kirtle, Gothic Fitted Dress (GFD), supportive layer, under-dress
FABRIC: What I wanted was a pure wool outer, and a pure linen inner, for authenticity (yay!) and the ability of natural fibres to breathe - this is almost the closest layer to my skin. The Exchequer will not stand; there is no linen in the stores right now, and none of the wool or wool-mix fabrics I've found have me drooling either.
I ended up with a mid-brown, sturdy cotton with a fluffy nap for the outer (at a tenth of the cost of wool). I think it can pass for a period fabric in a 'peach-coloured' light. The inner is a light-weight mid-red. The interlining is an open-weavy cotton canvas-like thing - I chose the texture for extra airflow (and why not?). The colours are not offensive and work with each other. The brown could do with a little zip, maybe, and I'm thinking of re-dying it slightly.
The cotton fabric will breathe nicely, and can also be machine-washed (which is a very attractive quality for something that will be sweated in). It has different stretch qualities, though, which may lead to me cutting the bodice on the bias, and it will not be as warm. I'm chalking this up as a practice dress - if I mess up, it won't be heart-breaking, and I can duplicate the pattern in better fabric at a later date if it works well.
PIECING OF SKIRT: This will be from Alcega's farthingale pattern, minus hoops. I've pictorial evidence for unusually pieced skirts, though I can't confirm this one; I like the idea of matching bias cuts with selvedges; it lets me put extra cloth in the back for pleats without pain. I'm not sure why the front gore is smaller than the back, unless this is what helps the skirt shift to the back; I'm willing to take this piecing decision on faith. UPDATE: I later found a couple of dresses made by contemporary re-enactors that used the farthingale piecing, though I didn't grab the links.
I intend to use roll pleats on the bodice/back-skirt join. According to my research at www.elizabethancostume.net, roll pleats are springier than anything but cartridge pleats. They are also bulkier. I'm planning to make up the skirt seperately, stitching the outer and the liner together, then pleating, and then attaching to the bodice with a double line of stitching for strength. (UPDATE: I later decided on overhanding.)
Dying.The fabric for the outer is a mid-brown cotton, which will be lined with red cotton. It seems to me a good candidate for machine-dying a slightly deeper, redder shade - cotton apparently dyes well, and if the dye runs afterwards, it won't ruin the lining. However, the last time I tried dying something it was a complete disaster. I did a quick spot of research, this time, at Paula Burch's All About Hand Dyeing web page. There's a lot of technical information; it never contradicts itself; there are many queries from outside parties. I'll do a bit more reading around, but the site looks reliable to me.
Ms Burch recommends Procion MX, Cibacron F (Sabracron F), and Drimarene K (Dylon Machine Dye) for what I want to do (seperately, that is). I'll have a squizz 'round the shops and see what's available. EDIT: I picked up some Dylon Machine Dye in Dark Red from Spotlight. The packet doesn't say whether it contains Drimarene K or not. It's about a quarter of what I need by weight, but I'm on a budget, and I wanted 'just a hint' and not 'whole different colour', so we'll see how it goes.
UPDATE: The fabric ended up a little darker and a little redder. About what I wanted.
I've cut a basic toile out of the inter-lining and am experimenting with the seams to get it fitting snugly. I'm having problems. I tend to get lots of tiny stress wrinkles popping up, even when it isn't very snug, and alarmingly often there is this weird horizontal indent coming up, where the stress from the upper balcony is right along the weft grain, so I get a bulge below and a bulge above and a valley in the middle - Doh! Options: 1. Raise or lower the arm-holes to change where the stress goes; 2. Cut the toile again on the bias, to avoid that grain-line; 3. Take a break and think about it all in the morning.
UPDATE: I've tinkered with the armholes and seam-lines some and got something do-able. Then I said 'Why not' and cut the front again, but on the bias. The difference is remarkable! I couldn't do this unless I had a seperate skirt, but suddenly I have flex and ease and delightful curves again. Yay! A little more tinkering with the shoulder pieces, and I'll be done.
UPDATE: I scooped out the neckline at the front and back. This isn't just about getting the curving-swan-neck look - when the bodice is that tightly fitted there tends to be gapping if the material rises too high.
Pad-stitching the canvas to the outer took a while. The effect is amazing! With the fuzziness of the brushed cotton attached to the weight of the canvas, it now reminds me strongly of suede leather. Unfortunately, the heft of the material changed again, and I had to do a bit more tinkering, sigh. I'm reasonably happy with it now, but I'll be leaving an opening with the lining to get back inside if I have to.
In a fit of madness, I decided to overhand the skirt pieces. That means that I machine-stitched each piece of the outer to its lining mate, turned the right-sides out, ironed the edges carefully, put the right-side of the new piece to its similarly treated mate, and connected them with very small whip stitches. It takes flipping ages, but oh my golly gosh the flatness of those seams O_o. I'm planning on doing a similar treatment when connecting the skirt to the bodice which makes me a little nervous, considering the weight, but I've read about people doing similar. We'll see.
UPDATE: I glommed a pattern off the Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator and threw a smock together last night. It was so wonderful to make something in a short space of time - everything except the hemming. The smock fits well, except the sleeves are just a touch tight.
The skirt of the kirtle has been attached to the bodice - the back bit in roll pleats - and seems sturdy enough. I think that I made my stitches too large, though, because I can see them just a bit from the right side. Perhaps the linen thread is just too light a brown. There's not much I can do about it except buy black thread (the closest other match) and re-do. I don't want to re-do right now.
Right now I've sewn very small washers* to the inside of the side openings to hold the laces. It's cheap and relatively quick, and it lets me shift them if I don't like the stress pattern when the lacing is tight, but I don't like the way the cord pulls at the attachment points. Sewing proper eyelet holes is on my improvements list.
I've tried the kirtle on, with smock and lacing, and it's good. I have a snug fitting bodice with support (though not as much uplift as I'd hoped for) and lovely smooth curves, and flowing skirts.
Next is hemming (ick) and eyelets.
* From the Hastings Mitre 10, and can I just say that they are teh awesome? The staff were persistently helpful, even when I was just looking for a mingy two nuts and bolts, or a handful of washers. And they knew where things were. WONDERFUL!!
EXTRA LINKS:
ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressPosts.txt
ftp://netherton.net/FittedDressFAQ.PDF
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=693
http://www.cottesimple.com/
http://swein.campus.luth.se/lia/garb/redwoolGFD/
http://www.mathildegirlgenius.com/Documentation/KASF2006/15thCentSleeves.pdf
WEARING IT:
- It's a pretty, comfortable dress and I like it.
- I find that the tight-lacing tends to draw me into pulling my belly in and standing straighter. I tend to get less back-pain overall, though it can get a bit tiring.
THINGS TO DO DIFFERENTLY:
- I'd put cap sleeves on - when I wear brocade pin-on sleeves, it gets a bit breezy around the arm-pits. Also, my current pair of pin-ons are a bit short and tend to pull the straps down off the shoulders - NOT COMFY.
- I'd put some kind of boning strip next to the lacing to keep the edge straighter.
THINGS TO KEEP THE SAME:
- I like the pleats at the back.
- Also, the lacing at the side is convenient for changes in waistlines and willingness to pose vs. desire for comfort. Sometimes near the end of the event, I'll just release the laces and let myself breathe.
OTHER ISSUES:
At some point, I should do a write-up for how I made my pin-on sleeves, and y'know, make a pair that fit a bit better.
SUMMATION:
I lot of work, but I'm extremely glad that I did it. It's a dress that's comfortable, looks good, and will last. Yayy!
Labels: dress diary, dress-making
posted by theamazingcatherine | 12:51 am
1 Comments:
Oh my - that's quite gorgeous.
And *extremely* flattering too!
Hugs
T
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