Making the smock - constructing

The weather this last week has quickly been turning foul, but when the rain is hammering the windows and the wind shaking the house there is nothing more pleasant than a good movie and some sewing. I have spent several hours peacefully hemming and stitching away. I could have used a run and fell stitch to construct my smock, but it had quite bad fraying from the stint in the washing machine of doom. I decided instead to hem all the pieces by hand using a blind stitch, then whipstitch them together; this is the method used on the Tudor Costume page. 

I hemmed all sides of my underarm gores and sleeves (TC page says to leave wrist but I decided not to*), and down the two long sides of my body piece.

Next stage was to whip the shoulders onto the body at the halfway point (see cross shaped picture), and then the slightly tricky underarm gores. 

Sleeves attached at mid point

In the meantime I have had news back from the helpful elf - my orange wool is fine, but still too bright and I need to dye it again. Poo. I'm glad it's been accepted at least, and I console myself with the thought that although it is thick and not as dirt cheap as it was when I bought it pre-dye, it's the only 'coloured' wool I have found. As much as I like brown and grey, and I know they are incredible suitable, I don't think I could handle more grey in a petticoat. I'd look like a sheep. Baaaa.

UPDATE:
Rather than making another construction post re shift, I figured I'd just update this one; keep the flow going, y'know.
Re: my ongoing saga with the petticoat wool which I'm sure is getting rather boring now. I rushed out and bought another packet of dye - same brand, but dark brown this time - thanks to my birthday voucher from Spotlight, yay! Shoved it all in the washing machine and lo and behold it appears to have worked. Well, I actually forgot to cut off a small piece before I dyed it for comparison (always do this!), but I'm sure it looks darker.
I've also purchased my kirtle wool. I want to get it all brought before it gets sold, now that I've gone through the process of posting bits as pigeon food to the other side of the world. I'm very glad I got in when I did, because I didn't even manage to get a 3m piece. I decided to go for the remaining 2.4m with an extra 60cm piece (hopefully for the bodice). Fingers crossed that all works out ok.

I stayed up late sewing last night as it was just TOO exciting seeing it all coming together! I knew it was time to turn it in though when I started to make stupid mistakes. 

When sewing in the underarm gores I noticed they have a tendency to move about, even though I pinned the fabric together. By the time I got to the corner I had to put a bit of extra tension on the gore piece so that the corners fit nice and snug. I took lots of photos of the sleeve/gore part as it did take a bit of brainpower to work it all out.

The underarm gores sewed onto sleeve and body

Then fold sleeve in half to sew opposite corner onto sleeve

Finally sew last side onto body

And here it is complete with armpits! :)

Once I had whipped up the sleeves - stopping 3" from the end as I've decided to do a fancy frilled bit - it was time to try it on and work out placement of the side gores. 

There was a slight issue in that there is no head hole. So, I had to make one! I carefully read the instructions and with a trembling hand found the middle then proceeded to cut about 4" to the left, right and down. Unfortunately, although I had remembered not to cut down the back, I forgot to actually physically seperate the fabric so as to not do so. Duh! I said I was getting tired! 

I panicked a bit then frantically sewed it up with a backstitch and a whipstitch. That baby is secure! Managed to get away with only losing about 1/8" in the new tuck.

Proudly showing off my work so far - sleeves sewn, body not so much!

I found the place where my side gores would start and bunged in a pin to mark it. It was basically where I could no longer pinch together the fabric and have a decent seam, so about where my waist is. 

To get the width I measured the length of my stride and halved it, as I could clearly see that my smock accounted for about half of it. Not terribly accurate! I ended up needing triangle shapes 15" wide at the bottom and 26" long. I cut out a rectangle this size then simply cut with my rotary cutter from each corner of bottom edge to just either side of half way on the opposite (short) side. I didn't want to end in a true point as I wanted to allow room for hemming and sewing in easily, so the top of my triangle was actually about 1/2" wide.

Cue basic donkey work; hemming, sewing in, hemming, whipstitching, ironing....the rest of the instructions on the TC page were easy to follow and simple to carry out. 

And that brings me to the happy conclusion - my first item of clothing is finished! I do still need to make a braid and add it to the sleeves so I can tie them closed in the authentic way, but it is basically completed :) cue one very happy me!

Here I am in my smock (basically my undies, ooh err!) :

Err excuse the mess, girls were 'camping'. You can just about see that I have pleated the cuffs - this was easy to do, and I really like the finished effect.

*Ok I'm lying. I didn't read it properly.

Making the Smock/shift - cutting

Right, I'm off! I've decided to make my costume 'through the layers'; beginning with the first layer, the shift, or smock as it is sometimes called - essentially it is my underwear.
It is made from white linen, and it is a very simple garment to construct. Fancy frilled necklines and cuffs can be made, but I think for my first one at least I will make a basic smock with a square neck and straight hemmed sleeves. This style is more suited to the early 1500s, whereas frills came into fashion in the later half of the century - a nod to the Elizabethan penchant for ruffs. I'm not sure yet which year will be chosen for Kentwell 2014, which is another reason for me to start with a basic one. I need two anyway so can always make the other more fancy if my meagre sewing skills allow!

I purchased 2m of linen as suggested by the costume notes, but then got completely confused as the Tudor Costume page directed me to make a large rectangle that was twice the length of my shoulder to below my knee - about 220cm on me! After much to-ing and fro-ing, neither my mum nor I could work out how the new notes get away with only 2m, as they neither say to cut a very large rectangle to fold in half as per the TC page, nor do they suggest sewing two rectangles together with a hem at the shoulder (and I have never seen this). I concluded I would use the 2m for my petticoat bodice, and purchase 2.5m to try again.

With much glee I carefully measured and cut all of my pieces, save for the side gores which I'll figure out later. I even pinned my underarm gores for hemming. I was poised and ready, looking forward to a night in front of the tv quietly stitching away, mayhap a glass of wine in hand to calm the nerves that always accompany my sewing!

Then disaster struck. Woe is me! I had forgotten to WASH my linen!! It is renowned for shrinking, sometimes rather drastically. Time stopped for a second and I'm sure I felt the floor spin a little. No, not an earthquake, and I hadn't even bought the wine yet. Trying not to think too hard about what I was going to do if all my hard work cutting meant I had random scraps of linen, unusable save for multiple coifs, I bundled up all of my fabric and immediately shoved it in the wash - on a 'delicate' setting, as if that is somehow going to stop it shrinking.

I'm typing this now accompanied by the sound of water swishing about. Far too violently if you ask me. I can almost feel the threads huddling together in protest. Ugh.
Stay tuned for the outcome...

UPDATE: Phew. One and a half hours later, and thanks to the sun and breeze of an early summer evening, I have my washed and dried linens in my hot little hand. A quick perusal concludes that they have, in fact, escaped unscathed. I have lost a couple of mm in fraying (according to google I was supposed to put them in a pillowcase??) but no apparent shrinkage! Yahoo!
So now it is back to merrily pinning and hemming for the evening. Bring it on, I say!

A Glimpse into the Past part II

Me on the butts in 2003 - my costume's pretty shabby. Wouldn't be accepted these days!

As you stroll about the manor, you will pass a variety of people. Some are modernfolk, come to observe and enjoy being immersed in living history. Others are common Tudors about their daily work - perhaps young men carting a load of wood to the bake house, a woman gathering herbs to make a poultice in the still room, or maybe some players leading a merry dance in the courtyard. Everyone has a role to play - sotlers making the noonday meal, spinners turning fleeces into wool for cloth, dyers with their vast bubbling pots, felters, potters, swordsmen, farmers, a family in the cotte looking after their young childer, basket weavers, bakers, brewers, archers, players, dairymaids, still room attendants, cooks in the grand kitchen, ladies creating the sweetmeats, a scribe, an apothecary, and of course the grand gentlefolk; the Lords and Ladies resplendent in silks and velvets - every aspect of the manor is represented and works in harmony, weaving together an incredibly rich tapestry of 16th century life.

When the gates are closed, the merriment continues, often long into the night. The memory is hazy now, but I think my favourite evening was when we celebrated one of the feast days with a massive bonfire; flames licking the sky, and many shouts of 'huzzah!'.

During the recreations, we speak in Tudor English; lots of yea, nay, thee, thou, and mayhap! The toilets are the jakes, littlies are childer, and we talk about things being 'many summers ago'. It became second nature for me, as I think it does for everyone, to the point where it slips into everyday language when the punters have long gone and we are relaxing in the evenings. I've had regular folk tell me that when they have visited they feel a little awkward conversing and being responded to in old English - although it makes the experience more authentic, they feel as though they should reply in kind. I tell them not to worry - personally I scarcely notice I am talking 'strangely'! 

Off to the Shops

I was delighted to wake up this morning to a message saying that my little envelope of samples had arrived in the UK! Unfortunately though, rather worse for the wear; perhaps it had been delivered by some very hungry homing pigeons, as apparently it landed through the letterbox looking half eaten. The sample of my orange wool was deemed to be the most delicious, as that had disappeared all together, and will have to be resent - gah!

Clockwise from top: Hose, hat, kirtle, jacket.

However, the rest mercifully arrived and I can now say that I am ready to purchase my wool! Going on the hopeful assumption that my dyed wool will be accepted, I'll have an orange petticote, a brown kirtle with brown detachable sleeves, brown nether hose, and a grey short jacket (as opposed to the longer 'gown' - because my kirtle wool is already rather thick; for vanity's sake, I felt it would look better next to the orange!)

Can't wait to get started! Here goes...

A Nod to the Wiser Ones

As a Kentwell participant, I'm lucky enough to get access to the incredibly well researched notes written by the Elves, but there are also some websites that I'm gleaning information from, and those I can share here. I'm taking a lot of my costume sewing help and tips from - and therefore am eternally grateful to - these places :

The Tudor Costuming Page - written by a Kentwellie, and has some great info/instructions on costume making

A Stitch in Time - blog written by another KWellie, and a novice sewer like me; extremely helpful!

The Renaissance Tailor - specifically, his tutorials on hats and partlets.

The Tudor Tailor - an ex-KWellie, and some excellent patterns available for purchase here.

History Unstitched - Very inspiring, with some great resources including a tutorial on pattern drafting
It costs to view all of the articles, but the free pages for the 16thC are here and here - general beginner info.

The Elizabethan Costuming Page - lots of links here to other pages - not all of them are suitable!

Footwear Tutorials - I'm rather dreading the prospect of making my own shoes! Tutorial here as well as on the tudor costuming page.

A Glimpse into the Past part I

I thought I'd write a little insight into what it's like to be a Tudor at Kentwell - to spend those long lazy summer days on the manor as a 16th century common woman. 

Waking early, having slept in my shift (they are sooo comfortable!), I'd dress quickly and grab a bite to eat before heading to my station for the day to begin the first tasks.

 As a sotler, this means lighting the fire and then gleaning the vegetables from the kitchen. If we are lucky, they may provide us with a cockerel, or some pigeons, and there would be much celebrating! My favourite job was to go and collect the herbs from the garden. I'd grab a simple willow basket and amble over to the herb garden, accompanied by all the beautiful sounds and smells of summer. My eyes would occasionally scour the paths for tudor pennies dropped by visiting moderners that I could spend on a slice of heavenly sticky oats.
The morning would then be spent chopping loads of vegetables and making the pottage for lunch. If we were fortunate to have the ingredients and the time, we would make some cheesy biscuits, or apple fritters, to be fried in the skillet as an accompaniment. Sometimes we also made a fruit pottage for dessert - apples and berries would simmer for hours, and they tasted incredible. The others always seemed to know when it was ready, as they would begin appearing, wooden bowl in hand and bellies rumbling. The food was served with big chunky slices of warm wholemeal bread, fresh from the bakehouse - excellent for soaking up the pottage juice!
Afternoons were generally less enjoyable - lots and lots of scrubbing the huge cast iron pots!

As an archer, my days were more lazy. The visiting childer are always keen to see us, so we spent a lot of time telling them about life as an archer, explaining about the different arrows, and letting one or two lucky ones have a go under our instruction. When we have no visitors, which is not often, we practice our own shooting, and generally lark about drinking lots of ale! 

Stay tuned for part 2...

The waiting game

I'm on a bit of a hiatus at the moment - have sent some wool samples to one of the hard working elves in England, including some of my dyed wool. So now I am waiting for them to arrive there and then for me to get the go ahead.

*cue impatient thumb twiddling*

In other news, I've got a very exciting parcel on the way - my hubby bought me some arrows for my birthday!! After much searching and number crunching, I decided to go with Richard Head longbows in the UK - believe it or not, even with the postage it is the same price as getting them made for me here. I would like to make my own one day, but that too was a similar cost - and I am keen to just get shooting! Richard makes some gorgeous re-enactment arrows, and I know they will look awesome with my bow.

The next project is to make myself a quiver, or arrow bag. I'm leaning towards the cloth bags, with a leather arrow spacer. Bigbrowbrum does an excellent tutorial on YouTube for these. 

So, back to the waiting game for me - for my arrows, and my all clear! I think I'll make a nice cup of tea...

Wool, glorious wool!

The majority of my costume, save the shifts, aprons, coif and petticote bodies (bodice) will be made from wool. Believe it or not it is incredibly good at temperature regulation - it is cool on hot days, and warm on cold ones. I am incredibly thankful for this, considering my many layers!

I was surprised to find it difficult to source 100% wool here - and the stuff I have found is terribly expensive - so when I came across just under 3 metres of this horrible orange wool in Arthur's Emporium for only $10 a metre I snapped it up! It's too bright for the period, but I threw a packet of this brown dye at it and it came out pretty close to a more suitable colour. I haven't decided yet whether I'll use it for my kirtle or petticote skirt - I'm waiting on some samples to arrive from a shop in Auckland before I start cutting.

Post-dye : more of a natural bricky colour, pretty close to the orange on the farrow and ball chart, which is an excellent point of reference.

The original colour - too loud!

The dye I used - purchased from Spotlight.

This is the range of colours the dyers at Kentwell can achieve with natural dyes such as walnut and woad; amazing huh!

Introducing the 1500s...

I'm going back in time, in more ways than one.

When I lived in England, I was a tudor at Kentwell for a couple of years. When you enter the manor during the Great Annual Tudor Recreation, you go through a 'time tunnel' as you move from the 21st to 16th century - hence the name of the blog. I could go on and on about how awesome an experience it is, and what it's like to live such a peaceful existence, immersed in living history. But I'll spare you.
I've always loved the 1500s - the Tudor and Elizabethan periods absolutely fascinate me, and I love to learn about them, so being able to dress and live authentically is just incredible.
 

In the move over to this part of the world, my costume disappeared into the abyss - along with several other things. It's a bit like the socks in your washing machine, only on a slightly grander scale. So, with the possibility in the very near future of returning to Kentwell, I'm embarking on making a new one. 

A few disclaimers - I am a novice at sewing. I've hashed together a few things - even a quilt! - but to be brutally honest with myself they only required a bit of effort and a running stitch. I have never made clothes of any kind, except for a jumper I once upcycled into a dress for my little one. I didn't even make my previous costume - my home ec teacher did that! 

I've come across a couple of blogs re sewing costumes, and found them immensely helpful, so I thought I would do the same. Even if it serves only as a reference point for myself! 

This is me and my fantastic Aunt at Kentwell about 10 years ago. We were sotlers on the front sward (ie. cooks on the lawn), and spent our mornings making pottage, and afternoons cleaning the big pots! Pottage is basically vegetable stew - it is completely delicious, but boy it doesn't half give you wind after a day or two!!

I was an archer the following year, and intend to return as one in the future. I got a beautiful longbow handmade for me by Ron Palmer before he passed away a few years ago, and have recently started shooting again. I am in my element when I'm shooting! I absolutely love it. 

For my costume, I am making :

- shifts x2 (cleanliness is next to Godliness, and it's good to have one spare to wash)

- bodied petticote (sleeveless)

- short sleeved kirtle 

- detachable foresleeves

- Partlet

- short jacket

- linen nether hose

- coif and hat

- shoes (If I can't get borrow some I will have to make them, as they're rather expensive to buy)

- apron(s)

So, here goes...!