Over Skirt Hurdles: Sewing an Elizabethan Overskirt

Weightlifting and Pleating:

The skirt on a renaissance dress is usually somewhere between 5-8 pounds depending on the fabric and the adornments. Given the length of the fabric and the slipping due to the lining, I have long thought that Renaissance skirt sewing could be an Olympic event. The red skirt I'm sewing weighs a glorious six pounds; however if I had opted for velvet or a heavy tapestry, this particular skirt could weigh almost ten pounds. In the end, this dress will weigh right around 15-20 pounds total.

I have heard it said that the over skirt is the easiest to sew. That is not quite true. If you follow the instructions listed on pattern 8881 you will be treated to cartridge pleating. It takes a great deal of time and effort to get the exact look required. I dislike cartridge pleating for two reasons: 1- I can't see evidence of cartridge pleating in the majority of art pieces from the time period. Those who disagree with me mention that it is the artist smoothing the bunching which cartridge pleating causes. That may be, but I prefer the look of the art to the heaviness that cartridge pleating places on the hips. 2) Cartridge pleating is bulky. Granted it is less bulky than machine gathering the fabric- which would be impossible, but it still creates a spare tire between the waist and the hip, usually where the bodice attaches to the skirt. This can be uncomfortable and can take away from the narrow waist look of the renaissance gown.

Because I am trying for the look of Catherine De Michi's flying squadron a narrow waist is key. For this reason, I am choosing Knife Pleating over the cartridge pleat. Knife pleating is what you think of when a pleated skirt is mentioned. The fabric lies smooth back and forward in a "Z" shape. Large portions of the material remain flat and smooth giving a more slender silhouette.

A second deviation from the Simplicity 8881 pattern is my decision to add a modesty panel in the back of the skirt. It is a common occurrence at Renaissance fairs. You see a beautiful dress-- simply stunning. They walk past you, you turn, and the illusion is ruined by a) a bunching in the back where the closure has been artificially pinned, hooked, or snapped closed. b) A non period addition to the dress, like a large bow or other adornment to cover the opening. or c) a open panel of the dress which shows the underskirt or hoop. It's sad but true the majority of beautiful dresses all have the same flaw. The skirt opening! Thank goodness they eventually invented the zipper in the 1900s. :) I determined to give myself a three inch panel so if my skirt opens, it only shows the fabric from the dress. Hopefully this will keep the smooth look all the way around the dress.

On to Sewing!

First step when sewing the over skirt is to seam the center back line. For this you take the two huge squares of fabric required by Simplicity Pattern 8111 and seam them together. This is where I made my modesty panel. Instead of lining up the fabric evenly, I had a seam allowance of 1.5 inches on the right side and 4 inches on the left. Once the fabric was sewn, I trimmed the excess from the skirt, leaving seven inches where I cut the fabric to overlap by four inches. Modesty panel achieved. Repeat the process with the lining. Now at this point, I sew the back skirt opening to the lining. Make sure NOT to seam the entire upper portion of the skirt to the lining. This will make pleating almost impossible due to the bulk 4 layers of fabric and lining will create.

I know this because I made that mistake on this dress and ended up unpicking the entire seam. It was horrible! I'm including the picture of my wonderful idea here. You can see from the picture how the panel overlaps... I figured seaming the lining and the main fabric together was a great way to keep the fabric from slipping. I achieved that goal, but ended up with a headache in return.

Step two: Side seams: In Simplicity 8881, there are two other cuts for the skirt. These two pieces are attached to the large squares. Because I have attached my lining to my main skirt, I chose to work with the lining first. The hardest part of this seam is actually figuring out which side of the fabric attaches to the back. I now remember that the ski jump type cut never attaches to the skirt. I will put a portion of that together so you can see what I mean. Now you have two choices at this point... you can seam the lining to the skirt at the front split or you can seam the lining to the lining. I choose for simplicities sake to seam the lining to the lining.

Repeat with the main fabric. It is a bit tricky with the back opening seamed to the lining, but really you will have a nicer opening, less troubles with fabric sneaking under the fabric you're sewing, etc if you do it first. Anyway that is my opinion. :)

At this point I have an incredibly lengthy sewn piece of fabric and lining attached by a small V like seam. It's time to attach the two. The pattern says to place the right sides of the fabric together (on the floor), and line up the outer edges. Pin them and run a seam down both edges. Then take three inches of the fabric on either side and hand stitch them back, so if your skirt moves the lining does not appear.

I like to avoid the folding over phase and whip stitching. I cut my lining down by three inches on each side, lined the lining and main fabric up and sewed my two seams. When I pressed the fabric open, the fold over is automatic. I sewed a top stitch down both sides of the split and I have a very smooth lining without ugly hand work along the edges.

Step Three: Run a basting stitch along the top of the skirt to keep the main fabric and the lining from slipping while you add the waistband. (I do not have a picture of this, because I was an idiot and sewed and turned this seam causing me needless headaches when sewing the waistband.

Fun with Folds and Tucks:

In order to do the folds and tucks on my dress, I used my dress maker's dummy to quasi-drape my skirt into position. Like an idiot I forgot to take a picture, mostly because I was busy figuring out where to place the folds. Unless you are cartridge pleating, you'll need a bit of trial and error with the dummy. I ended up with two larger folds leading to the back and several small pleats layered against one another. You can see this in the picture. Once this was decided, I placed the waist band and pinned it in place.

The waist band is fairly easy. Before I attached it to the skirt, I simply seamed both sides, clipped and pressed. Ready to attach the skirt, I opened the band and pinned the skirt into the band itself. It is important to make sure you start with the middle where the split occurs in your over skirt. My second set of pins are used on the opening in the back, leaving the remaining billows of fabric on either side. If my dummy measurements are right, the rest of the fabric should ease into my waistband perfectly. However it is not a perfect world and there is a bit of adjusting needed.


Once I stitched the waist band to the skirt, I folded down the waist band. I added a new strategy to my waist band I've never tried before. I dislike the wrinkling and folding that occurs with my waistbands in the past, so I used some of my left over boning and made channels in the waist band. I slid them in before folding under the remaining waist band seam allowance and pinning it into place.


Because my machine was groaning under the weight of the first stitch, I decided to hand stitch the waistband's final seam. I used a simple whip stitch and it worked perfectly.

Over skirt project... check!

Here is the dress so far. The underskirt is not done, I'm simply playing with possibilities for the underskirt. I have decided against the gold fabric because it has a funny sheen to it where it goes green under certain conditions. I have decided instead on an off white lace overlay atop a nice silk damask. It will be lovely. At least in this picture you can see how lovely the over skirt turned out. I'm really quite happy about it.

Left to do:

Bodice finishing touches: hooks and eyes, jewelry. (I've lost weight so I'll have to redefine the placement of the corset lacing's.) It's a lot of work but I don't mind... now if I had GAINED weight. :)

Over skirt finishing touches: Grommets, hooks and eyes, hem.

Underskirt
Partlet
Hat

Sewing with fur and finishing the outersleeve

Making a Trumpet (Tudor) Sleeve:

One of the most notable features of the Tudor period is the trumpet sleeve. Recognized in the pictures of Jane Grey etc, they were commonly lined with fur. Sewing with fur however is a bit intimidating. I spent hours just staring at the fabric wondering how I was going to do this part- I'm surprised how easy it ended up being... let me share.

First things first: I pinned my Red fabric and the fur together (good side in) along the outer edge of the sleeve- meaning the opening where my wrist will connect with the fabric. I sewed a single straight seam down this edge. I left the other seams open.

Next. Opening the stitched fabric, I lined up the edges of the sleeve. The red side and the fur side look like mirror images of each other. I seamed the long curve together leaving the armseye unstitched.

Pulling the entire thing inside out, I then pulled the fur in under the red fabric. There it is, a Tudor trumpet sleeve with fur lining. Ta-Da!

Before I can go ahead and insert the sleeve and add lining, I'll need to add the ties so I can attach the inner sleeves. Pulling out the fur armseye, I folded it in half. Because my fur tends to slip a bit, I pinned it.

Using the small loop at the end of the fold, I pinned the ribbon. I stitched it well above where I plan to sew the fur to the upper sleeve lining.

Putting the whole sleeve together:

Generally speaking linings are not much to look at. In order to make the lining for the upper sleeve I used the same strategy for the outer fabric except I didn't have to worry about adding the puff and slash decoration. It turned into an ugly little thing, but it will make for a nice inner bodice.

I lined up the side seam of the fur lining with the side seam of the lining for the upper sleeve. With right sides together I stitched around the opening.

(You want to attach the inside components together first. I know the initial instinct is to attach the upper sleeve to the upper sleeve lining. That won't work and give you the beautifully lined inside that makes your garment look well made.)

Next I attached the upper sleeve, with the puff and slash, to the matching fabric of the trumpet sleeve. Once again I lined up right sides together using the side seam.

The result of all my sewing is one very long looking sleeve.

To see what the sleeve really looks like: I reached in through the puffed and slashed sleeve until I found the upper sleeve lining. Pulling the lining up through the center of my sleeve, I dragged the fur lining with it. By matching up the side seams of my outer fabric and lining, I got my first view of my full Tudor sleeve.

Attaching the Sleeve to the Bodice:

Now that my sleeve is finished, inserting it into my bodice feels a little tricky, but it's really not.

First: I used the bodice lining facing toward me as I inserted the sleeve.

(NOTE do not attach the lining at this time. You can let it slip outside of the outer fabric if you like.)

Laying the bodice on top of my sleeve, I pinned the sleeve in place. I didn't match up bodice side seams because my puckering and slashing is based off of the inside seam of my sleeve being in the side center placement. Thus, I found the natural side of my bodice and pinned the side seam of the sleeve to that.

I will say that this is possibly the hardest moment I ever have doing a bodice. Because of the boning in the bodice, the sleeve is reluctant to turn on the sewing machine. The best thing to remember is that if you have the foot down and the needle in the fabric, the fabric is pretty well grounded. You can stop and orientate your bodice and the lengthy sleeve, so you can continue with your seam.

Last bit of business has to do with the lining. Again, I lined up my lining using the side seams. Because of the gathering I had to maneuver the material a bit. Next I folded the fabric under about an eighth of an inch and pinned it in place.

(Note: Now turn your sleeve over and push your hand up the length of the sleeve until you find the pins with your fingers. If your hand gets stuck you have twisted the fabric. Unpin and reset the material. )

Taking a sewing needle, I whip stitched with the tiniest stitches possible around the armseye. I made sure to grab all of the gathered material, so I didn't get holes later on after wearing my dress.

YAY!!!! for the most part the Bodice is finished. I still need to make the inner-sleeves, but since they aren't attached I'm not counting them as part of the bodice.

Need to do:

Hooks and eyes down the center back

Make and Attach the Jewelry

Partlet/Ruff (Could be considered separate from the bodice- depends on if I do the latice.)

Puff and Slash: The Art of Clothing Decoration

What is Puff and Slash?

I was going to work on the skirt, until I had a epiphany about how to sew the sleeves, so I went there. (Shrug)

Looking at the inspiration picture of Elizabeth of Austria, there is quite a bit of slash and puff work on her sleeves. In general I'm not really a fan of doing slash and puff because they tend to look messy. To do it well, it requires a lot of hand work and a great deal of faith. The name is really backward- it should be slash and puff, since the former can't happen without the latter- something that has always annoyed me. :)

I also tend to shy away from Puff and Slash because of the need for a chemise under your dress. Again, it causes extra bulk. Therefore I always try to mock puff and slash when I can. This will be an example of my mock style.

Where did this style come from?

In short- the Germans. The Landsknechts, German mercenary soldiers who thrived from approximately 1487 - 1556, became known for their outlandish dress and effective fighting tactics. They were the finest fighting force in Europe. Their clothing was characterized by its "puff and slash" decoration, created by cutting slashes in the outer garments and pulling puffs of the under garments through those slashes.

The "puff and slash" style of clothing was adopted by non-Germans too, becoming a standard mode of decoration in several parts of Europe. The English nobility was particularly enamored of puff and slash. Henry VIII started wearing it after seeing it on Landsknechts he had hired; in fact, the famous painting of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein depicts him in a doublet decorated with puff and slash. Other paintings of Henry depict him wearing what looks like a knee-length skirt; he adopted this style from German warskirts worn by some Landsknechts. Henry's children Edward VI and Elizabeth I also wore puff and slash.

Shortly thereafter the French picked up the style and used it extensively much due to Queen Catherine De Medici- she started wearing it in the mid 1500s. Catherine is responsible for many fashion trends in history including the high heal, the infamous corset, and wearing underwear- but more on my hero worship of this queen later. Since Catherine was the mother in law to Elizabeth it is not surprising to find the puff and slash styling on her dress. And in doing my research, I have also found the elusive lattice worn by Catherine herself. She had a great deal to do with the styling of this dress.

The Process:

I really can't take full responsiblity for my brainstorm regarding the Puff and Slash on this dress. The inspriation came from Simplicity Pattern 2589. For the undersleeve they provided a type of oval facing that you cut down the middle. I played around with it, and decided that I could use a device like it to style my dress.

For the sleeves I am using a combination of Simplicity Pattern 8881 and 2589. The majority of the sleeve will be done using 2589 since it has the Trumpet or Tudor Bell sleeve. However, it match the Elizabeth style, I needed to have a bit of a roll on the shoulder. I don't like regular shoulder rolls, I think they look bulky, but I could manage a puff to the sleeve. Trick was--- they all needed to be puffed and slashed. Difficult to do with the tudor upper sleeve which is supposed to be fairly tight against your arm.

First step in the process: I took out my pre-cut fabric pieces for the sleeve. Taking the puff from 8881, I first tacked down four pieces of interfacing in the desired locations for the slashing. It is important to make sure you leave the glue face up, I'll get to why later.

I then sewed tapering channels on top of the fabric, making sure they ended in points- not squares. Next, I took the scissors and cut down the center of the channels. I tried to get as close to the point as possible without cutting the seams.

Turning the sleeve over, I pulled the interfacing through the slit in the fabric and ironed down the interfacing. (The reason the interfacing must be face up.)

Next, I took my white fabric that I will be using for the inner sleeve and sewed rectangles of fabric over the slashes. I made sure that each piece of white fabric was at least an inch larger than I needed on all sides to give the fabric enough volume to puff.

Taking the puff I then basted gather lines on the top and bottom of the sleeve, sewed the side seams together, and gathered the upper-puff into a neat little ball. I then repeated the exact same process with the upper, fitted, Tudor sleeve.

In attaching them together I had to make a decision. Would I connect the puff completely to the tudor sleeve (similar to pattern 8881 or would I connect the puff to the bodice and then to the tudor sleeve. I decided for comfort. Renaissance costumes are difficult to move in- especially the sleeves. By using the puff as a top sleeve I gave myself a bit more room for arm movement- I'm afraid it's not very SCA, but I threw that out the window when I designed the dress with a Tudor sleeve. (Though I'm 75% sure that this is a possible style from the 1560-1580s in France.)

To fit these sleeves together I placed the right sides of both sleeves together. I matched the lower part of the puff to the upper part of the tudor sleeve and released the gathering on the puff to match the width of the Tudor upper sleeve. I sewed it making sure that I followed my inner gather seam, so it doesn't look messy.

Contrary to what the picture shows, I haven't actually attached it to the bodice yet. I wanted to see how it looks, so I pinned it. The inspiration pictures puff is a bit more narrow than mine. I'll fix that by using a greater seam allowance when I attach the puff to the bodice.

To ensure that the white will puff through, I hand stitched around the opening of each of the slashes, pulling the white out so it will naturally flow in that direction rather than falling back under the sleeve.




At this point, I'm also tacking my marks for the ouches. I'm giving about an inch and a half to two inches, between connections. Here again, I'm pulling out the white fabric to ensure a puff.

Next adding the ouches: This is a simple tack on over each of the stitched points.



You can see that this makes the sleeve less bulky. It's important to leave a little bit of room between your stitches on the lower sleeve. Otherwise you may make it too snug. I figure about an 1/8 of an inch does well enough.

Next: Sewing with Fur and finishing the oversleeve.

Cutting, cutting, and more cutting...

Fun with Scissors

I've read on other blogs that it is the bodice that causes you the most pain and suffering. I on the other hand beg to differ. For me the part of the process which causes me the most pain (at least back pain) would be the gargantuan amount of cutting involved. Keeping in mind you are dealing with 9-12 yards of fabric, somehow that all needs to be cut accurately.

The only space available for this kind of work in my home is my living room floor. There I roll out the yards of fabric and cut for an entire day. No, sewing isn't the hardest part... the hardest part is getting around the to do list of cutting. It never seems to end. At least with sewing you see a finished product coming together. With the cutting there is always a constant anxiety of whether you picked up enough of the fabric needed.

Sigh, well at least it is over for this dress... except for the partlet, the ruff, the cuffs, the under skirt, and the hat. Joy. :)


Done List:
Upper sleeve puff- 2 red fabric, 2 brown lining
Upper sleeve- 2 red fabric, 2 brown lining
Lower sleeve- 2 red fabric, 2 faux fur
Inner sleeve- 1 white fabric
Inner over sleeve- 1 paisley fabric, 1 gold lining




Skirt front- 2 red fabric, 2 brown lining
Skirt back- 2 red fabric, 2 brown lining
(Altogether approximately 5 yards of fabric here)
Waistband- 1 red fabric, 1 interfacing.

Of Pins and Blood:

Deja Vous:

With the lining completed it's time to turn my attention to the actual outer fabric of the dress.

Just like with the lining, I start my process by ironing on the interfacing, sewing the front to the front sides, sewing the back to the back sides, and finishing up with the side seams and the shoulder seams. When I finish, the outer fabric should match the lining perfectly. If I'm off by even a half inch, I go back and figure where I deviated from the lining.

Next, I move to pressing out the seams. To minimize the bulk in the dress, I've picked up the habit of trimming my seams before I press them. Using this technique keeps the sides of the bodice straight and stops the rounding of the seams that can sometimes happen if you leave the full 5/8ths seam allowance between the outer fabric and the lining.

Sewing the Porcupine:

Some people wonder what I mean about sewing a porcupine. The answer: This term comes from my numerous blood letting experiences that happen when I unite the outer fabric and the lining. The huge quantity of pins required for these steps alone make your bodice a rather formidable opponent.

Unlike sewing many garments, on a renaissance bodice, you want to pin the good sides facing out. I've found that by matching the inner seams of the bodice- (pinning them together) and then going back and pinning the rest of the fabric you get a better look to the bodice. Because I don't like slip in my sewing, I usually put my pins 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches apart.

I also prefer to do the base of my bodice first. This goes against many of my mentors. (In fact, I may be hunted down by one of my Shakespearean Festival costume shop supervisors if they ever find out about this blog- Sorry Sharon.) To support my inclination, I've found that the bottom edge of your bodice is extremely important to the line of your dress. Because the neckline can be adapted in so many ways, it is my opinion it is better to have the bottom perfect.

In sewing the main fabric and the lining together, I try to keep the seams fairly narrow. I also sew the armseye at this time. It usually isn't called for by the pattern instructions, but again I hate slipping. If arm holes are sewn, then I don't have to worry about anything pulling out of place and having problems later on when I'm inserting the sleeve.

Once again with Bias:

Now that both the main fabric and the lining have been seamed together, it's time to deal with any ugly lines. My first job is to cut off any excess lining, interfacing, or main fabric. I'm using a double fold 1/4 inch bias tape. I like the look of the thinner line, but it is difficult to manage and requires more blood loss due to the numerous pins required to tack it down successfully.

I've found that putting on bias is easier if I place the bodice on the dressmaker's dummy. that way I can account for any pull or corners in pinning down front edge of the bias tape. Stitching on the fold, I go around the entire bodice.

Once I sew the bias to my outer fabric, I fold the bias around the edge of my garment and whip stitch the bias onto the lining. I try to keep my stitches as even as possible. Curves and corners are tricky. I like to fold in the middle first then do the sides. This doesn't always make the prettiest corners, but it does help with the twisting that can sometimes happen if you try to continuously stitch around the entire bodice. (I'm still working on this technique.) The end result should be a finished edge around the perimeter of your bodice.

Making a bodice a corset:

Most bodices require a under-corset to keep the shape of the garment. I didn't like the bulk that this creates. From what I have seen, most Renaissance costumes add a good ten to twenty pounds just by the added bulk of the under garments. I know this is not very SCA of me, but I've modified the bodice to lace up more like a corset. It also gives the garment a very nice back and thins the wearer.

Using the Joann's craft picture hangers (see my supplies list) I place them about 3/4 of an inch apart and tack them down. To minimize the irritation and chafing of the metal, I'll top these hangers with a piece of outer dress fabric once I've cut out my sleeves and skirt. Since I'll be using scrap fabric, I'll come back to this later in my blog.

I tack down the picture hangers using the holes provided as well as the edges of the triangular hanger itself. I put both sides on the lining of the fabric. This way when the lacing pulls the hangers together the fabric overlaps. I'll sew hooks and eyes on the outer fabric giving a smooth back illusion to the garment. I would do it right now, but my fingers are bruised and blistered from doing all the hand work for the bias. I'll finish this up in a couple of days. :)

Fixing problems:

There is only one way to explain this step- I put on the bodice and take a look at it in the mirror. I like to ask myself- are the lines right? Am I getting bulges in the side seams? Do I like the neckline? and Will the neckline work for what I am trying to do?

Trying it on, I've found that I like everything about the bodice, but the neck is a bit low for the inspiration picture.


With that in mind, I added a piece of the red fabric to the upper edge of the bodice- by cutting a piece of fabric double wide of what I needed plus 5/8ths inch; folded it and ironed it, pinned it in place, and seamed as close to the bias tape as I could. The result I think is lovely...





To do list:

1. Adding the fabric over the corseting,
2. Hooks and eyes on the bodice back

I must say, I have a bodice that I really like. In order to let my fingers heal a bit, and ration out my fabric yardage, I'll be working on the overskirt and underskirt next.