A Cringey Medieval Dress Tutorial (with Sarcastic Commentary)
June 22, 2020
A wonderful day to you all!!
In today's workbasket post, I'm going to bring a dusty mothball filled post that dates back to....a long time ago.
Back when I was playing around with blogging, I wanted to make a lot of tutorial like posts. Especially for things that I wanted to learn how to do but could never find instructions for. No one could really give a tutorial on how to make a medieval dress in a cheap manner, and so I was left to figure it out on my own. I kept a record of how I did it and proceeded to write a post for it. That never saw the light of the internet until now...more for the lack of pictures.
Now, I have realized that there is a lot of things wrong with this post. I warn you now, this post is much more arrogant than you're used to seeing from me (I mean, I know I have a streak of pride a mile long and this post will prove it without a doubt). But I have decided to publish it in it's raw form just for the pleasure of shredding it to pieces.
So without further ado, let's get started!
I'm sure that every girl wants at least one medieval dress in their closet to wear to Ren Faire, right? *bold of you to assume that Catherine* I know I did. *really? wouldn't have guessed* However, one look at some of the prices that ready-made dresses were going for convinced me that there was a cheaper alternative (break out the sewing machine!)
The question was: how to make one?
My pattern search quickly became a source of frustration. I couldn't find any that I like *lies, you were cheap!* , (with the exception of Laura Marsh, but those come from overseas…). I knew there had to be a way to create my own SOMEHOW!
Turns out, Pintrest saved my head from blowing off.
No, I did not find a how to guide (I wish). Instead, I discovered from (looking at my collection of medieval costume pins) that a particular style dress looked an awful lot like a princess dress. I managed to get a hold of pictures of one such dress of front and back, and, with a princess dress pattern I already had, decided to draft my own medieval dress. *otherwise known as knockoff*
The proved a little daunting, since I had NEVER drafted anything in my entire sewing career, at least not to the extent that I ended up doing.
The material I used was a medium heavy cotton blend. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it draped, but for your sake, I would go for a medium cotton. *rolls eyes really Catherine your naive arrogance is endearing*
You will need: at least 6 yards of main fabric, 1 yard of accent fabric, ¼ yard heavy cloth or leather, thread, eyelets and cording. Follow the patterns instructions with the following exceptions:
1. Cut the dress a size bigger than 'your' size.
EDIT: Don't do that for the entire dress. Only do that for cutting out the BACK SEAM. Otherwise, the dress won't fit, especially at the shoulders.
EDIT: Don't do that for the entire dress. Only do that for cutting out the BACK SEAM. Otherwise, the dress won't fit, especially at the shoulders.
2. Instead of adding a zipper, simply sew the entire back together.
3. For the eyelet tape: measure from the middle of your bust to 1” below your waist. Add an inch, and then cut two lengths of that measurement of the heavy cloth. Roll over the cut edges, and hem them. Add eyelets at each end and then every 1-1 ½” on both sections of tape (think shoelace holes). Baste the finished tape to the back (remember to put the top at where the middle of the bust will be, and the bottom at the waist) *gee thanks Young Catherine I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me* with the eyelets facing out. Sew the sides on as normal.
NOTE: I used single-biased tape originally, and it didn't hold the eyelets very well.
EDIT: I actually used grommets originally, (NOT eyelets) and not only were they a pain to put in, the tape didn't hold them. I've since made actual eyelets and they hold a lot better. And, I would actually recommend a medium-heavy fabric for the tape because leather would be hard to sew in. And, for future projects, I mayyyy stick the tape a smidge higher...actually more like a whole inch higher.
EDIT: I actually used grommets originally, (NOT eyelets) and not only were they a pain to put in, the tape didn't hold them. I've since made actual eyelets and they hold a lot better. And, I would actually recommend a medium-heavy fabric for the tape because leather would be hard to sew in. And, for future projects, I mayyyy stick the tape a smidge higher...actually more like a whole inch higher.
4. Before sewing the hem, check the fullness of the skirt. The princess pattern may not have the really wide skirt circumference that is characteristic of a medieval gown. *MAY NOT?? GIRL IT DOESN'T* Add gores for additional fullness. I was able to do that with the extra fabric left over from the dress. *what, no tutorials for the gores??* Finish dress accordingly, using cording as the 'laces' to tighten up the dress. *slaps head. Did I seriously not leave instructions for this??*
On my dress, I created the sleeve band, bottom of the sleeve and sleeve flaps from scraps. Because of the difficulty that I had with that, I would recommend that you find a dress pattern with a long sleeve, and add the band and sleeve flaps yourself. That whole sleeve pattern was me flying by the seat of my pants....er skirt. However, if you are adventurous, I can give you some tips on how to make your own version of these sleeves. The sleeve flaps are quite easy. It's just a trapezoid of main on a slightly bigger trapezoid of accent fabric, and hemmed accordingly. If you wish a lower sleeve that look similar to mine, look for a bracer pattern "Look for a bracer pattern"? Come on, I literally just wrapped a scrap of fabric around my arm. and customize it yourself. Take in mind, bracers are not meant to go past the elbow, so having at least ¾ sleeves is essential if you wish to go this route. Use the sleeve band of accent fabric to hide seams.
EDIT: *sigh* where to start??? There is literally hardly any information worth saving out of this step, except for making the sleeve flaps. And leaving out half the instructions for finishing the dress? Obviously, Young Catherine must have thought she was writing to a group of old lady seamstresses who knew what they were doing...
As for colors, it is up to you. If you wish to be historically accurate, go for natural colors or colors that are achieved with natural dyes. If (like me) you just want a costume, go for colors that suit you. Jewelled belts and circlets are the most common accessories with a medieval costume, followed by French hoods, snoods and circular medieval veils.
EDIT: I had originally intended to make a belt and a veil to go with this dress, but as you can see, I have not done so yet. Probably just as well. Though it does seem to be missing something, doesn't it?
*shifts eyes*
Are we done?
*breathes sigh of relief*
Man, was that a mess. Thank heavens I didn't start blogging in those early days. I don't know if anyone could actually stand me.
I do hope that there at least was some entertainment value in all of this, if not actual valuable information. All I can say is that when I actually DO draft a pattern, I hope to find people much more knowledgeable than myself.
Old-fashionably yours,
Catherine
EDIT: I had originally intended to make a belt and a veil to go with this dress, but as you can see, I have not done so yet. Probably just as well. Though it does seem to be missing something, doesn't it?
*shifts eyes*
Are we done?
*breathes sigh of relief*
Man, was that a mess. Thank heavens I didn't start blogging in those early days. I don't know if anyone could actually stand me.
I do hope that there at least was some entertainment value in all of this, if not actual valuable information. All I can say is that when I actually DO draft a pattern, I hope to find people much more knowledgeable than myself.
Old-fashionably yours,
Catherine
3 comments
Wow, this is amazing! The dress turned out fantastically and I love the sleeves.
ReplyDeleteAhhh! It's so pretty! I want one in pink ;)
ReplyDeleteMB: keturahskorner.blogspot.com
PB: thegirlwhodoesntexist.com
This is super impressive because I've never made anything that big! It looks amazing and pretty comfy as well. :) I highly approve of the color.
ReplyDelete