Red “Field of the Cloth of Gold” Kirtle

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This is another project that has been on my to do list for a while.

It started almost exactly a year ago: I made my first mock up during the July long weekend last year and took these photos over the same holiday weekend this year. 

It was meant to be a quick summer project, but it was almost immediately derailed...because I have the attention span of a gerbil.

I'd wanted to make a red kirtle for ages and fell in love with the bold, black and yellow accessories of the one featured in the Hampton Court painting "The Field of the Cloth of Gold" (circa 1545).

But (as explained in the the write up for my Blue Kirtle) on the verge of cutting my fabric I became distracted by this image...

... and completely shifted the colour palette of the whole project.

It was super fun (and I went a bit nuts on the Mix & Match), but with that out of my system I immediately returned to the red kirtle...reasoning that if I put off off again I would never get it done. 

On the plus side, after creating a bevy of different accessories for the blue kirtle, I now had virtually all the pieces I needed to complete this outfit! Minus the kirtle itself...

I won't go into detail on the construction since it's basically the exact same process as the blue kirtle. The only difference is that I folded back an additional 1/2" or so on either side of the center lacing edge to create a larger gap at the front of the bodice (to mirror the fact that the bodice in the original painting doesn't close all the way).

The skirt is constructed and pleated exactly the same as before.

I did leave the skirt a little longer this time (again to match the painting) but I think I actually prefer the shorter length of the blue one.

So through the magic of editing, the kirtle is done!

On to the accessories!

The linen headwear is a little different from the blue kirtle. Instead of the white trapezoidal veil, I opted for the split veil from my my linen veil experiment.  

The look is similar, but has the option to be a bit more polished and structured.

The over-partlet is the deep 'V' style seen in many Breughel paintings. It's made of black wool and lined in black linen.

 A small pewter hook from The Tudor Tailor is stitched to the point.

This is worn over a white linen, under partlet.

(Which has been in the rotation since my blue Trevelyon gown/kirtle hybrid thingy)

Next is my classic black apron.

This is a large rectangle of black linen (approximately 27"x36") and hemmed on all sides with a 1/4" hem.

The middle 12" are then whipstitched to a matching waistband.

Finally, pair of mustard yellow wool sleeves, lined in linen.

And that's it! Field of the Cloth of Gold kirtle is complete!

I really, REALLY love this look.

It turned out exactly as I was hoping and I absolutely adore the colours. I'm so happy to have been able to find equally saturated wools in the exact hues I was was looking for.

I also LOVE the back of the final outfit. The pleats and slight flare of the skirt in contrast to the dramatic V of the partlet really floats my boat!

Now...

I had originally meant for this to be a much longer post and had intended to take a bunch of additional photos with some of the accessories I had made for my blue kirtle....but it ended up being WAY too hot to stay dressed up for long (even indoors). 

I think you can see it in my face, but I basically lost the will to live...

Also, the lighting just wasn't cooperating with me at all. It was a real struggle to just get these dozen or so photos to turn out (and that was with a lot of post processing to try to balance the light and dark levels).

So look forward to another Mix & Match post at some point in the future!

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Resources & Materials

Pattern:  

-The Tudor Tailor (book and/or ready-made pattern...but really, the bodice is mostly self drafted at this point)

-The Queen's Servants (book and/or ready-made pattern)

Fabric:

-Red wool from B.Blacks & Sons

-Yellow wool from Dorr Mill

-Black "Judy" linen (5.5oz)  Gray Line Linen

-Tan "Judy" linen (5.5oz)  Gray Line Linen

-Red "Judy" linen (5.5oz)  Gray Line Linen

-White linen (2.8oz) from WM Booth Draper

-Hemp/cotton muslin for interlining (10.5) from Hemp Traders

-Muslin for mockup (also from Hemp Traders, but any muslin should do)

Trim and Notions:

-Black cotton tape (1/4")  for lacing from WM Booth Draper

Thread:

-Red silk thread

-Mustard silk thread

-Black silk thread

-White cotton thread (silk finish) for linens

Boning:

-7mm Plastic coated spring steel bones (4) from Vena Cava Design

-7mm Synthetic whalebone also from Vena Cava Design

Other Supplies:

-Swedish pattern paper from Amazon. (This stuff is great! You can iron it!)

-Pattern weights

Blue Kirtle "Mix & Match 2: Medieval (ish) Madness"

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Welcome to the second of my "Mix & Match" posts for my Blue Kirtle. 

The insanity continues!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'd taken some additional photos of my new kirtle but these quickly devolved into playing ahistorical, Medieval dress-up...so I thought they'd be better off in their own post.

It started innocently enough with this image:

The woman is wearing a blue gown, lined in black on top of a light blue petticoat or kirtle.

The foundation layer is a very good (if not exact) colour match to my kirtle, so this is a look I could easily replicate in the future...but in the meantime I thought it might be fun to do to a nod this this outfit with the accessories I had at hand.

The look of a full length gown could be (vaguely) approximated by the addition of matching blue over-sleeves and the black lining with a gathered up, black apron.

That just left the headwear.

I already had a linen yard square to use as a veil  so I just needed a red hat.

I assume it would have been felted, knit cap with a turned up brim. I didn't have time to make or purchase one, so thought I'd experimenting with a felt cloche blank from Amazon.

But how to block it? 

Now...I have seen the hat in the inspiration image specially called a late bycocket hat in some online articles. 

To my eye I could see how it could be interpreted either way, so thought it would be fun to try for a traditional bycocket shape.

Given that I've never really blocked a hat from scratch before and know literally nothing about this style, the result isn't terrible as you would think!

Having finished the hat I'm not totally convinced that this is what the image shows...but I do think it looks pretty snazzy!

On to the photos!

Overall the result isn't bad. 

I mean...it's totally and completely WRONG in every detail, but it has the overall vibe of the inspiration image.

Sort of.

Kind of...

Maybe not.

ANYWAY...!

Now that I had a new hat to play with, I decide to just throw a bunch of accessories together and see what happens.

I know nothing about clothing pre-1500, so I don't even know how wrong I am in what follows. I suspect it's a lot.

The first look is a bit match-y, with red sleeves and and natural/undyed linen.

And again, with green sleeves!

And the same again...but this time with a jug!

(I love props...)

This green variant is probably my favourite. 

I love the colour combination. It has all the brightness and fun that I associate with Medieval imagery, so purely as a costume I think it works rather well.

I can definitely see myself wearing this to a Renaissance Faire at some point.

Next up are some dark blue sleeves.

In general I really like the combination of the dark blue sleeves with the lighter kirtle, but I don't think I quite landed the accessories.

(As an aside, I do really like the veil look overall. I have a very square face/jaw/head that I've often felt self conscious about and I find the veil really softens the harsher angles of my face.  I can see why it would have been a popular style!)

Now at this point  I just start playing with colour and shapes.

I lose the yellow purse and bring back the red sleeve and stark white apron.

The pallet is now only blue, red and white.

The veil is also left untucked so I get to play the angular folds off the point of the hat.

The result (I think) is interesting visually, but again I make no claims on its historical accuracy...

And finally, the same look without the hat.

And that's it! 

Again, I LOVE this kirtle. It's super fun and endlessly versatile. 

I still have a bunch more sleeves and accessories that I'd love to try but those will have to wait for another day.

(For more on this blue kirtle see the original Dress Diary and my previous Mix & Match)

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