Resources for the 'Build Your Own Tudor' Workshops
This page is a launching point for folks interested in creating their own Henrician / Tudor era garments (early to mid 1500s England and northern Europe). This is a page started for Her Majesty, Cassandra II, Queen of Caid, who has requested that as many as possible wear Henrician outfits for their stepping down ceremony in November of 2013. The workshop instructors are Baroness Ceara ingen Chonaill (her blog), and THL Joan Silvertoppe (her blog).
Overview
This page can serve as a starting point for you, when you look to make your next Henrician / Tudor outfit. I have included the following info:
- Pdf files that will help you to understand the various layers of a typical Tudor ensemble, for both women and men.
- A listing of image sites, to help you in researching your inspiration images.
- Various books for you to use as reference materials.
- Commercial patterns available, which I will list with brief commentary.
- A list of other web sites to provide further info (coming soon).
Women & Men's Tudor Ensemble Files
Start here, as you will need to know the layers involved, and an idea of the progression of fashion in the era of Henry VIII.
What the Tudor Women Really Wore
As originally presented at Collegium
Caidis on April 10, 2010.
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Tudor Women Presentation (24.6 meg pdf)
the full color visual guide to the female Tudor fashions 1500-1550. -
Tudor Women's Handout (2.6 meg pdf)
a discussion of the clothing layers, with some b&w graphics. Note that the English gable is more properly known now as a "bonnet and frontlet".
What the Tudor Men Really Wore
As presented at Collegium
Caidis on April 11, 2010.
-
Tudor Men Presentation (63.7 meg pdf)
the full color visual guide to the male Tudor fashions 1500-1550. -
Tudor Men's Handout (2.3 meg pdf)
a discussion of the clothing layers, with some b&w graphics.
Image Sites
Pinterest Boards
I collected a number of images, both from my web site, and from other sources, to provide you with a greater variety of period sources to look through and hopefully inspire you.
- Women's Tudor era, first quarter of the 16th century.
- Women's Tudor era, second quarter of the 16th century.
- Men's Tudor era, first half of the 16th century.
- Mode Historique's 1480-1510 Transitional Gowns
Other Image Sites
Personal web site images have been included among the Pinterest images above or you can view them from my Tudor Research section. The only ones that have not been added to my Pinterest boards are the images from David & Bathsheba tapestry set, which have a greater variety of fashion styles shown among the courtiers in the tapestry set.
Tudor & Elizabethan Portraits. These are organized either by monarch, his wives and children, or by groupings of other images of the period. They are not organized by country, so there may be folks from other countries among the English/Northern European ones.
Tudor Dress: A portfolio of images. There are other links for Hope Greenberg's collection of images from that page.
Tudor Effigies: Costume Research Image Library. A variety of effigy images, which provide more source material in three dimensions! Well, some are flat brass effigies, but more sources are helpful.
Web Gallery of Art and Wikimedia Commons. A large variety of images, but you will have to do the searching.
Books
I have a lot of books, so I thought it would be easier if you looked at the books on my LibraryThing suitable for Henrician Costuming, or the history of the period. In case there is a problem with the widget, please click here to view the Henrician Costume books I've suggested.
Patterns
I have not used every single pattern company that makes Tudor appropriate patterns, but I do own many of them. The following are one's I know about. There may be others I'm not familiar with.
My biggest suggestion with any of the patterns you may use, is to make a mockup garment using cheap fabric similar in weight and weave to your final fabrics, to make sure the garment fits you well, before you cut into your better fabric for the actual garment. Thrift stores are good places to find cheap fabrics for mockups, or those highly discounted fabrics at the local fabric stores.
Note: A separate garment like the modern boned corset is not documented for this time period. The earliest I could find possible info for a boned pair of bodies was 1584 with bents (a type of grass - and this may be inaccurate placement of bents). The earliest for whale bones in 'French bodies' is 1590. More info can be found in my pdf here. Well fitted kirtles are the bust support garment, with boning optional if you feel you need it for your body.
| Elizabethan Smock Pattern Generator http://www.elizabethancostume.net/smockpat/ From Drea Leed's web site. This generator helps you to create a basic smock pattern, by inputting in your measurments, and with some standard measurements. It also includes machine sewing instructions for you to put the pieces together. The generator creates sleeves that narrows towards the wrist, but straight sleeves are more accurate for the period. |
| Margo Anderson's Historic Costume Patterns http://www.margospatterns.com/Products/TudorLady.html I will tell you right now that I am biased in favor of these patterns, as Margo and I have a good working relationship. I helped with research for her Tudor pattern line, and frequently answer questions on her yahoo group email list. This single pattern set, which covers everything from the smock to the accessories, is best for Henrician women's garments from the 1525 to 1550s. Because of her clear step by step directions and diagrams, and modern construction methods, I recommend these patterns for Beginning to Advanced sewers who prefer to sew by machine. There are no plans currently for a men's set. |
| The Tudor
Tailor http://www.tudortailor.com/ If you are interested in the Tudor era of costuming, I highly encourage you purchase their series of books, including The Tudor Tailor by Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcolm-Davies. They also have pre-printed patterns for purchase, too (definitely spill resistant to pickle juice), that have the same instructions as in their books, but are full sized. They have a variety of patterns for different Tudor time periods and garments, so you will have to purchase multiple patterns for the complete garment. I recommend their patterns for Intermediate to Advanced sewers, for machine or hand sewing. |
| Reconstructing History http://store.reconstructinghistory.com/historic-patterns/renaissance.html I have known the owner for many years now from online interactions and mailing lists, and have long admired her research and costuming knowledge. I have not used her Tudor patterns, so I do not have any advice for how well they make up. They carry a variety of patterns suitable for the Henrician period, offered as either single items or multiple pattern sets. I do recommend these for Intermediate to Advanced sewers who have made historical garments already, especially if you prefer to hand sew your garments as she provides hand sewing information, alongside the machine sewing instructions. I will state that making mockups with her patterns are a must for fitting and understanding how they go together. |
| Lynn McMaster's Out of a Portrait http://www.lynnmcmasters.com/ I had the pleasure of meeting Lynn many years ago when we both were attending small renaissance faires in northern California, and occasionally chat with her from time to time. She is an excellent artisan, her web site is very inspiring, and she has wonderful hat patterns that I have used myself. They go together well and look good, too, and Lynn has been working to update her info for the more recent research. I recommend them for Beginner to Intermediate milliners. For the Tudor period under discussion, I suggest the following: |
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| Simplicity Patterns Women: This company has a generic Henrician pattern set that gives a good representation of the Tudor look, roughly of the 1545 time period. However, the patterns are not historically accurate, and you may want to use a size roughly 2 sizes smaller than your measurements would show. #2589 is the outer gown, and #2621 are their under garments. They do not offer a kirtle, integrating the parts of the kirtle that shows as part of the outer gown. Normally, a bum roll is not used in the period, a boned corset is much too early (see my Note above), and there are other aspects that are incorrect. But it gives a decent look of the period. Note that farthingales (hoop skirts) do come into fashionable use in England in 1545, a few years before Henry VIII dies. Men: There are no suitable current patterns, but there is an older set of patterns that may be available on auction sites. Simplicity #9650 is the outer gown and hat, and #5574 is the skirted doublet. At the prices I am seeing for these on eBay, I suggest ordering from the other sources above, for better and more historically accurate patterns. |
| Period Patterns http://www.mediaevalmisc.com/patterns.htm These older patterns that are still available. The patterns are somewhat outdated, having been around and used by my friends for many decades. I own a few of them, but only used the Henrician men's pattern for a few items, and one of the smock patterns which I did have minor problem with. Some have told me they've had problems understanding the way the patterns are put together, but they do look close to the garments in the period images. These patterns are sold by various vendors, which I found a list here. |
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| The GBACG Great Pattern Review http://www.gbacg.org/great-pattern-review/index.html For those who are interested in how well the patterns do or don't work, I suggest using this pattern review group. There are others on the Internet as well, but this group I'm familiar with. However, not all patterns will be listed, and they haven't updated in over a year, so the latest patterns won't be on their site. |
Other Web Sites
The following are some of the Internet sites that are helpful in understanding the Henrician/Tudor time period, that I haven't already listed above. If you know of more, please contact me to let me know.
| Elizabethan Costume Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/29374273995/ While it says Elizabethan, this group covers all of the 16th century in costume, and covers a broad geography of Northern Europe. There are experts in many fields in this group, and the moderators encourage humor and gentle behaviour. |
| Historic Hand Embroidery Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoricHandEmbroidery/ While a general hand embroidery group there are photos and some information on the blackwork embroidery often seen in the paintings of Holbein the Younger. |
| Mode Historique http://www.modehistorique.com/ Mistress Tulia's web site. Mostly 16th century focused with the occasional jaunt out to the 18th century. Articles, dress diaries, research, randomness. Definitely look for the French hood information on this page. |
| The Renaissance Tailor http://www.renaissancetailor.com/demos_main.htm Look at the demos linked on the left hand side. There are many demos that can help folks who are new to sewing period garments. |
| The Tudor Costume Page http://freespace.virgin.net/f.lea/making.html A blog/how-to page on making various garments for the general Tudor period. It is a little older but the info is still pretty good. |
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