The Tudor Revolution

I filmed this months ago while I was recovering from being sick. It has been a fun little editing project even if I left the camera tilted the wrong way. I learned how to correct it with my software but kept cutting off my own head in the process. Thank you to my friends in Ansteorra for this fun distraction.  I hope you are all safe and healthy. I expect us to share lots of stories when we are together again.  Just as a reminder, I am not an official spokes person for the SCA. To locate your local group you can go to  www.sca.org  or try Googling your town and SCA. 

So it has been a very busy week around here, and with only 2 weeks left the tempo can not slow down if I am to finish everything before I depart for the event. Since my last update I have finished the last of the 40 thread covered buttons for my husband's Hungarian coat. I also patterned to body and sleeves of the coat. There are a few more adjustments to make after the last fitting but by the end of the day i should have the body assembled. I am even using my lucet to make cording when i am on the treadmil. I continue to practice wearing my new corset. The fabric has stretched slightly but everything seems to fit together well. I am now on the 4th row of embroidery on the front of my camicia. I need a total of 5 rows down the front and back panels, 4 down each side panel, the sleeves and my neckline. In order to make my portrait complete I will need to focus on the front and neckline for now, and I can address the rest of the blackwork after the event. 40 completed thread ...

I have been told so many times that corsets are uncomfortable and awful to wear. My response to this is simply- you must not be doing it right. Here is a quick checklist for all of you inclined to try wearing corsets. Always wear something under your corset!  Historical corsets (as far as my research has shown me) were NEVER worn next to the skin. There are many reasons for this but the two best ones are that its really uncomfortable for long periods of time and the corset would need to be washed more often. Hand wash your corsets! I know we put lots of tension on a well built corset some times, but modern washing machines will degrade the fabric faster. Depending on the style of boning you have it may degrade over time as well. The biggest problem with doing this is that usually the ends of the boning channels will wear down and the stays/busks/boning may poke through while you are wearing it. Lay your corset flat to dry on a towel. Electric driers may shrink...

Inspired by an Italian Masquerade event that I will be attending at the end of September, my projects are taking a brief vacation to the shining city on the lagoon, Venice. Starting in at the beginning of August I had 8 weeks to build a Venetian Ensemble from the skin out, and a Hungarian Ensemble for my husband.  So far here is my progress: Week 1: Research and order supplies I could not find locally. Start 40 thread covered buttons for husband's coat. Week 2: While waiting for supplies research how gowns were made. Draft corset pattern, discuss construction details with those who have made them before. Prep supplies as they arrive. Build and embroider husband's 16th century shirt. Look to my post  on a Man's Tudor Shirt. Week 3: Construct Corset. Look to my post on  Effigy Corsets with Reeds . Begin drafting camicia pattern based on the instructions at  The Realm of Venus Camicia Page Week 4-5: Mock up/patterning Hungarian coat. Embroidery...

At chocolate revel last year i saw sever very well made, and worn, loose gowns. It is my understanding that these gowns started as surcotes in Spain. As Spanish influence grew in the 16th century their popularity spread. In England, they started as an informal dress you might wear at home or after court functions were done for the day. They also grew in popularity with those who were older and shying away from fashions which were growing more ridged and complicated. Another demographic this gowns were especially popular with were pregnant women. Some women would lace kirtles looser and adujest placards over their belly, others especially heading into the mid 1540's and later, might wear one of these dresses. Queen Katharine Parr from the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. I have a loose gown that I use at camping events as a glorifieid coat to stay warm. Now I have been inspired to create a new one from scratch and the proper under gowns. I did a little research and deci...

So now that I have had some distance from my work with the Tudor Project, I want to fairly analyze my work on the Anne Boleyn  portrait reproduction. The Research I wish I'd had 6 more months to do research. In the months since our project completed more research on early Tudor garments has been published by the Tudor Tailor workshop in England. In addition to their new book, The Queen's Servants , I have found illuminations depicting French and Flemish court ladies in full length.  It is my belief that Anne would not have been wearing a hoop skirt as I did last fall. According to the Tudor Tailor shop hoops are not worn in England until the 1540's, putting them well out of what Anne was likely to be wearing. Incase you need further help to visualize the difference, take a glance at these two portraits of Princess Elizabeth. The portrait on the left is from a mural at Hampton Court. On the right there is a portrait which was painted later for King Edward VI,...

Sixteenth century clothing has a multitude of closures. Sometimes garments were pinned in place such as ruffs or placards. Men would tie their hose to doublets to keep them up. Kirtles and doublets could be laced closed. But today we are discussing closures commonly used on doublets and jerkins, the thread covered button. Boy with a Greyhound by Paolo Veronese, 1570's. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York  There is documentation in, Janet Arnold's Pattern of Fashion 3, that these buttons could also be placed on garments as purely decorative pieces. A loose gown in Nurnberg is held closed by a series of these buttons with loops, but other buttons appear to have been added among the embroidery to create impact and flare. Italian Camica (called "Blouse") Detail, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York We know from pieces in our modern museums that many men across Europe used thread covered buttons as a relatively inexpensive way to close there outer g...

Have you ever noticed the difference between a pretty Henrician ensemble and an exquisite one? What made the difference for you? For myself and many others, the difference that makes our heart stop is the detail and care put into the outfit. during Henry VIII's reign there are numerous ways to embellish your clothing, and most of these techniques are best done the same way there were back then-- by hand. There are legends that state that Katherine of Aragon brought this technique to England. In the modern era, costume historians have corrected this assumption. Blackwork was indeed popularized in England by Katherine, but it was a style that had already existed in the tiny island kingdom. Miniature of Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, painted by Lucas Horenbout. Fitzroy wears an intimate cap with a repeating blackwork pattern worked across it. Through the numerous portraits from this period, as well as some later extent garments, costume and textile researc...

People are always telling me, "I could never wear something like that, its just too uncomfortable." With all due respect, I have to disagree with their assumptions. Please take some time and consider these thoughts to make your experience wearing this clothing more comfortable. Get help from a knowledgeable person to dress you in complex clothing . Yes, there are times in our lives when for special occasions we wear uncomfortable clothing. It was true in the sixteenth century and it is today. There are not many of us who run around in strapless, poofy ball gowns on a daily basis. Many extreme fashions you find in some portraits and written accounts were put on with assistance of others (grooms, ladies, maids, etc), but not everyone could afford to be followed all the time and have multiple other people assisting them. It is my understanding that at the English and French courts, and probably several others. Ladies would assist each other, if they were sharing...