Tudor Tailor French Gown Foresleeves

While I am doing blackwork for 8 hours at a time, my Venetian camicia is not ready to be posted about yet. Instead I want to share some important information for anyone trying to make a French gown with accessories from The Tudor Tailor. I love this book but there were a few problems with the publication. The woman's foresleeves do in fact have a pattern included with the gown and kirtle, but the instructions were omitted at the time of publication. The wonderful women at The Tudor Tailor have since realized their mistake and will provide anyone with a pdf version of the instructions on their website.

Detail of Elizabeth I from The Family of Henry VII, Hampton Court Palace. These sleeves are similar in size and style to the instructions given on The Tudor Tailor website.

I have observed that is is just one kind of foresleeve. I am working on a extensive handout on these accessories because of all of the variations available. Because it takes so little fabric to make foresleeves it is a great place to try out new embellishment techniques like couching or other forms of embroidery. These compact accessories are also a good place to display expensive fabrics. you still get the image of being incredible posh, but you do not have to buy enough of that fabric to make an entire gown. Sometimes foresleeves match the underkirtle's decorative forepart, but not always. When making foresleeves for your gowns remember that the closer you get to 1550 the larger these foresleeves get and the more likely they will be to have additional fabric pullouts.

Tudor Tailor Foresleeve Instructions

Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland in 1520's. Her foresleeves are narrow compared to later versions of foresleeves. This pleated look can be achieved using box pleats.

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