When we first begin reenacting Medieval or Renaissance personas, we often turn to McCall’s or Simplicity for your first patterns to create clothes. Most of these patterns are created with modern mentalities about cut and fit. So, they simply don’t quite give you that look that you are trying to create. This was a frustration to me. I looked at the very few extant garments in museums and realized that the seams are in different places when compared to our modern garments. If I want a period looking garment, then I must create a period like pattern. Thus, began a quest to find an Italian pattern book from the period. Uhm,…. No. They don’t exist. WHAT! Let me qualify that statement (like a scientist). We have no evidence or example of a period Italian pattern book to date. (I will certainly talk about why in another post, but now on to the point.) So, my experimentation has lead me to what I believe is a reasonable to conclusion as to how a period pattern may be constructed. To create our Renaissance sleeve pattern, I will take you through the process I followed to get there. We will learn how the basic modern sleeve is drafted and then we will modify it for the Renaissance sleeve pattern. 1. Take measurements. _____shoulder to wrist (outside of arm) _____elbow to wrist _____wrist to armpit _____around hand _____Around elbow _____Around bicep 2. Fold drafting paper or material in half lengthwise. Folded, it should be longer than your arm. 3. Mark the measurement from the shoulder to wrist along the fold of the paper. (This is your grain line as well.) 4. Mark wrist line (1/2 measure of hand) perpendicular from bottom mark. 5. Mark "wrist to underarm measure" from wrist line along the fold and draw (1/2 bicep measure) perpendicular to fold at underarm mark. 6. Draw line from wrist line endpoint to underarm line endpoint creating diagonal. 7. Draw S curve from should to underarm. 8. Cut out shape that has been created. This is the typical pattern of the modern sleeve. Now, to make it the Renaissance pattern. The seams, of course, are in a different place. 1. Divide "around elbow" measure by 4. 2. Take this measure and draw a parallel line on one side of the open sleeve pattern. 3. Move it to the other side of the arm and tape or sew it together depending on material. Eccola!! Now, you have the basic Renaissance sleeve pattern. Remember, to allowances or adjustments for seam allowance as you select fabrics. Once you have the basic, then you can make variations on the pattern based on style. Next post, which pattern variation to emulate which portrait?
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Baroness Franca DonatoVandy Pacetti-Tune is a milliner, costumer, illuminator and calligrapher, and researcher who is interested in all that is the Italian Renaissance. A true Florida Native originally from Saint Augustine, she now calls Auburndale, Florida her home. Vandy is known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as Baronessa Franca Donato and resides in the Shire of the Ruins in the Kingdom of Trimaris. Archives
August 2015
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