Introduction

This page shows guides to all the major garments you're likely to need on the manor. In addition, it'll also have dress diaries covering garments I've made. The latter are a bit different from the guides: the guides show how it should be done, and are pretty basic step by step instructions; the diaries show how I did it, including cock-ups and creative disaster management. Hopefully the two, together with the costume notes, will provide you with all the information you need to make your clothing.

Before you get too carried away it's worth looking at the sections on what to wear, for both men and women. Each includes a brief guide to this year's fashions, so hopefully won't end up making a costume for the wrong date.

Making women's clothes - the guides

• The shift
• The petticoat
• The coif
• The kirtle
• The sleeves
• The apron Apron guide not yet written - check back in a few days time.

Making men's clothes - the guides

Disclaimer It's only reasonably recently, with the impetus of a boyfriend to clothe, that I've started making men's clothing. I claim no great expertise, either in the details of how garments changed over the decades, or in how they were constructed. These notes are based on what worked for me. If you know more than I then I'd love to hear from you, and I'm very happy to be corrected. My email is available here. However, these garments have all passed costume check and have been worn successfully on the manor so, in the knowledge of how little costume information for men there is available on line, I thought these guides might be helpful. Use them at your own risk!

• The shirt This link takes you to the shift guide. Shifts and shirts are very similar. In this guide, notes for men are indicated with italics
• The late sixteenth century doublet

Shoemaking