17th April 2006
I've finally got around to putting up pictures of a seventeenth century waistcoat I made towards the end of last summer. I've got a lot of use out of this, and I think it's probably my favourite thing in my tudor wardrobe, so it's lovely to finally have it up online. I've also written a documentation page for it.
11th April 2006
It's a new season of reenacting and, with it, a whole new set of updates. Firstly, I've started on what I hope will be extensive information on Tudor menswear, with a brief guide to the common male garments.
Secondly, I've added a brief paragraph on this year's fashions to both the male and female clothing guides. Those, in combination with the costume notes, should help you decide which of the many garments illustrated in these pages you should be wearing this year.
I've also added three more pictures of last year's frock. There's nothing like updating promptly!
Finally, I've added a new picture to the female clothing guide, showing a complete outfit.
16th July 2005
I've put up another picture of the 1569 gown.
12th July 2005
Finally an update! I have been sewing, I just haven't been posting online. There are pictures of both my new gown and my other half's doublet up in the gallery.
30th December 2004
I'm absolutely delighted to post a major new section of the web-page. Kat has spent months working on a guide to shoemaking and, after a certain amount of difficulty with file types, I'm delighted to post it here. Thank you, Kat, for all your hard work!
I'm gradually updating these notes to reflect the slightly different fashions of 1569. Definitive updates will have to wait until the costume notes are released. Until then, take all this with a pinch of salt!
10th November 2004
The Bruegel overgown is nearly finished.
27th October 2004
There's more information in the Bruegel overgown diary as well as lots of pics in the gallery.
25th October 2004
I've added a new photo to the yellow kirtle gallery page.
23rd October 2004
The bodice of the Bruegel overgown is all but finished.
20th October 2004
More ramblings about the Bruegel overgown.
21st October 2004
I've started to document the construction details of the Bruegel overgown.
20th October 2004
More ramblings about the Bruegel overgown.
19th October 2004
I've started a new diary of a Bruegel overgown.
13th October 2004
Lots of bitty updates today, mostly things I've been meaning to put up for a while.
Firstly, I've found a contemporary image showing a woman in a kirtle with a slit in the top of the skirt. More details are here.
I've added a picture of a gathered cuff to the shift guide.
There are more substantial additions in the diary of Sofonisbay Anguissola. The corset and the prototype shift are both finished.
2nd October 2004
More information in the doublet instructions, and the diary of Sofonissba Anguisola is moving again.
29th September 2004
I've finished the prototype jacket.
24th September 2004
I've started assembling the red jacket. I've also split the diary up into three seperate pages in the hope of reducing download time.
22nd September 2004
I've posted more information on my new coat.
21st September 2004
The last Kentwell weekend of the season beckons, and the weather is getting rapidly colder. Spurred on by that, I've decided I really really need a new coat to keep me from freezing. So I'm resurrecting a diary-ish to keep me on track.
18th September 2004
The doublet instructions are nearly finished.
23rd August 2004
I've added a second page to the doublet instructions. It's not yet finished but, when it is, it'll detail how to actually put the thing together.
21st August 2004
Apologies for the lengthy delay in updating this webpage. Kentwell, followed by working full time, as well as being heavily involved in Church of Fools have meant I simply haven't had time to devote to it.
However, I'm back on track, and now have a plan for the next few months. Going online now is the first of a series of guides to making male costume. It's a detailed, in depth guide to making a late period doublet. There's information on pattern drafting there now, and notes on constructing the thing will be put together over the next week or two.
A few days ago, I was walking past an Oxfam Shop when I saw, in the window, a book on the works of Breugel. It's fab - lots of detailed closeups of peasant costume. I am one very happy costumer. Kentwell relies very heavily on Breugel for information on costume - most of the sketches in the costume notes are taken from his work. This book has a particularly good array of images on male clothing and, on the back of that, I'll be writing a guide to early sixteenth century/lower class male upper body garments. That'll follow in the next few months, when I can persuade someone to model for me. I also hope to write something on lower body garments
Finally, probably after Christmas, I'll be updating the women's clothing guide to reflect the fashions of the year chosen for Kentwell 2005. Wow! That's a plan.
1st June 2004
I now have a bodice.
26th May 2004
I've updated the diary.
25th May 2004
I've started constructing the bodice for my attempt at the dress of Sofonisba Anguissola.
23rd May 2004
I've started writing instructions on making one or two different finger braids. This section is by its nature very image heavy, and may take some time to download.
22nd May 2004
I've solved the problem of the wrinkly bodice.
10th May 2004
Substantial updates rolling out across the site.
I've added links to three recommended shoe-makers, as well as to a site on making period spectacles.
I've updated the new diary. All the pages are there, now, and I've started work on the brown kirtle.
I've finished off the skirt section of the kirtle guide.
I've also removed the now redundant material from the yellow kirtle diary and updated all the relevant links. I don't think I've left any random half sentences...
9th May 2004
I've added a couple of pictures of my coif to that section of the clothing guides.
The skirt part of the kirtle guide is about half done. I've uploaded what I've written; the rest will follow shortly. Then I need to remove the duplicated material from the yellow kirtle diary.
8th May 2004
I'm very excited to have found a bunch of new images for the diary of the clothing of Sofonisba Anguissola.
I've finished off the bodice portion of the kirtle guide.
7th May 2004
Another update to the yellow kirtle diary. This time I've added information on dying the fabric for the sleeves.
6th May 2004
The next stage of the kirtle guide is up.
I've also started on a new diary, although this one's more for fun than for use on the manor.
5th May 2004
A couple of people have commented that they're finding the kirtle diary confusing to follow. Thank you for the feedback! In response to that, I'm dismantling it and reassembling it as two seperate documents. I'm keeping the diary, but I'm taking some of the detailed construction information from it and re-writing it as a guide.
This involves a fair amount of work, and will be rolled out over the next week or so. For now I'm concentrating on writing the guide. Once that's up, I'll remove the construction nuts and bolts from the diary. For now there's a fair bit of duplication, so I apologise if that makes boring reading.
I would be very grateful for feedback on whether or not this makes things clearer to follow. As ever, the email address is tucked at the bottom of stuff about me.
3rd May 2004
There's a new section in the yellow kirtle diary - finishing touches.
1st May 2004
The petticoat guide is finished. Wow. That means the guides to all the major garments are done. What am I going to do with my evenings now?
I've also re-written the making the clothes index page, in the hopes it'll make things easier to find.
30th April 2004
I've started on writing the petticoat guide.
26th April 2004
What can I say? I am a fabric-oholic. The first thing I did on getting to the states was check out the local fabric store. I somehow managed to acquire ten yards of linen. The upshot of that is I'm sewing a new shirt, so there's now a few extra pictures illustrating how to put on a collar.
I've also split up the shift instructions into several smaller pages. The information is the same. I hope it will be less overwhelming to navigate around.
25th April 2004
I've added some pictures to the coif section in the hopes of making things clearer. The photos were taken by a friend of mine when she visited the manor. I've contacted the people I recognise but, of course, can't contact those I don't to check they're happy for their picture to be up. If you'd rather I took your picture down then please contact me; my email is in stuff about me.
22nd April 2004
The coif section is up.
21st April 2004
I write this on a plane headed to the States, woohoo! That's obviously going to limit my ability to get new stuff up, but I'll do my best as time allows. For now, the shift instructions are finished! Wow. It's felt like it's taken far more work to write the thing than it did to sew it! As ever, if anything doesn't make sense I'd appreciate an email.
I've also finished off the sleeve section, although it really needs more photos. Those won't happen, I'm afraid, until I'm back in the UK.
18th April 2004
Another snippet added to the shift.
I've had an offer of some detailed instructions in making shoes, and I'm very excited about this. I'll put them up as soon as I get them. In the mean time, if anyone would like to write anything for this page, then that would be just wonderful. My contact email is here.
15th April 2004
I've added detailed instructions in putting a cuff on your shift.
A snippet has been added to the kirtle diary.
12th April 2004
Sorry it's been a few days since I last posted. I've been at Kentwell, hurrah, and so have lots of photos of the new kirtle in use.
7th April 2004
I've started writing the instructions for making a pair of sleeves.
6th April 2004
I've finished the kirtle. Yay me!
4th April 2004
I've started pleating the skirt.
3rd April 2004
The bodice is now finished, hurrah!
The skirt starts off in true style, with a disastrous mistake.
I think every page has now been updated with the new look.
2nd April 2004
Substantial additions to the shift instructions, including bonus notes for men.
1st April 2004
A sleepless night has produced fancy graphics and fonts. They'll be roled out gradually across the whole site as time permits.
Another update on the bodice.
31st March 2004
Not only have I acquired a pretty background, there's a new section up. Now you can email me!
30th March 2004
More in the kirtle diary.
28th March 2004
Added a snippet to the kirtle diary.
Started the petticoat section.
Added some suppliers to the links section.
27th March 2004
The introductory shift page is a little less sparse and I've rearranged the shift design page slightly.
Added the next stage to making a shift.
Added a couple of links to sewing guides, plus one to stitches in surviving archeological specimens.
26th March 2004
More about the bodice in the yellow kirtle section.
Split the shift page into three: introduction (a bit sparse at the moment); design and making. Substantial updates to the making section, themed around adventures in diagrams.
25th March 2004
Added Links and resources.
Started on yellow kirtle diary page.
Added a little to the making a shift page.