New from old - a repurposed Cranach gown turns into a 15th c. kirtle. :)

[silverstah]

Two years ago, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try a German Cranach style gown.  This is the result:





It's not BAD, but when push comes to shove, I did NOT feel pretty in this dress.  The bodice felt overly bulky, I hated the sleeves, and it just felt restrictive and cumbersome.  I wore it to one event, and then it sat in the closet.

After reading Marie Chantal's article on 15th c. fitted kirtles, I came to the conclusion that I would salvage the skirt from the Cranach gown and use that as the base for the fitted 15th c. waist-seamed kirtle.  She's done research and has even found that the full circle skirt (like I used on the Cranach) is a plausible skirt style for this time period. 

So I took the Cranach apart and used my cotehardie pattern block to make a curved-front, self-supportive bodice.  Mistress Mathilde's paper on sleeve construction is always a life-saver when it comes to sleeves - I never can find my sleeve pattern when I need it.  I added on some pin-on straight sleeves (not worn today, it was too hot!), and voila!  My old Cranach gown, which did NOT make me feel pretty, was reincarnated into a brand new 15th c. fitted kirtle, which DOES make me feel pretty.





The point of the story is this - sometimes projects simply do NOT come out the way we want them to.  We ALL have those projects in our closet.  Don't let them sit there collecting dust - re-purpose and re-use the base elements of the garment for something new.   Heck, even if you cut it up and use it for trim, it's still better than letting all that fabric go to waste.  Right?

[thisbirdsabsurd]

Oh I agree - the second one is much prettier - (although when I opened this I was thinking the first one was quite pretty too!)  The fabric is luscious - you did an amazing job, you must be quite a seamstress!

[fluffybaka]

Oh wow.  That first dress is nice, but that second dress looks so much better on you!  You look much more comfortable and at ease.

[lulubean]

I always love looking at your posts.  Not only are your outfits beautiful and I wish they were mine but I always seem to see someone I recognize in your pictures.  I used to be in the SCA, Canton of Elvegast.  It was in college and I never had money to make good clothes and I have terrible social anxiety so I decided to stop.  Your outfits make me kind of miss it though.     Keep up the great work and awesome garb!

[silverstah]

I always love looking at your posts.  Not only are your outfits beautiful and I wish they were mine but I always seem to see someone I recognize in your pictures.  I used to be in the SCA, Canton of Elvegast.  It was in college and I never had money to make good clothes and I have terrible social anxiety so I decided to stop.  Your outfits make me kind of miss it though.     Keep up the great work and awesome garb!

Oh, I'm so sorry that your anxiety kept you from participating in the SCA!  I suffer from horrendous social anxiety as well, so I know how difficult it can be at times.  My trick is to always have something to do, which a) gives me a purpose, which eases my anxiety, and b) gives me an "out" if I need to get away from people.

We live in Elvegast, but tend to play with Buckston since we have good friends up in that area.  Thankfully, Windmaster's Hill is REALLY active at this point, and the Cantons do a lot of playing with each other, so we get to see people from all over the place. 

[nualapegasus]

Great job.  I love how your "new" kirtle turned out.

I always love looking at your posts.  Not only are your outfits beautiful and I wish they were mine but I always seem to see someone I recognize in your pictures.  I used to be in the SCA, Canton of Elvegast.  It was in college and I never had money to make good clothes and I have terrible social anxiety so I decided to stop.  Your outfits make me kind of miss it though.     Keep up the great work and awesome garb!

lulubean, I'm a bit socially nervous, too.  It makes the SCA a bit hard at times.  Come back and find one person (or small group) to "latch" on to.  That helped me up up here in Nordskogen.

[neverawake]

this is a gorgeous dress, i might jump the bandwagon soon too

[marypoppins]

Always fun to see a fellow Wench over here.  (I am Saucy Sue.)

I don't know which I like more...your mad skills at matching up patterns or your wheel!

[marmota-b]

I love your kirtle. And thank you very much for the sleeve class link, I'm going to need it.

[Seonaid]

I love the kirtle, but the original Cranach was beautiful too.