The Armscye measurement, loosely defined, is the size of the hole you need to put into a bodice, shirt, doublet, etc in order for your arm to fit through. I suspect that many people guess on this point, and tend to guess large. For many periods of history, including the Elizabethan era, however, the armscye measure needs to be fairly precise to help create the long, unbroken torso seen in period artwork.
4 CommentsCategory: Instructions
The Full Hip measurement is, as advertized, the measurement of the fullest part of the hips. For some of us, this sits down on the thigh, and causes us to flee in horror from any pair of jeans that boasts of being “cut slim through the thigh”. Beyond being crucial to making sure that a pant or a fitted skirt fit well, the Full hip measurement is important in extreme long line corsets of the Edwardian period.
1 CommentIf your background is like mine, your mother taught you to take a hip measurement – but only one. In pattern making, women’s hips are generally measured in two places. There’s a High Hip measurement, which represents the top of the hip curve, and the Full Hip measurement, which is the actual widest part of the hip line. Given the amazing variety of of feminine shapes, it makes sense to take the extra measurement. The high hip measurement is used for fitting both skirts and pants that are meant to skim the body between the waist and hip, and for longer line corsets.
1 CommentThe Underbust measurement isn’t as famous as the bust or waist, which is sort of a shame, I feel. The Underbust is the measurement of the ribcage, directly below the bust. Aside from being a crucial measurement for making modern bras fit, it’s important for underbust style corsets, some styles of later-era long line corsets, regency fashion, and even modern baby-doll styles. Here’s how to take the measurement accurately….
1 CommentThere seems to be some confusion these days as to where waists are located. Taking a waist measurement at the proper place is a crucial step in pattern making, especially for historical periods that emphasized the waist as a central point of the feminine silhouette. We’re going to talk about the right way to take a waist measurement, as well as some “cheats” for specific body shape issues.
8 CommentsThe bust measurement is probably the most important measurement when it comes to making any torso garment fit a woman. Whether you’re making a sixteenth century corset, a modern jacket, or a 1960s trapeze dress, if it doesn’t fit correctly at the bust, it doesn’t fit. How do you get the right measurement?
2 CommentsThe surviving pattern published in Juan de Alcega’s ‘Libro de Geometria, Practica y Traca’(1589) represents almost everything we know about the farthingale. Most articles on recreating the Alcega farthingale focus on faithfully reproducing the pattern based on fabric widths. Honestly, though, calling this a “pattern” is a bit of an overstatement: the book was more intended as a series of cutting diagrams to help tailors avoid waste. The problem is, Alcega included some rather sharp commentary on on what he considered the proper size for the bottom hoop of the farthingale, but no real information on the size of the intended wearer. Complicating things further, modern bodies aren’t build quite like the popular model of the 16th century. So what’s a costumer to do? How about some trigonometry!
Trust me, this won’t hurt.
9 CommentsThe world is full of straw hats. They are almost never the size and shape you’d like them to be. (That’s a known effect of the Law of Universal Irony, along with how the thread already in the needle is never a color that will work for your current purposes.) Fortunately, reblocking a straw hat is pretty gosh darned simple.
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This is one of my favorite Elizabethan era hats. It has style and panache, and it’s often completely over-the-top in stature. You can pull the wired brim into a lovely arc, which has always seemed to me to be the Millinery equivelent of a raised eyebrow. It’s a smart hat, extremely suited to the prosperous merchants and casual nobles. Women should be careful to make this hat a bit small, so it sits on the hair rather than the head and allows the caul to be seen.
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The Floppy Pleated Hat, which I’ve heard called a ‘Muffin Cap’ is a hat comprised of a Soft Brim and a Pleated Crown. When made from a softer fabric, this hat has a very unstructured look apprpriate to lower class characters. From stiffer fabric, as above, it’s a rather charming style formiddle class characters trying to make their fortunes.
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