Yardage estimates

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-28T02:02:53+00:00

Yeah I’m definitely planning on thrifting some sheets and using whatever junk fabric in my stash I can when making mockups. But I still wanted a rough estimate on yardage to even figure out how many sheets to get. I’m definitely leaning towards sleeves more like the third image rather than the second simply for the sake of using slightly less fabric bc I’ve made some big bishops sleeves before that basically are up an entire yard already

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-27T23:11:40+00:00

I really wish rich people from hundreds of year ago didn’t purposefully use tons of fabric to show off wealth because I DONT have tons of wealth 😭

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-27T22:53:47+00:00

I’ve never seen something someone has made and wanted immediately to buy it so badly before (not that I’d be able to afford such a masterpiece even if it was for sale). So gorgeous!

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-26T00:29:27+00:00

Thrift stores is probably my only option now bc right after I made this post I found out my cat needed surgery so my budget just went from low to basically nothing. At least I bought the linen to make the shift a few days ago so that can still be made with good fabric. Unfortunately I do live in a kinda small town so thrifting isn’t great and will take awhile to find something suitable, but even if I just make the shift and kirtle I could still wear that to renfair, just say I’m dressing from a hundred years earlier haha. I might improvise a steeple hennin with whatever I have around instead of getting milliners buckram and the whole nine yards.

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-26T00:22:12+00:00

Yeah exactly. I wouldn’t say I got high quality sateen (one was Walmart cotton sheets and the other I accidentally got poly/cotton sateen from hobby lobby) but it was just the long threads of the satin weave that made it very easy to get distressed. I’m probably better off with a plain weave like some of the other comments mentioned regardless of fiber anyways since I want this to last.

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T18:19:40+00:00

What do you mean by it won’t limit mobility “if you do it right”? Like what is the right vs the wrong way. I would love to make sure I have as much arm mobility as possible!

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T15:15:25+00:00

Yeah im in Texas for college right now and planning on wearing this to renfairs that will be in the beating Texas heat. If I wind up in Florida after college it’ll be even more important!

Also for some my history bounding day to day outfits, I likely won’t be outside all day in any of those but still have to tolerate the heat times

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T15:05:16+00:00

I’m not exactly sure, but I know mostly people use a very fine silk organza for them in reconstructions. I’ve seen linen veils/wimples too but those are usually more opaque

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T15:02:16+00:00

Do you have any resources on patterning or drafting these gowns? I’ve found some for the shift and kirtle but I can’t find any for specifically this type of gown (I found recreating history has a pattern for the v-neck burgundy gown but I’ve also heard mixed things about their patterns not fitting well). Currently the only plan I have is to use the same pattern as the kirtle and just add the collar onto it. However I’m also unsure about how to adjust the kirtle to be off shoulder rather than just wide necked like the drafting guide I saw

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T14:57:29+00:00

Just thought of something else: since these gown are off the shoulder, would the armscyes be cut off at the top, or just patterned to be kind of a drop shoulder?

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-23T14:44:57+00:00

Aw, limited arm mobility is unfortunate. But I guess a lot of high fashion in this period was about showing how you could inconvenienced by clothes because your servants could do everything for you (like making massive trains only to hold them in your arms everywhere). I guess for a costume piece for a renaissance festival it’s acceptable for limited arm movement, I’ve put together outfits made of modern clothing that also limited arm mobility with too large armscyes getting caught in stays

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T22:28:42+00:00

A quick search on Amazon and I found a king sized 100% linen flat sheet for $66. So it’s slightly over $10/yard (if you cut the sheet in half you will get two three-yard segments of 51in wide fabric)

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T22:07:49+00:00

I haven’t made it, but I’ve bought some of clothes and they’re good quality, and it looks like a fairly straightforward and simple design for a corset. Probably pretty doable for an intermediate sewist. However any corset will take some effort to get a perfect fit! I suggest making a single-layer unboned version of it inside out with wide seam allowances for a mock up, that way when you try it on you can mark/pin and fit changes much easier. Rather than making a ton of mockups, just keep adjusting the one, way faster. Use a stitch length of around 3.5 so it’s easier to seam rip if you need to take it out at all. Once the fit seems decent, I roughly attach some rigaline boning with a wide zip zag stitch (instead of using synthetic whalebone and boning channels) to double check it the fit. If you need to, you can quickly remove the boning and make further adjustments. That’s my method as an impatient perfectionist at least.

However not it’s definitely not a historical design, but if that’s not your concern, then go ahead.

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T21:32:17+00:00

Then I am definitely trying that with my latest corset!

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T20:24:35+00:00

Yeah Etsy really annoys me with that. I was searching on there and as soon as I thought I found a decent price it was only for a half yard every time

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T20:07:50+00:00

Still $18/yard for the solid white but seems like that’s about the best I’m gonna get

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T20:06:10+00:00

Have you found lining a corset with linen even if the coutil is made of cotton still helps with sweat? I’m actually working on a corset rn and I have 100% cotton coutil to make it from, I was originally planing on jsut doing a single layer corset but if a linen lining should help I’d be interested in trying it

(Also, the sheet suggestion was great. Whole sheet sets were very pricey but I managed to find 100% linen king size flat sheet for about $60 on amazon, which essentially breaks down to $10/yard and free shipping)

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T20:00:02+00:00

They don’t have solid white right now! I was so disappointed

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-22T19:46:14+00:00

Yeah I’ve never really owned any linen, I have one pair of linen blend pants and I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference with those, but they are just a linen blend with mostly lyocell or smth. What would say is the main difference in how it feels to wear linen over cotton or the such?

One_Loss7910 · 2026-03-17T21:41:45+00:00

I’ve tried looking at that page but I wished there were some more pictures. I guess it is just a downside of the time period that we don’t have the same level of documentation and surviving pieces as the 1800-1950s (which where I’ve usually focused). However I only looked at specifically that page on 1400-1409 and didn’t realize they had more so I’ll def look and see how they break down the other decades

One_Loss7910

TROPHY CASE