Hi all,
I am looking for your recommendations on costuming and patterning books. I am particulary interested in the basics of patterning, tips and tricks and the like. I have part of a doc on blocking but there is more in that area that I need to know.
I am interested in late 14th and early 15th C clothing. Men's mostly but also women's. As I am both big and tall, off the rack patterns and costume don't do it for me and I have to make my own.
Tasha? Kass? Any recs?
Best,
Need recs for patterning techniques books.
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Duncan
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I haven't been active in any type of Medieval re-creation for the last three or so years so my information my not be all that current but when I was last doing things my wife and I found the book "Daily Life in Chaucer's England" to be an excellent resource for someone starting out in that period. It's not a pattern book per se but it does have a great deal of good information.
ISBN: 0-313-29375-9
ISBN: 0-313-29375-9
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kass
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I'm probably the only one in the world to say this, but I wouldn't recommend "The Medieval Tailor's Assistant". It uses modern techniques that don't necessarily translate well into medieval clothing construction. Of course it's better than using a modern tailoring book. But I've had some serious issues with their patterns and the author doesn't seem to have a clue about how women's stuff looked, much less was made.
It's not medieval at all, but if you could get your hands on Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion", it would tell you so much about how clothing was made in the 16th century that you could go back to the 14th and 15th century sources and apply that knowledge. Unfortunately for the beginner, Arnold doesn't teach you how to tailor. She just shows you what was by explaining the extant garments.
If you want a good costume, check out tailoring books by Jean Hunnisett. She does nothing the period way, but gets some good effects. But the MTA (mentioned above) is better than this and at least pays lip service to period fabrics and stitches.
Okay. Maybe the MTA is the best book out there currently. But do be aware that it's far from perfect. And never use it for women, Parlan. That's where it really sucks.
Kass
It's not medieval at all, but if you could get your hands on Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion", it would tell you so much about how clothing was made in the 16th century that you could go back to the 14th and 15th century sources and apply that knowledge. Unfortunately for the beginner, Arnold doesn't teach you how to tailor. She just shows you what was by explaining the extant garments.
If you want a good costume, check out tailoring books by Jean Hunnisett. She does nothing the period way, but gets some good effects. But the MTA (mentioned above) is better than this and at least pays lip service to period fabrics and stitches.
Okay. Maybe the MTA is the best book out there currently. But do be aware that it's far from perfect. And never use it for women, Parlan. That's where it really sucks.
Kass
Hiya,
I'm probably weighing in a tad on the lenient side, but The Medieval Tailor's Assistant isn't, IMO, completely dismissable, especially for newcomers to the concept of tailoring/patterning. It greatly depends on the styles/time periods you're going for. I like her 14thc. hosen pattern, for instance, and it clearly is based on the Museum of London extant fragments, though she does not overtly cite it. (She does put the MoL book in her 'further reading (or whatever it's called) section in the back of the book.)
The section called Methods goes into a good bit of detail on how to hand-stitch, and she goes over basic fabrics and weaves in the Materials section. She also does a competent job diagraming self-stuffed buttons with thread shanks. (She describes hand-done buttonholes incorrectly for the 14thc, IMO, and there are a lot of other perceived-by-me innacuracies, but they're relatively small compared to how off-the-mark so many other "costuming" books are.) As for blocks, she goes into a fair bit of detail about those. I think you could make a stab at creating a first-time one from her instructions.
I can't speak to her 15thc patterns, but if you feel that you must work from pattern diagrams or do your own flat pattern drafting using measurements on paper (or on cloth), then you could do worse than if you use her 14thc. diagrams. She covers the concept of geometric patterning too, which certainly comes in handy for early 14thc and previous.
This is a good book for beginner seamsters/seamstresses who aspire to get their feet wet in a not-obviously farby manner. If you follow her directions and use the right fabrics, chances are you will be looking finer than at least 80% of the rest of the SCA (as an example of a group). From there, you should definitely be equipped to jump off and try any number of more advanced techniques and patterns -- but most folks like starting on a well-lit road.
I can tell you some books to stay away from:
Katherine Holkeboer's Patterns for Theatrical Costume
The Jean Hunnisett books -- use at your own risk (female-only, any)
-Tasha
I'm probably weighing in a tad on the lenient side, but The Medieval Tailor's Assistant isn't, IMO, completely dismissable, especially for newcomers to the concept of tailoring/patterning. It greatly depends on the styles/time periods you're going for. I like her 14thc. hosen pattern, for instance, and it clearly is based on the Museum of London extant fragments, though she does not overtly cite it. (She does put the MoL book in her 'further reading (or whatever it's called) section in the back of the book.)
The section called Methods goes into a good bit of detail on how to hand-stitch, and she goes over basic fabrics and weaves in the Materials section. She also does a competent job diagraming self-stuffed buttons with thread shanks. (She describes hand-done buttonholes incorrectly for the 14thc, IMO, and there are a lot of other perceived-by-me innacuracies, but they're relatively small compared to how off-the-mark so many other "costuming" books are.) As for blocks, she goes into a fair bit of detail about those. I think you could make a stab at creating a first-time one from her instructions.
I can't speak to her 15thc patterns, but if you feel that you must work from pattern diagrams or do your own flat pattern drafting using measurements on paper (or on cloth), then you could do worse than if you use her 14thc. diagrams. She covers the concept of geometric patterning too, which certainly comes in handy for early 14thc and previous.
This is a good book for beginner seamsters/seamstresses who aspire to get their feet wet in a not-obviously farby manner. If you follow her directions and use the right fabrics, chances are you will be looking finer than at least 80% of the rest of the SCA (as an example of a group). From there, you should definitely be equipped to jump off and try any number of more advanced techniques and patterns -- but most folks like starting on a well-lit road.
I can tell you some books to stay away from:
Katherine Holkeboer's Patterns for Theatrical Costume
The Jean Hunnisett books -- use at your own risk (female-only, any)
-Tasha
I have Daily Life in Chauser's England. It was the first thing I read when I chose to start the SCA. Very nice overview. A bit of everything and great refrences IMO.
I have The Medieval Tailor's Assistant and as a man with no home-ec classes in his past I found the sewing section very useful. I couldn't get anything wearable out of her early braies pattern so did my own thing.
Kass and Tasha,
Would you ever consider doing a corrective article / commentary on the book? Sort of a "Here's what I would reccomend doing differently" to help people.
I like the book, but I am an ignorant dabbler in textiles,
Bartok
I have The Medieval Tailor's Assistant and as a man with no home-ec classes in his past I found the sewing section very useful. I couldn't get anything wearable out of her early braies pattern so did my own thing.
Kass and Tasha,
Would you ever consider doing a corrective article / commentary on the book? Sort of a "Here's what I would reccomend doing differently" to help people.
I like the book, but I am an ignorant dabbler in textiles,
Bartok
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Karen Larsdatter
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Bartok wrote:Would you ever consider doing a corrective article / commentary on the book? Sort of a "Here's what I would reccomend doing differently" to help people.
That might make a good thread on this board (or a webpage elsewhere) -- Assistant Assistance -- things like, "Hey, if you're making the split mittens, remember that your thumb doesn't come out of the back of your hand."
(That being said -- one of my current projects is a houppelande for Gruffy, using the Assistant's V-backed high collar pattern, and then I'm planning to use Cynthia's bag sleeve, but that has to wait until we can afford to get a bit more brocade.)
Thanks all for the great advice. I'll check out the book.
I usually like to use a pattern to get a feel for the lines. I'll make a muslin from that and modify it accordingly to fit my body type and style that I want.
I recently joined the AOTC list so I hope to learn more there!
Here are some examples of what I've done:
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... R/CD07.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... /MSI10.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... /MSI11.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... 32_33a.jpg
http://history.westkingdom.org/Year38/Photos/OC57.htm
I usually like to use a pattern to get a feel for the lines. I'll make a muslin from that and modify it accordingly to fit my body type and style that I want.
I recently joined the AOTC list so I hope to learn more there!
Here are some examples of what I've done:
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... R/CD07.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... /MSI10.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... /MSI11.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~sirparlan/im ... 32_33a.jpg
http://history.westkingdom.org/Year38/Photos/OC57.htm
- Parlan