Italian Renaissance
There seem to be quite a few Italian Renaissance
patterns available commercially right now, but unfortunately, I think
this one is now out of print. It is McCalls 2806, and last time I
looked at their online catalog, I couldn't find it. If you are
interested in buying it, I would recommend double checking its
availability at your local fabric store first, then then check online;
commercial patterns are often sold
on ebay. (Thankfully, I was wrong.
The
pattern is still available through any retail store that sells McCalls
patterns.)
The first modification I would make to any
of the commercial Italian Renaissance patterns is to turn it into two
different layers. Not only is this more historically accurate,
but it also means that I don't have to dry clean my expensive outer
fabric every time I wear the costume. It was especially easy to
accomplish with this pattern since the pattern has two different design
styles--one that works well as an underdress, and another that works
well as an overdress. Most other commercial patterns you find are
designed all as one piece. To modify this, simply make two
versions of the bodice, slightly changing the inner one to be more
modest and/or the outer one to dip more suggestively. To the
inner bodice you will attach a full skirt and to the outer a split
skirt. Don't forget to leave yourself an in! The outer gown can
simply have a hook and eye closure (like mine), but you will need to
decide how you are going to get in and out of the inner dress. (I
will mention my own method later on.)
I made the underdress made of a light blue cotton voile. The bodice is lined with duck cloth and the skirt is lined with muslin; it was important for me to use the duck cloth as a lining for both bodices since I wanted to be able to wear this without any other support. The skirt I lined simply for modesty's sake (voile is rather thin after all). Another change I made to the pattern (both on the underdress and the overdress) was to draft out the bust darts; there are several sites on the web that explain how to do this (I'll try to get a link posted sometime) and I would highly recommend taking all darts out of any renaissance dress, or else figuring out some way of covering them up. Rather than using the recommended pattern pieces for the skirt and gathering it to the bodice, I used approximately eight yards of fabric and cartridge pleated it to the bodice. (Again, this is a technique that I learned on the web, so if you are interested, the information is out there.) Before I completely finished up the bodice, I sewed channels in the center back for boning and inserted eyelets so that I can lace up the back of the underdress.
I used two different fabrics for the overdress.
The bodice is made of an ivory satin embroidered with gold.
(It was left over from an Elizabethan underskirt I had made
sometime before. Eventually I
will have a page posted for that dress as well.) The skirt is six
yards of royal blue brocade. This was cartridge pleated to the
bodice just like on the underdress. The effect is exactly what I
had hoped, the skirt is VERY full; the dress does not need any
petticoats to help the skirts stand out and to give them body.
The only drawback it that it
tends to give a little too much body to the stomach area. I have
since
adjusted the pleating to flatten out the center front of both layers,
which
gives a much more flattering silhouette. I trimmed both the neck
edge
of the bodice and the front opening and hem of the skirt.
I also made reversible gauntlets to match the outfit, which I don't have pictures of. One side is the brocade and the other is the satin. Both sides are trimmed with the same trim found on the dress.
Here is a close up view of the cartridge pleating.
It is a little blurry, but it gives you an idea of what it looks
like. You can see that the skirt is extremely full, falling to the hem
in beautiful folds.
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The first modification I would make to any
of the commercial Italian Renaissance patterns is to turn it into two
different layers. Not only is this more historically accurate,
but it also means that I don't have to dry clean my expensive outer
fabric every time I wear the costume. It was especially easy to
accomplish with this pattern since the pattern has two different design
styles--one that works well as an underdress, and another that works
well as an overdress. Most other commercial patterns you find are
designed all as one piece. To modify this, simply make two
versions of the bodice, slightly changing the inner one to be more
modest and/or the outer one to dip more suggestively. To the
inner bodice you will attach a full skirt and to the outer a split
skirt. Don't forget to leave yourself an in! The outer gown can
simply have a hook and eye closure (like mine), but you will need to
decide how you are going to get in and out of the inner dress. (I
will mention my own method later on.)I made the underdress made of a light blue cotton voile. The bodice is lined with duck cloth and the skirt is lined with muslin; it was important for me to use the duck cloth as a lining for both bodices since I wanted to be able to wear this without any other support. The skirt I lined simply for modesty's sake (voile is rather thin after all). Another change I made to the pattern (both on the underdress and the overdress) was to draft out the bust darts; there are several sites on the web that explain how to do this (I'll try to get a link posted sometime) and I would highly recommend taking all darts out of any renaissance dress, or else figuring out some way of covering them up. Rather than using the recommended pattern pieces for the skirt and gathering it to the bodice, I used approximately eight yards of fabric and cartridge pleated it to the bodice. (Again, this is a technique that I learned on the web, so if you are interested, the information is out there.) Before I completely finished up the bodice, I sewed channels in the center back for boning and inserted eyelets so that I can lace up the back of the underdress.
I used two different fabrics for the overdress.
The bodice is made of an ivory satin embroidered with gold.
(It was left over from an Elizabethan underskirt I had made
sometime before. Eventually I
will have a page posted for that dress as well.) The skirt is six
yards of royal blue brocade. This was cartridge pleated to the
bodice just like on the underdress. The effect is exactly what I
had hoped, the skirt is VERY full; the dress does not need any
petticoats to help the skirts stand out and to give them body.
The only drawback it that it
tends to give a little too much body to the stomach area. I have
since
adjusted the pleating to flatten out the center front of both layers,
which
gives a much more flattering silhouette. I trimmed both the neck
edge
of the bodice and the front opening and hem of the skirt.I also made reversible gauntlets to match the outfit, which I don't have pictures of. One side is the brocade and the other is the satin. Both sides are trimmed with the same trim found on the dress.
Here is a close up view of the cartridge pleating.
It is a little blurry, but it gives you an idea of what it looks
like. You can see that the skirt is extremely full, falling to the hem
in beautiful folds.Home
Costume Page