To Kirtle or Not to Kirtle?
To Kirtle or Not to Kirtle?
When we first started working on Tudor outfits around 2004 we could find limited information and there seemed to be a disagreement about kirtles on what we did find. On one side of the argument people were saying there was a piece of clothing on top of the shift but under the over dress on which the jewelry/embroidery around the neckline of the dress was attached to (the kirtle). Others were saying that these trimmings were either on the shift or a strip of fabric sewn onto the edge of the overdress.
This was at the beginning of our journey and we had no way of knowing who was right so we chose the easier route of no kirtle. Not only did this mean less sewing but it also meant one less layer. Since our group lives in the Arizona desert, where temperatures reach to over 120F / 49C in the summer, having one less layer seemed like a great thing to us!
After many months, and many adventures, (check out our “Pettigale ?” article), we finally had the first dresses ready for their trial run. One issue that all of the dresses had was the sleeves of the overdresses kept falling off our shoulders. This problem was exaggerated in the Mary Tudor dress. This dress has pearl encrusted sleeves that weigh about 4 lbs each! Not only was the weight of the sleeves dragging them off the shoulder, but the lady wearing it would have terrible back & shoulder pain that would last for days after. Something had to be done.
At first we thought it might be the pattern we used. When we first started the only pattern directions we could find, and what the lady that helped us draft our first patterns used, were what we now know as a more theatrical cut. It had a squared off neck line in the front with a scoop neck line in the back. By the time we had gotten the first dresses done the first Tudor Tailor book had finally come out. The cut of their bodice was completely different! So we thought that was the problem and recut the body of the bodice.
The Tudor Tailor book took the side of there being a kirtle however, there was still some debate going on so we decided to keep trying it without the kirtle. Since the Mary Tudor dress had the biggest issue we decided to use that as the test. Unfortunately the new bodice cut didn’t fix the problem so off came the sleeves and skirt again. Thinking maybe we had cut the back neckline to low we remade it with a higher neckline, put the sleeves & skirt back on, and – nope, still a problem. One of the ladies in the group had done some theater work in college and mentioned some tricks they used. Once again the sleeves and skirt were taken off, changes made to the bodice, sleeves and skirt put back on, and….. NOPE! This happened several….more…..times.
Finally we decided that this whole “no kirtle” thing was obviously NOT working so let’s give it a try with one. Once again off came the sleeves and skirt, put them back onto the original bodice cut from the Tudor Tailor pattern, and supplies were gathered to make a kirtle.
A month or so later we had a new kirtle and the day of reckoning was upon us. We got her all dressed and…. Nope still having sleeve issues! Grrrrr!! It was a bit better but still having issues. Then someone made the comment of it would be great if we could just staple the darn sleeves onto the kirtle.
Wait!!!
PINS!!!!
We had come across many references to pins being used but we had forgotten about them. We had been so focused on the construction that we totally forgot that pins were an important part of the Tudor dress arsenal! Pins were pulled from the pin cushion and….. Viola!! Issued solved (there was much rejoicing by all)!!!!
The real test was a week or so later we had an all-day event she would be wearing it at. By the end of the day she was a bit sore but actually her feet hurt more than her back and shoulders. The next day we headed back to the Sewing Room and kirtles were started for everyone!
Over the years it seems as if the debate has pretty much been settled and most people agree that there is a kirtle there. As ones who tried both sides – we are firmly in the YES to the Kirtle camp!
Below are pictures of Mary without (on the left) and with (on the right). You can see that without the kirtle we were unable to keep the neck line squared even though it is cut that way.
Quick note on the engineering behind the Kirtle
Once we realized that the kirtle was necessary we wanted to know WHY. So we started doing a bit of research. We realized that there is quite a bit of clever engineering built into this very important piece:
- Bust shaping – While the sides of the “pettigale” bodice provides the beginning of bust shaping by giving some side support, the snug fitting of the kirtle provides the majority of it. It helps flatten the bust, hold it in place, and still give a bit of cleavage. The fashionable look of the time was not the “overflowing bust shelf” look. While you can achieve this look with a kirtle, it’s more fashionable to have more of a nice bit of cleavage but mostly flattened. The bust can be more or less “tucked” in and the kirtle holds it in place. Several of us are large busted women and the kirtle gives plenty of tucking space, support, and is quite comfortable.
- Back and shoulder support – These dresses weigh quite a bit and can put quite a bit of strain on the body. Yes the ladies of the 1500’s were more used to it however, their dresses weighed even more than the ones we have created. The kirtle bodice helps take some of the strain off of key muscles. Its snugness helps support the core of your torso and gives added back support. The weight of the over dress sleeves are transferred onto the shoulder straps rather than the shoulder muscles across the back. This tends to redistribute the weight more onto the torso of the body which can take a bit more, and is already getting some extra support from the body of the kirtle itself.
Quick note on Pins
We originally just used pearl headed pins from JoAnn’s however they slide out with movement. This lead to a research into pins and we found that in the 1500’s pins were made of brass. We were able to order some online from a maker in England and they worked much better! (There are now a few makers in the US – see our “Supplies” page). They are comparatively more expensive (about $5 for 100 pearl headed pins vs about $2 per brass pin). Some of us still use the steel pins but they are gradually being phased out as funds allow.
The very nature of the brass pins makes them less slippery. If you look at one under a magnifying glass it has a rough surface with little teeth-like protrusions. This helps it grip the fabric. A stainless steel pin has a very slick smooth surface so has nothing to hold onto the fabric with.