The Tudor Tailor

01/11/2024

If a cosy knitted cap seems more suitable now that the nights are drawing in here in northern Europe, take a look at the knitting instructions for several different styles in 'The Typical Tudor'. Long time friend of The Tudor Tailor, Rachel Frost helped devise the double-turfed cap (see pages 166-168). She has recently put her knitting and fulling skills to good use providing headwear for the film Firebrand, including this cap for Simon Russell Beale to wear as Bishop Stephen Gardiner.

Check out Rachel’s posts showing how she made the cap. She confirms the results of Jane’s fulling experiments – you have to keep going for at least 45 minutes to effect the change from fluffy fleece to velvety nap. It beats going to the gym (pun intended!)

📷Photo: Historical hatmaker Rachel Frost kindly shared her work-in-progress on a knitted and fulled cap for Simon Russel Beale in the film 'Firebrand'

📕Buy 'The Typical Tudor' here: https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/the-typical-tudor-reconstructing-everyday-16th-century-dress

31/10/2024

How great is this Hallowe’en-like 16th century lace?! 👻🎃 Sadly not available in the shop.

Source: Italian knotted lace dated 1575 featuring ‘skeletal’ figures dancing, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany (featured in Henschen, M, Boutrup, J & Avén, M – eds (1990) Hemmets Arbets Handarbetslexikon, Malmö: Fogtdal, 9, 14-15)

30/10/2024

Henry VII’s coronation as King of England was on 30 October 1485. Setting the crown on his head brought the Tudor dynasty to power for more than the next century.

The Tudor Tailor has helpful headwear suitable for the whole period. The range includes a choice of kits for making a Henrician lady’s bonnet & frontlet and one kit for several styles of French hood in four different colours. These provide all the necessary ingredients for making each headdress. It is also possible to buy the patterns for the bonnet and frontlet or the French hood and source the materials from elsewhere. Add pearls or jewels to go up the social hierarchy or leave them plain for a more typical 16th century look.

The full Tudor Tailor headwear collection is available here👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/collections/16th-century-headwear

23/10/2024

Our kirtle & petticoat pattern has been a long-standing best seller since it was first produced in 2006. A new, improved pattern based on the research carried out for ‘The Typical Tudor’ is available in our online shop, along with many other full-size patterns for reconstructing 16th century garments. Check them out👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/collections/womens-patterns

https://shop.tudortailor.com/collections/mens-patterns

19/10/2024

‘Will you buy any tape,
Or lace for your cape,
My dainty duck, my dear-a?
Any silk, any thread,
Any toys for your head?’
The Winter’s Tale, act IV, scene 4

Shakespeare’s Autolycus was portrayed as an untrustworthy thief, selling cheap goods and stealing sheets from people’s gardens. However, for many people living in rural areas, far from cities and market towns, the pedlar was a valued and exciting visitor in the sixteenth century, bringing both essential and luxury items of dress to the door. The inventory of a pedlar in Durham in 1562 contained silk points, silk and leather laces, pins and ‘naperyware’ and a pedlar’s pack included ‘lace round and flat for womens hedes’ in 1545. Though pedlars were at risk of being charged with vagrancy, and were often viewed with suspicion, their visits were eagerly anticipated, and goods were purchased by all sorts. Even a wealthy gentleman’s children received an ounce of lace bought from a pedlar for sixteen pence at Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire in 1552. We've just received new stock of our lovely linen laces, complete with handmade brass aiglets, to add to the wide range of ribbons, laces, thread and linen - rivalling the ‘trumpery’ hawked by Autolycus. Visit the online shop for all you lack and have it delivered right to the door!
https://shop.tudortailor.com/

16/10/2024

This 100% wool fabric has been specially commission by The Tudor Tailor from a Yorkshire mill and is available in various colours 💜🩵💚🧡❤️🖤.

The weave is a 2/2 twill which has a good stretch across the bias, making it an excellent choice for bias-cut hose. It also has a lovely drape and makes up beautifully for petticoats, kirtles, coats and gowns.

The range of colours is based on the mass survey of 57,000 garments extracted from wills and inventories which is the basis for our book ‘The Typical Tudor’. Our findings make it clear that there were strong conventions in choices of colour for certain garments depending on one's gender and social status.

You can find the fabric and full size patterns in our online shop 👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com

14/10/2024

Jane has contributed a chapter on textile analysis to 'The Common Thread', a new publication in honour of Eva Andersson-Strand, Professor of Textile Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Textile Research. The book is available to buy but it is also a free open access digital publication here👇

https://www.brepols.net/products/978-2-503-61277-5.

11/10/2024

Watch The Tudor Tailor’s ‘Bee Movie’ to get the full story behind the big ball of wax and meet the bees who produced it!🐝🐝🐝

To celebrate the bees we're currently offering a FREE cake of beeswax to anyone who buys two reels of bleached or unbleached linen thread in our online shop!🧵🧵

https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/tudor-style-linen-thread-for-hand-sewing-for-renaissance-or-elizabethan-reenactment-bleached-or-unbleached

**Add two reels of thread AND the beeswax to your basket to make sure you receive the offer**

https://youtu.be/iS8BJJi6Oq8

Ninya demonstrates how the Tudor Tailor beeswax cakes are made using locally sourced beeswax from bees living in the grounds of Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, ...

09/10/2024

🌸🧵🐝 SPECIAL OFFER 🐝🧵🌸

The Tudor Tailor recently had a beeswax windfall and to celebrate we’re offering a FREE cake of beeswax to anyone who buys two reels of bleached or unbleached linen thread in our online shop. **Make sure you add the two reels of thread AND the beeswax to your basked to receive the offer** 👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/tudor-style-linen-thread-for-hand-sewing-for-renaissance-or-elizabethan-reenactment-bleached-or-unbleached

Documentary evidence and examination of surviving 16th century garments shows that linen thread was used for the majority of sewing by Tudor tailors. Unbleached and un-dyed linen thread was used for sewing outer garments regardless of the colour or type of fabric it was stitched through. Thinner, bleached white linen thread was used for sewing white linen garments such as shirts, smocks, aprons, ruffs, cuffs, collars and headwear.

Tailors in the 16th century would first draw each length of thread over a piece of beeswax in order to strengthen the thread and also to make it easier to sew with.

To learn more about how The Tudor Tailor wax is sourced and then made into the cute little cakes we sell in the shop, check out our latest video on YouTube!

30/09/2024

Jane gave a paper at a Euroweb conference in Lisbon, Portugal, with Beatrice Behlen, which is now available online. 'Intertwined textiles: Influence of Asian fabrics in the European cloth industry (ca. 1200-1900)' offered an opportunity to consider research questions about the silk used to knit the waistcoat associated with Charles I, which is at the London Museum (as the Museum of London is now known). ⁠
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Find free access to 'A mingle mangle of material: sources for studying silk fibres and knitted silk garments in early modern Asia and Europe' on the YouTube channel.⁠
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ljAv69_Ww

29/09/2024

**NEW** ⁠
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Sewing pattern for a man's doublet of the style worn from the 1540s to the 1560s with sleeve, waistline and skirt variations. With full instructions for choosing materials, sizing and constructing garments - perfect for reenactors.⁠
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This is part of The Tudor Tailor's new, improved pattern range. The graded pattern is clearer and easier to see with differentiated lines for each size.⁠
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A fully illustrated booklet is included with comprehensive step-by-step making instructions, guidance for choosing materials, and construction tips & techniques. This garment requires some hand sewing.⁠
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Based on research carried out for 'The Typical Tudor' (2022), including a survey of 57,687 items of dress. This is a thoroughly researched pattern based on documentary descriptions, extant examples and paintings.⁠
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Now available to buy here: https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/pattern-for-mans-mid-16th-century-doublets

28/09/2024

Mendlesham Armoury at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in mid-Suffolk is the only remaining armoury in any English parish church with its original collection of 16th century arms and armour. The Armoury Facelift Project by St Mary’s Parochial Church Council will conserve, interpret and display this unique collection so that it can be passed on to future generations in better condition. ⁠
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There will be an online fundraising event called ‘Fytt for thy degree’: clothing and arming the typical Tudor man via Zoom on Friday 11 October at 7pm (UK time). ⁠
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Dr Tobias Capwell will give a short presentation about the armoury and its restoration. Ninya will share insights into the conventions of everyday dress and ownership of armour by men in 16th century England. Tickets cost £5 and are available here👇

https://www.medats.org.uk/events/fytt-for-thy-degree/

27/09/2024

A new edition of Dr Kathy Davies’s book 'Artisan Art: Vernacular wall painting in the Welsh Marches 1550-1650' is now out. It details some new discoveries since the first edition and has some great illustrations of typical Tudors from domestic settings. It is available to buy in the Tudor Tailor’s online shop👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/artisan-art-vernacular-wall-paintings-in-the-welsh-marches-1550-1650-new-edition
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The 290-page book has a new cover, revised text, an expanded gazetteer featuring newly discovered wall paintings and some improved images among its 200 colour illustrations. ⁠
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Jane and Ninya had the pleasure of hosting Kathy at an online event devoted to the wall paintings which provide details of ordinary dress as depicted in Tudor people’s homes. Part one of two recordings of the event is now available to watch free of charge here. Part two will follow shortly so do consider subscribing to the The Tudor Tailor’s YouTube channel👇

https://youtu.be/De_6YqibYtg?si=ExOgGGcpGzANPCxA

26/09/2024

Autumn is the time for doublet renewal or refurbishment to be sure that the men of the household are well turned out for Christmas (and Thanksgiving)!
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The Tudor Tailor team has overhauled three Tudor doublet patterns and developed a new one based on research published in The Typical Tudor. ⁠
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The new doublet pattern provides variations based on extant examples which are suitable for men during the mid-16th century, including a variety of skirt shapes, generous one-piece or fitted two-piece sleeves, and pockets. ⁠👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/pattern-for-mans-mid-16th-century-doublets
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The new versions of the other standalone patterns cover doublets suitable for men at the time of Henry VIII, for boys throughout the 16th century, and for Elizabethan men at the end of Elizabeth I’s reign. Ordinary men and courtiers from 1485 to 1550 will find everything they need for a Henrician man’s doublet, including a variety of sleeve styles. The pattern for a boy’s doublet is designed to make it easy to kit out a school child for a Tudor play, project or party. The late Elizabethan man’s doublet pattern includes a peascod belly and an optional vertical sleeve pocket.👇

https://shop.tudortailor.com/collections/mens-doublets

23/09/2024

Love this post by The Mary Rose for !

15/09/2024

There is some lovely costuming in the new film 'Firebrand', including an impressive array of very nicely made hats and headdresses. These were essential componants of dress for any self-respecting Tudor, but are often sadly missing from many film and television productions. Henry's wonderful outfits were beautiufully made by The School of Historical Dress and we had fun spotting our ouches adorning the king's bonnet and Princess Elizabeth's French hood and kirtle, among others! The Tudor Tailor book came out 20 years ago, and it is lovely to see how it has influenced productions like these. We hope that The Typical Tudor will have a similar effect and that in a few years time we'll see a produciton where ordinary sixteenth century people are portrayed as well as this!

11/09/2024

What’s on your wall? The Tudor Tailor team has been admiring the décor in many 16th century domestic interiors thanks to the new edition of Kathy Davies’s book 'Artisan Art: Vernacular wall paintings in the Welsh Marches 1550–1650'. The 320-page book has a new cover, extensive new text, an expanded gazetteer featuring newly discovered wall paintings and some improved images among its 200 colour illustrations. The book is coming to The Tudor Tailor’s online shop soon so watch this space for news about it.

Jane and Ninya had the pleasure of hosting Kathy at an online event devoted to the wall paintings which provide details of ordinary dress as depicted in Tudor people’s homes. Part one of two recordings of the event is now available to whet your appetite for this unique source of evidence on The Tudor Tailor’s YouTube channel 👇

Dr Kathy Davies joins The Tudor Tailor to discuss 16th century wall paintings as a source of evidence for ordinary dress.

06/09/2024

A lovely detail of a pin in the frontlet worn by Katherine of Aragon in her portrait of 1520. Todays visit to the ‘Six Lives’ exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in London was another reminder of the importance of looking closely at original artworks whenever possible - there is always more to see!

04/09/2024

Red, red red! We've just taken delivery of new stock of both our madder red and murrey red wool cloths. It's one of our most popular colours, and rightly so. It dominates our pie charts of typical Tudor colours for women, particularly in the case of petticoats where more than half of these garments in our database were described as red. What may seem surprising is that petticoats were not often on display, usually being covered up by outer layers such coats, waistcoats and gowns. A reason for this may be the belief that the colour red had health-giving properties. Queen Elizabeth was saved from dying of smallpox in 1562, it was claimed, by being wrapped in red cloth and Henry VIII's physician advised that he should always wear a red petticoat (man's waistcoat) under his doublet to keep him a well man. We can't speak for it's prophylactic properties but it certainly looks and feels great!
Our 2/2 twill is availble in madder red https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/madder-red-tudor-style-woollen-2-2-twill-cloth-fabric-sold-by-the-half-yard
Murrey, or wine red https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/murrey-or-wine-red-tudor-style-woollen-2-2-twill-cloth-fabric-sold-by-the-half-yard
and our surprisingly lightweight, fuzzy frizado is also available in madder red https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/red-tudor-style-woollen-frizado-cloth-fabric-sold-by-the-half-yard
If you are not sure which one you like the best then we have sample packs with the whole range https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/sample-pack-tudor-style-woollen-2-2-twill-cloth

22/08/2024

Today is the anniversary of the battle of Bosworth, when the future Henry VII defeated Richard III so beginning the Tudor period. The man who made clothes for both kings was a French tailor called George Lovekyn. Lovekyn had also been tailor to Richard III's brother, Edward IV, before that. After he made the coronation clothes for Richard III he was laid off and replaced by an Englishman called Henry Davy, probably because of his previous experiences and loyalty in serving the late king, and possibly because Richard needed a trusted tailor who would be privy to his scoliosis and skilled in building clothes to disguise it. Henry VII re-employed George Lovekyn when he came to the throne, meaning that Lovekyn was tailor to three kings of England (see the excellent article by Anne Sutton in 'Costume' 15 https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.1179/cos.1981.15.1.1). The range of garments made by Lovekyn and his team of tailors in the Great Wardrobe are detailed in 'The King's Servants' which documents clothing made for Royal Servants between the battles of Bosworth (1485) and Flodden (1513). Find the book in our shop here https://shop.tudortailor.com/products/the-kings-servants-mens-dress-at-the-accession-of-henry-viii-revised-2nd-edition

15/08/2024

Jane celebrated her 60th birthday by publishing an article in Heritage, a peer-reviewed, open access scientific journal. It reports her collaborative work doing dye analysis on the knitted silk waistcoat at the London Museum (said to have been worn by Charles I at his ex*****on) and its ‘twin’ (said to have been worn by the Earl of Perth) at Drummond Castle in Scotland. Read it here👇

https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/7/8/189

There is a video with more information about the research project here (scroll to 4 mins 39 secs for the start)👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOcco5I4HNw&list=PLGOCpw7BaRwUMnUhv_EG-5acBUYNjwkm

14/08/2024

05/08/2024

Exciting news for The Tudor Tailor team!

Nu börjar vi komma tillbaka från semestern, och i år har vi nöjet att hälsa två nya medarbetare,
Jane Malcolm-Davies och Cecilia Candreus, välkomna! Båda jobbar från 1 augusti som fast anställda lektorer i textilvetenskap, och kommer att vara aktiva inom både undervisning och forskning. Om någon vecka, när de båda har landat på sina arbetsrum, så kommer utförligare presentationer av dem och deras forskning. Tills dess önskar vi en fortsatt glad sommar, och påminner om att den sena antagningen till höstens kurser är öppen på antagning.se.

30/07/2024

Curious about codpieces?

Jane’s contribution to the August edition of BBC History magazine reveals all …

03/11/2023

🪡Anyone who fancies getting started on or improving their handwork skills will be happy to see The Tudor Tailor’s new embroidery and braiding kits. The two kits are also ideal gifts for encouraging others to try embroidery or braiding. ⁠
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📖A ‘Schole-House for the Needle’ was first published in 1624 but drew on older designs for lace and embroidery. The kit features a facsimile book of an edition printed by Richard Shorleyker in 1632 with some blackwork designs dating to the 1540s. It also includes silk thread and bleached linen for trying out the designs. ⁠
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🧵The Schole-House kit is available in our Etsy store with a choice of black, blue or red silk thread or all three colours.⁠
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🛍️ https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1587100325/new-elizabethan-needlework-kit-a-schole⁠⁠⁠