Anneke van deme Boerne

This is perhaps one of the most stunning pictures of a historical gown that I have ever seen! To me, it looks like a 15th century painting has just come to life... I am completely in awe! Anneke has been kind enough to send a wonderful description of her gown which was made for Drachenwald Univerity in November, and you can also see a close-up picture of her gown and another photo of the man seen in the background who is wearing a pourpoint that she made by hand, using period materials and techniques. If you would like to contact Anneke, you can email her at anneke(at)cafecrochet.com.

A detailed account of 1460-1480 Burgundian outfit.

The outfit consists of: shift, drawers, hose, shoes, pattens, kirtle, placket, gown, partlet, belt, headband and hennin.

Shift and drawers are made of 95/5% cotton/linen blend that I had bought believing them to be mostly linen. I used Mary of Hungary's shift pattern for the shift. Drawers are actually an accident and will be replaced by proper drawers. I had made hand sewn modern drawstring pants of simplest cut, but had forgotten to wash the fabric before cutting. Needless to say they shrunk and pants that had been superwide and ground length now are just below my knees.

Hose are hand sewn from wool twill using London Hose pattern on Marc Carlson's site, instructions by Megge of Caerleon. They are fastened with tablet woven garters.

Shoes are hand sewn from two layers of coat weigh wool, turnshoe construction. I added an extra sole of very sturdy linen so I could walk with them on streets. They are based on 15th Century finds from Tallinn and 15th C shoes on Marc Carlson's site. I'll replace them with proper hand sewn leather turnshoes when I can.

Pattens were made for me by Rene as an adaptation of extant patten from Tallinn. The extant pattens were way too small to copy on 1:1 scale.

The gown I didn't make myself because I was sewing Rene's pourpoint and some smaller items for myself and counseling three club members how to sew their outfits. I took the fabrics and lots of printouts of pictures and patterns to a professional seamstress and we "developed" the patterns that fit me together. This outfit is her first historical clothing and although I had to tell her "no darts" and "no, this seam goes here -- look at the painting" often, I'm pleased with the results. The next Burgundian outfit shall be handsewn and I'll be using more appropriate materials.

Kirtle was a compromise: I took the materials and copies of paintings to a seamstress. I used two kinds of silk because I couldn't afford the good silk for the whole dress. The good silk shows when I lift the gown skirts to walk.

Gown was also made by the same seamstress of a 50/50% polycotton upholstery fabric I had bought some years ago. I know it isn't appropriate, but it was all I had and this dress is a "muslin" anyway. I needed something to wear and to test the pattern. We used Mary of Hungary's dress as a starting point for the pattern and looked loads of paintings, illuminations, woodcuts and sculptures to come up with the final pattern. The fur is a gorgeous fake sable my mom gave me as an early birthday gift.

Placket, belt, headband and chin strap of hennin are hand sewn from cotton velvet.

Hennin used to be mom's old felt hat. Katharina shaped it for me on a flowerpot she happened to have. I didn't have enough time to cover the hennin with velvet, but I will do it for spring events.

Partlet is made from the finest silk I could find. Now I think it should have been linen instead, considering the way silk behaves and what the paintings show how the partlet behaves.