Elizabeth Merritt

Elizabeth is an aspiring professional costumer who makes historical clothing both as a hobby, and as a business. She seems to be off to a great start as you can see by looking at this pretty green and gold ensemble. You can see a front view of the dress here, and I especially love all of the detail work that she put into the hat and caul. That is such a great finishing touch for the outfit! Elizabeth sent along a quick blurb about the dress and her costuming background which you can read below the picture.

It is an upper middle/lower noble class English gown c. 1560. It's in a green and gold brocade with gold corded satin underskirt and guards. I machine sewed most of the dress, except the cartridge pleating, and the guards; I entirely hand stitched the guards into place. It closes with two side back seam lacings with grommets. I used machine embroidery and beads on the caul. The green hat is raw silk and was hand sewed onto a buckram and wire foundation.

When I began sewing historic garments, I made only Victorian era corsets and gowns, but in the past few years have branched out into the Elizabethan era as well. I have always tried to create garments that are as historically accurate as possible. My current obsessions are hats and menswear; I love making hats, and men's clothes, I think, are sadly overlooked in the custom historical clothing 'industry.' In the future, I hope to study and re-create garments from a broader time span; the 1770s, for example, have always had a particular appeal to me.

My work can be seen walking around the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, or at various historical re-enactments in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. I am always looking for work (in the Twin Cities area or by mail). No job is too big or too small! I have done weddings, and I have also made just one chemise for a customer. Pictures of my work can be seen by writing me. I can be reached for business purposes at this address: costuming@visi.com