Elizabeth Cowan

Elizabeth is a new costumer who did an amazing job on her first set of costumes. In addition to the beautiful Tudor gown that she is wearing in this picture, she also made outfits for her sister and mother. I was impressed with the way she modified commercial patterns to get a more sophisticated look, and I was completely blown away by the headwear she made to finish the outfits. Proper Tudor headwear is no easy thing to make, but Elizabeth's hats look like they were made by a seasoned professional. Nothing makes me happier than seeing well-researched headwear, and all three of these hats just look so "right"! You can read more about all three outfits below the picture, and you can contact Elizabeth at aprilshowers82(at)msn(dot)com.

These were made for my mother, my sister and myself to wear at our local Renaissance festivals in Missouri. I made my red Tudor gown first from a combination of store bought patterns. Unfortunately, these patterns don't usually have the most realistic looking headgear, so I made my French Hood based off of instructions found on the Elizabethan Costuming Page. Although I have begun to experiment with drafting my own patterns, I didn't feel prepared to draft patterns for two other people without any practice so I just combined patterns for the green gown and the purple gown as well. I am especially pleased with the Gable hood that my mother wanted. I did a lot of research and poured over Holbien portraits, but could not find a satisfactory pattern for how to make one. I wound up modifying instructions that I found on the internet and it took me an entire week to complete.