Eleanor of Leycestershyre

Eleanor's drool-worthy 1572 French round gown has already won several awards for excellence in SCA competitions. She won first place in the expert division of An Tir's 12th Night Garb Contest, and she also took home "The Populace's Choice" award at the Kingdom A&S competition. These kudos could not go to a more deserving person, and no detail was overlooked on this project. You can read a full description of the gown below the picture, and you can see one more beautiful close-up shot here. If you would like to contact Eleanor, you can find her at hleleanor(at)comcast(dot)net, or you can also go to her LiveJournal diary and leave comments there.

For the costume geeks in the audience...

The project consists of a complete replica Elizabethan "rounde gowne", circa 1560-75, from the skin out. It includes, a square- necked linen chemise using rectangular construction methods, linen drawers trimmed with lace after the pair in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, boned linen corset based on the "Effigy corset" bound with white kidskin leather and hand-stitched with silk, red knitted cotton stockings, silk garters with gold fringe, slashed and pinked black leather shoes, linen Spanish farthingale, red silk petticoat guarded with red silk ribbon, linen bumroll, brocade foreparte with attached linen petticoat, matching brocade laced-in sleeves, fine lawn partlet trimmed with lace and a single handmade needlewoven button in silk, suit of machine-blackworked linen ruffs, black velvet bonnet, and pearl girdle, cartridge pleated brown wool front opening gown lined with screaming yellow linen, matching paned shoulder rolls with fine lawn puffs, all accented with hand-stitched and appliqued black cotton velvet guards and trim, and couched black cord. The sleeves matching the foreparte are laced into the armhole by means of 13 handmade lacing holes on each armhole and sleeve. The sleeves are taken directly from the Alcega tailor's pattern book, lined in the same linen as the foreparte, and embellished at the seams with gold metallic cord, hand-stitched.

The entire ensemble was inspired by a small manuscript illustration on the Lyon map, from the Civitates Orbis Terrarum of Braun & Hogenberg, published in 1572.

All patterns were made by me, using all natural materials ie wool, linen, cotton, and silk. Period sewing techniques were employed. I used period design and techniques, such as flat-lining, French seams, cartridge pleating, hand-finishing, and in some cases using actual period patterns copied from facsimile copies of an original tailor's pattern book.

All seams are finished. Machine stitching has been used only where it does not show on the surface of the garment. I also made the hat and the jewelry. The hat is black velvet, lined in black silk, and is modeled on the Don Garza de'Medici bonnet in Patterns of Fashion.

The suit of ruffs and shoes, however, were commissioned by me from Marquessa Laurellen de Brandevin (Tammie L. Dupuis) and Morgan Hubbard of Plantagenet Shoes, Norwich, respectively. The fan was borrowed from a lady of my household, HL Gabrielle de Mericourt.

All external finishing is by hand, and stitched as finely as my skill would allow. Fastenings such as hooks and eyes, hand-made lacing holes, needle-woven buttons, and laces or points have been used in all cases.

For example, the corset is boned with 2.75mm basket reeds, used two per channel. It has 25 pairs of hand-made, linen-bound lacing holes for closure, and the edge is bound with white kidskin leather, completely hand-stitched using silk buttonhole twist and a glover's needle.

The entry included some 35 pages of documentation, including photos of the processes, and primary or secondary research materials, end notes, bibliography, webliography, and examples of my patterns and facsimile period patterns.

This entry took me a year to complete.

Thank you for your patience,
HL Eleanor