Threads - for people who love to sew

Party like it's the 17th century

Front view of the ensemble-- this outfit includes a chemise, bodice, bumroll, underskirt, overskirt, and beret

A bumroll was added under the skirts to give it more volume.

Detailed view of the sleeve cap-- this pattern piece was added from scratch and was not part of the commerical pattern.

Dont forget the accessories! I made a beret or muffin cap to go with this ensemble, finished off with a feathered brooch.

Front view of the ensemble-- this outfit includes a chemise, bodice, bumroll, underskirt, overskirt, and beret

Photo: photo by Kiah Brasch

This ensemble would be a great outfit to wear to a theme/costume party!

To make my Scottish ensemble, I used commercial patterns but researched ways to modify them to make the garments more period accurate.

This outfit could have belonged to an upper-class Scottish lady who lived in the late 16^th to early 17^th century.

Muffin Cap: Basic Elizabethan/renaissance cap from McCall’s 4806. This pattern required no modification because it is suitably period-accurate.

Chemise: The pattern I used was Butterick 6196. I replaced the elastic called for in the pattern with ribbon. Elastic is not period-accurate. I changed the neckline to a front opening to tie the ribbon.

Bodice: For the bodice I used McCall’s 4696. The side grommets in the pattern are unnecessary, and leaving them out makes the bodice more historical than fantasy. I also added shoulder caps, which were a trademark of Elizabethan bodices. This style remained common throughout the early part of the 17^th century as well. Shoulder caps were also a practical necessity, because they hid loops for attaching sleeves, which were tied in (I did not include the detachable sleeves in this outfit, although view D of the McCall’s pattern is easily modifiable to make accurate sleeves).

Roll: the bumroll was made from Simplicity 3782.

Petticoat: My underskirt was made using Butterick 6196. This is a basic skirt that uses proper gathering techniques. I also added two pockets, because it’s a practical and logical thing to have in a skirt :)

Overskirt: Used Simplicity pattern 3623.

Thanks for taking a look!

Pattern or design used: McCall's and Simplicity patterns, with modifications

KBthreads, member
Posted on Oct 12th, 2011 in sewing, garment construction, tools & supplies, fundamentals, reader's closet, skirt, petticoat, plaid, historical, scottish, tartan, renaissance

Comments (2)

KBthreads writes: The bodice is the part of the dress (excluding sleeves) that is above the waist. Thanks for asking!
Posted: 12:00 pm on October 14th

margaux777 writes: chest area? adore what u doing and 17th cent is 2 centuries out of my millennium but what is the bodice? just curious
Posted: 9:59 pm on October 12th

You must be logged in to post comments. Log in.