1535 - under kirtle skirt

I used the same pattern for the skirt as I did for the back of the skirt of my English gown from my 1588 outfit (pattern from The Tudor Tailor). It's a flared/shaped skirt that will easily fit over a farthingale if needed to (eg for 1540 onwards).

So, the skirt of this under kirtle is made up of 4 sections which are then sewn centre back and centre front - an inch for seam allowance as it was cut along the selvege. I then sewed the sides together leaving a 7" gap at the top of both sides for ease of putting on (and that my bodice is side lacing). The seams were then neatened.

I would normally make up a lining for it now, but seeing as I'm gentry and will be wearing lots of layers as it is, I've left it out as noone will see the underside of the kirtle. But it can be lined at a later date if needed.

Once I had the basic skirt, I then pleated it. I made a large inverted box pleat and then knife pleats either side (three in all for this skirt) for both front and back of the skirt. I pinned it to the bottom of the bodice to check the fit and altered accordingly. Once sorted, I tacked the pleats - at about 1/2" and 1" from the top edge, this was then sewn, again with two rows - one at 1" and the other slightly less. (These sewn rows were actually a mistake, my mum thought she had told me to sew it to the bodice!) Afterwards, I pinned and sewed it to the wool part of the bodice - again, sewn with two rows.

The pleats tacked and ready to be sewn.

The skirt sewn onto the bottom of the bodice