Women's 3 Piece Elizabethan Kirtle, Renaissance Dress, Custom Drafted (Made To Order) INCLUDES FABRICS - Linen Only

3 Piece Elizabethan Kirtle, Renaissance Dress, Custom Drafted (Made To Order) INCLUDES FABRICS

Please contact me to check my availability before purchasing.

BE ADVISED: a 30% Non-Refundable deposit is required. Should the buyer default by not providing color choice, measurements, and the required upper body cast 1 month prior to the start date of your reservation, your order will be cancelled and you will be billed via PayPal for any fabrics purchased.


DESCRIPTION: ITEM PICTURED IS FOR SAMPLE PURPOSES ONLY - NOT FOR RETAIL

NOTE: An authentically styled Tudor/Elizabethan kirtle or bodice DOES NOT have gores, a.k.a., side panels in the bodice that conform to a woman's figure. Side panels will not give you the proper silhouette - which is flat and smooth.

Available in this listing is a custom drafted French, Flemmish, English, or Italian styled Elizabethan era kirtle. Your choice of back or front laced, COMES IN LINEN ONLY. Skirt has three panels of 58" wide linen and is knife pleated with side opening with up to two rows of contrasting colored linen bands. Grommets are hand couched in a matching color. I use a .000 size grommet so that it appears more historically accurate but offers durability.

COLORS OF LINEN:

MEDIUM WEIGHT: https://fabrics-store.com/all-fabrics?article=IL019

ATTENTION: The green pictured is no longer available. **OUT OF STOCK**

RUSTIC WEIGHT: (More historically accurate but limited colors): https://fabrics-store.com/all-fabrics?article=4C22

INCLUDES:

- Detachable pinner sleeves

- **Custom drafted bodice to fit your unique figure - NOT A COMMERCIAL PATTERN. Complete with modesty panel and hand-couched grommets. (See Size Chart below).

- Separate knife pleated skirt inset in a waistband with two rows of colored bands at the bottom.

This is the perfect ensemble for your working-class character at faire! Elevate your character at faire and graduate from the ubiquitous wench to an AUTHENTIC styled 16th Century woman. Pair it with an English flat cap and a coif, or a straw hat.

Price INCLUDES:

5 yards of 100% Linen: $93.55 plus shipping and tax: $109.53
1 yard contrasting linen: $18.77
1 yards Cotton duck for bodice: $9.00
Fusible Horse Hair Canvas Interfacing: $8.00
Up to 24 Grommets - couched: $4.00
Up to 20 pieces of boning: $5.00
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$154.30

COST BREAKDOWN:

Fabrics & Notions: $154.30
Couched Grommets: $30.00
Labor for construction: $398.00
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$582.00

**Custom drafted bodice pattern is not shipped to client but is kept on file in my workshop, unless you would like to purchase one for $30.00 extra.

PLEASE READ! I take (and fill) orders on a First Come, First Served basis, no matter if paid in full at the time of purchase and regardless timeline listed. Please contact me before ordering in order to check my availability. Allow 4 months for construction.

Available in the following sizes Only:

I custom draft our bodices so size isn't necessarily accurate: We work off an upper body cast. Tutorial and more info available.

USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UK
2 (X-Small). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 (X-Small/Small) . . . . . . . . . . 6
6 (Small). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
8 (Medium). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10 (Medium). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
12 (Large). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
14 (Large-X-Large). . . . . . . . . .16
16 (X-Large/1X) . . . . . . . . . . . .18
18 (1X/2X). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
20 (2X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

HISTORY OF THE KIRTLE: Before the corset (stays) women wore a "Kirtle." Kirtles began as loose garments without a waist seam known as Coetardie, and later changed to tightly fitted supportive garments in the 14th century. During the reign of Henry VIII, kirtles were constructed by attaching a fitted, stayed (boned) bodice with a skirt that was gathered or pleated into the waist seam. The fitted bodice was stiffened with a layer of "buckram" as well as reeds and bents.

During the 1530s, the decorative skirt of the kirtles worn under gowns underwent a change: instead of an entire decorated underkirtle, a separate, decorated "kirtle" skirt could be worn under the outer gown. There are also references in early 16th century Spain of a "vasquina" bodice being tied to a farthingale or stiffened skirt. Kirtles were part of fashionable attire in the middle sixteenth century, and remained part of country, working, or middle-class clothing into the seventeenth century. Later in the 1500s, the bodice and skirt were worn as separates - as shown in this listing. These fitted bodices were the impetus for the invention of the corset.

In England, Kirtles were worn under an overdress for middle-class and nobility and were commonly made of red silk. Later, when the fitted bodice and underskirt were worn as separates, the "skirt" transformed into "farthingales." Farthingales were stiffened by rings of reeds to give the quintessential cone shape and worn under the gowns of the upper classes. Kirtles could lace up the front, the back or on the side-back, with some rare cases of side lacing (under the arms); all depending on the fashion of the day and the country one belonged, as well as what kind of gown was to be worn over it.

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NEW HOURS AND PROCEDURES: Beginning in 2026, I will be accepting a limited number of commissions per calendar year. Since 2013, I made it a habit of booking my commission calendar up to two years in advance. I will no longer be offering this option. I will be accepting no more than two gowns per year, and will require 6 months for construction on gowns, and 4 months for a kirtle. I will be accepting commissions on a "first come basis" rather than scheduling myself out back-to-back with deadlines every four months.

To be added to my schedule, I require a 30% non-refundable deposit. Client MUST choose their fabrics no later than one week following payment of their deposit. Any delay will result in your reservation and deposit being forfeit.

An upper body cast is required. A tutorial will be provided to assist you in creating the cast, which is made from cellophane wrap and painter's tape - NOT DUCT TAPE.

All communication must take place via Etsy in order to comply with their policies. If a client has paid in full at the time of purchase, rather than placed a deposit, and they do not follow the above guidelines or fail to respond to my messages in a timely fashion causing a delay, their order will be placed on a permanent hold until requirements have been met. This includes failure to respond to messages on Etsy, failure to provide any and all measurements necessary at the time reservation is taken and the time period prior to the date work is to commence, failure to comply with time allotment for the purchase and shipment of fabrics.

No refunds will be issued. Store credit will be issued only. To be rescheduled, once you have missed your deadlines, clients will be required to pay an additional 30% non-refundable deposit to compensate for my loss. Rescheduling means I have lost income whilst turning away other clients to accommodate your reservation. Please be advised, any client that ghosts on their reservation or causes a delay, and is subsequently cancelled, future reservations with Designs From Time will no longer be accepted.

I take (and fill) orders for gowns, coats, and ensembles on a First Come basis, no matter if paid in full at the time of purchase and regardless of the 9 to 10 week timeline listed for turn-around. Etsy does not provide an option that reflects the actual time I require for construction of detailed pieces.

**Handmade items will have small imperfections.

**No refunds. All Sales are final.