Gown yardage...?

[gem]

How much fabric do you usually budget for a gown project? I'm 5'4" and about a size 10, and I can get a basic kirtle/dress from about 4 yards of 60" wide fabric--a little less than a yard for the bodice, and whatever's left for the skirts. Simple sleeves take about 3/4 yard, just because of the length.

...But I'm getting ready to prep fabric (from stash) for a Saxon gown, and the Period Patterns and Burda patterns both call for around 8 yards for my size. Where in the heck is all that yardage going? I can't imagine having more than about 4 yards (five at the most) in a skirt. I know the Big 4 are notorious for wasteful cutting layouts, but IIRC, Margos seem to call for large yardages, as well.

I think I have ten yards of the base fabric I'm planning to use--but my poor old washing machine can't handle that much at once, and I'm trying to decide how much to cut (I'm intending to use my own usual skirt block). I'll probably go with 5, unless you good gentles can talk me into why I would need the additional 3! 

[DonaCatalina]

I usually buy 10 yards. When I run across great fabric, I tend to buy it even if I don't have a specific project. Most dresses really only require 8-9 yards, unless you are doing gargantuan sleeves.
But 10 yards gives you some leeway for pattern matching and oopsies.

[mollymishap]

You're trying to figure out how much to cut so that you can wash the fabric in more manageable pieces, right?  If so, this is how I'd go about it:

Lay the fabric out as if you were going to cut into it, place your pattern pieces on top giving allowance for later shrinkage, and mark where it all "ends", add an extra foot, then cut.  make a small mark in permanent ink along the selvage somewhere so you know which is the "right" piece. Serge or zig-zag the raw ends.

Wash BOTH pieces, though, in case you need more for whatever reason.

[isabelladangelo]

I'd lay the pieces out, as Molly suggested, to figure out where the yardage goes.  It might be a 45" versus 60" issue.   

I can get a full a-tunic out of 3 yards of 60" and almost any 16th C gown out of 5 yards of 45".  (1/2 yard for the bodice, 4 1/2 for the skirt).  The only reason I can see for 8 yards is maybe a yard of 45" for the bodice, 5 yards for the skirt, another yard for the sleeves, and the rest for the hat. 

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

gem,

I am with the Dona on this one. When in doubt, have plenty enough yardage for a gown in the event you have to do a do-over.

I tend to buy at least 10 yards of a fabric. That way I have plenty left over for  another project be it a Doublet, hats, Bodice, etc. I tend to buy the rest of a roll of a unique Decorator fabric because I know I will never see it again. WHich has been the case many times.

[gem]

Thanks. I wasn't looking so much for guidance; I know how much fabric I need to make a gown for myself--and I have *plenty* in stash for this one, even if I made it as the pattern calls for! I was really just wondering about the *philosophy* behind these huge yardage requirements... and wondering what I'm missing. Why would a pattern call for nearly twice as much fabric for my size as I actually need? 

IIRC, the Margo Anderson lady's pattern calls for seven yards of fabric in the overskirt, which seems ridiculous to me. I can make a skirt that fits over my farthingale with four yards--without dealing with an extra three yards of bulk at my waist. I can imagine a scenario where you might want to really just load on the opulence, add a train, make huge padded pleats... but for a costume pattern like the Burda, specifically, it seems like overkill.

I've got to think that even in period, people were being more or less profligate with their fabric usage, depending on their station, resources, warmth (!), or the point they were trying to make. I don't have my copy of The Queen's Servants at hand, but the reproductions (for similarly full gowns of the same era) call for much more moderate amounts of fabric, more in line with what I tend to use.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

if it is any consolation, gem, my skirts measure 5 yards around. I am larger than you are, which would account for more fullness. Skirts take up most of the yardage needed for Gowns. So 4 to 5 yards around for a  skirt seems to be the norm.

I do not know about anyone else, but I like my skirts to be full and flow.

[Butch]

And before you feel forced to cut your fabric, remember that there are coin-op laundromats that have large capacity machines!  Lug the fabric over there, and just wash it in one of their HUGE front loaders!

[DonaCatalina]

And before you feel forced to cut your fabric, remember that there are coin-op laundromats that have large capacity machines!  Lug the fabric over there, and just wash it in one of their HUGE front loaders!

I have a really large machine so I didn't think of this. Great suggestion Butch.

[gem]

Well, I bit the bullet and unrolled the whole thing--it is indeed ten yards. (I don't know what I thought I needed ten yards of navy blue linen for, but oh, well. I have it!) I split it into two pieces--four yards and six--and have started the epic wash cycle. Seriously, it takes my washer about 3 hours to do a load. Multiply by three rounds each, and I'll be at it all weekend!

Perhaps this will convince me to buy less fabric.

Raise your hand if you think that's likely. 

(Is there anything I can do with ten yards' worth of navy blue linen lint? It comes out so soft & lovely, I always keep it! I'm gonna have a bunch.)

[Stuben]

(Is there anything I can do with ten yards' worth of navy blue linen lint? It comes out so soft & lovely, I always keep it! I'm gonna have a bunch.)

When I did a lot of camping I used to save the dryer lint to start the fire with. It was mostly from cotton clothing and worked like a charm. Maybe it can be weaved into a thread and used for making belts? I remember seeing some ladies at the SCA event I went to weaving raw fibers into thread and another one doing some sort of "card weaving" I think she said.

Stuben

[DonaCatalina]

you could save the lint and use it to stuff some Elizabethan shoulder rolls.
....unless you were joking?

[gem]

OLD THREAD ALERT!

I am bumping this up, because I stumbled on a really interesting article about period gown fabric usage, which I thought added nicely to this conversation!

Susan Reed, "How Much is Enough? Yardages Used in Late 16th Century Women's Clothing" (originally published in Costume & Dressmaker, Jan 1997)  She examines several sources and converts period yardages into their modern 45" and 60" wide equivalents.

[LadyFae]

That's an awesome find, Gem!  Thanks for sharing!  I usually buy about 5 yards for my gowns and always have leftovers!

[isabelladangelo]

That source was most recently mentioned in this thread in Jan:
http://www.renaissancefestival.com/forums/index.php/topic,21815.0.html

Maybe we should add a sewing resource thread sticky so that all these good sources aren't constantly getting lost in the shuffle?