I have three and a half weeks and four yards of linen...

[gem]

...Can I make a kirtle?

I've just found out I'm being sent on a business trip that coincides with Opening Weekend at the local fair. Huzzah! A new fair for me!

I have some fitting concerns about all of my current garb, and I've been meaning to make something new this season anyway (who isn't?!). So. I have 4 yards of 60" wide linen from Fabrics-store.com (discontinued color, so I can't get more). I know it takes roughly 7/8 yard to make a bodice (I'm a size 8/10 in mundane clothes; can I make a skirt with just about 3 yards of fabric?

My plan is to take the Simplicity corset pattern I used last fall and turn it into a bodice pattern, bone it with hemp cord, and move the lacing from the back to the side back seams.  My weight has changed, though, since I made that corset, so I can't just dive in without fitting and mockups.

What do you good gentles think? Possible? I'm off work for the next couple of weeks (huzzah!!), so I should have *time,* but obviously that's not the only issue! LOL

[isabelladangelo]

Absolutely!  Rather than pleating the fabric for the skirt, gore it.   If you take your average rectangle, imagine alternating trapezoids (triangles with their heads cut off!) with one pointing "up" the length of the fabric and the next pointing "down".   You can get a very generous hem line that way with a narrow waist. 

You might also want to try:
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/kirtlepat/gored.html

[gem]

Thanks, Isabella!

Right now my next step is to have Milord test-fit the corsets I've already made from this pattern, to see how much adjustment (if any) I'll need to do for size. To that end, I've finished my lacing strips (yay!), and I'm getting ready to cut out the pattern again for the mockup. 

My current favorite skirt pattern calls for 4 yards of 45" wide fabric, so I think I have what amounts to almost a full yard more (? Although my math is not to be trusted.). I think it'll work out.

I just need to decide exactly what I want. 

[Lady Rosalind]

With the fabric being 60 wide, you may not need as much fabric for the bodice.

Suggestions for stretching your fabric allowance:

1. Do you have a contrasting color of linen that could be used to make a wide guard for the bottom of your skirt?

2. Knife-pleat! (sorry, I've become very enthusiastic about knife-pleating lately!)

3. You can try to do a 2.5 panel skirt, where that last .5 of the width is used to make the bodice, and any extra length can be used to make the waistband. just because I felt geeky today, I created a quick illustration (the small panel should be in the back!):



This should create a decent middle-class look. You also could go ahead and create all of the panels 30 inches wide, to create a more balanced skirt, but then you'd lose a couple of inches in seam allowances.

Anyway, this seems like a fun challenge. Can't wait to see pics!!!