The last tutorial was about how I made my first Houppelande (medieval overdress) that was an early houppelande, with a pattern layout that saved in on the fabric.
Now we move on to the opposite; a full circular houppelande dress that was the high fashion during the 15th century, and were worn by both men and women (with different lengths and fashion details of course) The construction method for this one is open for discussion; there might have been gores and more pieces according to different fabric widths during the medieval period. This layout is practical and simple if your fabric is 150 cm wide and you want the houppelande to be of as much fabric as possible, the small pieces allowing you to save in on the fabric a little.
The construction idea is from an article I found ages ago (that is now lost on the internet?) And later tailor’s books which shows very full dresses for women and coats for men. The shape, style and drape of this method also look similar to paintings of houppelandes.
First, you need a lot of fabric! How much depends on your length, in this example, I make a pattern that gives you a dress around 150 cm long; good for the shorter woman or for a man (since houppes for men usually leaves at least the shoes visible) That means you will need 5,2 meters of fabric for the dress itself, and then another 1,5 to 3 meters for the sleeves. Oh, and maybe a full lining too?
The pattern is basically 4 quarters of a circle; forming a full circle when put together. The small pieces save you some fabric, but you may cut out the full quarter circles if you prefer. If you go with the pieces, then sew them together with the quarters the first thing when you have cut them out, so you have 4 whole quarters.
Then, sew the shoulder seams together, that is the short straight seams above the arrows. Leave the armholes (on the pattern they are cut out as half-moons) and sew the sides together. To know how wide your armholes should be; measure yourself loosely around your armpit, or use a previous pattern. Add extra cm for movement; at least 5-6 cm.
The seam length of the shoulder should follow your shoulder; between 10-14 cm depending on how long shoulders you have. The armholes should be laying on the body, not falling down from the shoulder to your upper arm. Cut away what you don’t need, a little at a time if you are unsure.
When you are satisfied with the shoulder, armholes and side seams, sew the back and front together with each other, front to front, back to back. In the front, you leave an opening big enough so you can dress and undress easily. On paintings, some dresses are open almost to the hip. In the back you need to leave an opening big enough for your neck, try it on and you will understand! The open seam will give you the neckline on the back, and can then be cut for a rounder style if you like, or you could add a collar.
So, that was it- quick and easy yes? Now the dress should look something like the sketch above, and you can attach the sleeves to the dress. Sleeves? Well, that is for the next part of the Houppelande tutorial series. Stay tuned!
