Get Medieval With Me! 

Cool! I never would have considered looking into horse hair braiding, but that totally makes sense, thank you for the tip!

Emily Mitchell I don't have a video on making a 14th century Style kirtle, but I do have a Blog dress diary about that process! Check it out at www.morgandonner.com/2016/05/tutorial-supportive-kirtle/

sweet

There is one now, it's also in my playlist in which more people make kirtles

Thank you Riley! I have been meaning to make a modern kirtle, because you are right, they are very comfy!

I love the little short open hoods, they are way cuter than the longer mantled hoods!

I am glad they are helpful! (Also very pleased that someone out there thinks I'm funny 😋)

Walter Addie Thank you so much!

RubyLovesRocket I have most of the editing done, just waiting for final touches!

Lol, that's my biggest weakness XD

Yeah, this one has some ... interesting shots :p It's tough to get full body view!

Understandable, especially if you're working with limited space.

Francesca Trapani, most of the images are from the late 1300s to early 1400s, so all told it's quite late in the medieval period! I played it a little fast and loose with my image selection :p

I am so glad you enjoyed it! The fabric pattern is a brocade my lovely bf bought for me, I am not sure where you can buy it today, but hopefully you have luck finding something similar!

Another question: what is the best way to join SCA? I have been following my local group on FB for a while, but I was wondering if you could do a video on what to expect?!? I'm clueless and I don't know anyone within the group, so I feel hesitant about trying it.

I am glad you liked the video! The fitted kirtle is very popular, and in my experience, especially so for busty gals! It is certainly not as structured as a corset, but still works well, and most feel it is more comfortable. I have not seen any evidence of boning in pre-16th century dresses like this, but it could be fun to try as an experiment! Make both styles and compare!

As for joining your local SCA group, it can be a little tough to make friends at first, but my recommendation would be to go to big event (maybe a Crown Tourney or Coronation?) and put on your friendliest extrovert game-face. Walk up to as many people as you can and say "Hi, I am new and trying to learn more about the SCA! What's your favorite thing to do at events?" Not everyone will be down for chatting, but many will, and this is a great way to make friends!

Morgan Donner I had no idea you had a RU-vid channel. I followed your blog posts this summer and made a Kirtle. I wear a bra size 38G. And found it plenty supportive.

I sew Iron Age (pre-medieval) clothes and I just go ahead and wear a very "un-period" bra under it all. The clothes as so 'covered-up' that none of the bra shows, anyway.

My fabric was actually a bit of a courting gift from my now husband - he worked at a fabric store, and saw that I had been pinning historical brocades on Pinterest for the past several weeks. I am not sure where I would get it if I were specifically looking for brocade, but when I get lucky and see it in the wild, then I'll often take a moment to browse through that same Pinterest board to see if the fabric in my hands looks similar to some historical examples (Link, in case you want to check it out! www.pinterest.com/morgandonner/fancy-fabrics).

@@MorganDonner thank you so much :) I will continue my hunt :) sounds like a very nice courting gift, my boyfriend is also into historic reenactment, and so for christmas he made me a replica of one of the small chests from the Oseberg burial (viking age). It's so lovely to be given gifts based on mutual interests :)

Hi Valkyrie Frida. I know I’m responding 8 months after you posted your comment but I do know of a couple of sources for period appropriate silk brocades. I live in Florida and only have big box fabric stores and local quilting shops near where I live. I am beginning to think that these large fabric stores think that quilting is the vast majority of the sewing being done today. Synthetic brocade fabrics are just awful. I never find silk locally so I have to search online for what I’m after. These are a few places that I have found that might help you out. I’ve bought some gorgeous ones from RenaissanceFabrics.net. They specialize is historically correct fabrics and have absolutely amazing silks, linen, cotton fabrics as well as some patterns from JP Ryan and The Tudor Tailor. They also have some lovely ribbons and trims available. I have bought 10 yards of the most incredible silk brocade for a 15th century gown from them. It’s a blue and gold color. They don’t have that particular one anymore but they do actively look for period appropriate fabrics. Another place I’ve looked at many, many times but have not ordered from yet is Sartor Fabrics. They are based in Europe but I don’t recall the exact country at the moment. They take actual historical fabrics that are in museums and recreate them. Prices can range for $25 USD per meter to $100 per meter depending on what you’re looking for. I follow them on Facebook as well so you’ll get advanced notice of sales and you can cast your vote as to what reproduction of fabrics you’d like to see them produce. The nice thing is that they actually reproduce the fabrics that their followers vote for! One other place I know of, but have not ordered from yet, is SilkBaron.com. They have many, many silks and the nice thing is that if you buy a silk taffeta color from them, 10 years later, they will still have that exact same color available unless it’s a special, limited edition color. I can’t attest to the weight or quality but from the reviews I’ve read from others in the historical clothing world, it’s very good. I’m not 100% sure if they have brocades but it’s worth a look and their silk taffeta fabrics are so lovely. They also let you order swatches! There is also a shop on Etsy called Ensembles of the Past. Sarah is very sweet and helpful. She focuses on civil war era fabrics but she will get beautiful silks in stock. Right now she has a gorgeous silk velvet available so you never now what she will be able to locate. I always recommend to fellow costumers to check her shop because you never know. You might find the perfect fabric. There is one other place I shop at a lot even though they are an heirloom sewing shop. It’s Farmhouse Fabrics. They have mostly exquisite fabrics of top quality for heirloom garments that are geared towards sewing for children but they have a lot to offer. They have gorgeous wools, pure linen fabrics, silks, really high end stuff. They also have leather skins available. They are a good place to check. I’ve never seen silk brocade but they get some amazing things in there and you just never know what you’ll find. They also have some unique trims. You’ll likely find some things you never even knew you needed! I hope that this helps you out a bit but you might have found what you’re looking for in the intervening 8 months. I love it when fellow seamstresses share our favorite online suppliers because there are gems out there that have some amazing finds! I hope that you find the perfect fabric that you’re looking for.

Remember to check out upholstery fabrics.

Thanks! This particular outfit is actually a rather alarmingly high percentage of 'unnatural' fibers like poly and acetate, since I got several of the components on sale or as gifts. Ideally, the under and over dresses would have been either wool or silk.

Don't forget it!

I don't know that I've ever seen a illumination or statue depicting that, but I have to imagine it was done at least sometimes, especially with thicker liripipes as you mention!

Nice one!

Try it; if it works, someone in the past probably did it too.

Sorry about that! I'll try to keep that in mind in the future.

Oh, that's a great idea! I need to get myself one!

@@MorganDonner I find them so useful.

Laziness. I totally could have unlaced it, and sometimes do, but for some reason didn't this time.

Thank you! I am always looking for improvements, but I am afraid I am not familiar with nose flowers! Can you tell me more?

Morgan Donner sure! ancient European ppl believed bad air call miasmas caused illness to combat this they used flowers in their pockets😊 they also carried charms or metals for spiritual protection

Morgan Donner not sure what else ppl needed. with all that protection😏 but a hankie was a possible

Ah, ok, I am familiar with that! I have never personally carried around a smelling sachet, but that might be a fun project to make!

Morgan Donner thank u, im a new subbie now! cant wait to see ur video😊

the same thing! obviously images of larger ladies aren’t quite as common given most people didn’t have the same access to food that we do ;) however there are many wonderful costumers out there that dress in this period and they all look incredible. the only one coming to mind right now is edyth miller of the compleatly dressed anachronist, but she’s a marvellous seamstress and i would highly recommend her blog :)

Depends on the era. This era she's dressing in- no stays.

Not at that point in time

This is the first time I have ever been told that I have an America/Canadian accent....🤣 Fun!

I actually meant it may be American or Canadian. Coz it sure ain’t British lol

The accents actually used by people back then no longer exist. It's actually very likely that they spoke with very little accent, much in the way of Americans and Canadians. The British accent originated from a king with a speech impediment. Other noble families were encouraged to copy it to fit in, and much like with fashion, others took on the accent from there.

It's the same reason most English speaking north americans have mild accents. The British accents started becoming popular in the 1800s, after the US broke off.

@@janierose4786 How can you say that Americans have a mild accent? That would mean that American English sounds the closest to the standard of how English "should" be spoken, but with all the historical and geographical difference in English dialects, how could you even claim that a standard exists? Maybe semantic, but your comment confuses me a lot. Wouldn't to someone, who speaks a typical British dialect, their own accent sound mild, while an American would seem very strong?