The Tudor Tailor: reconstructing 16th century dress

By Jane Malcolm-Davies and Ninya Mikhaila

• 160 pages, some in colour
• 36 patterns with comprehensive step-by-step instructions
• 80 historical images
• Detailed line drawings and diagrams by Michael Perry
• Photographs showing finished reconstructed garments worn by real people
• Paperback
• 9in x 11in (20.5cm x 28cm)

This book contains all the information you need to create authentic clothes from the Tudor period. It includes 36 patterns for men and women’s clothing and headwear and is a valuable sourcebook for costume designers, dressmakers and those involved in historical reenactments.

Highly researched and historically accurate patterns enable you to make a wide range of garments, such as doublets, hose, bodies (or corsets), kirtles, gowns, hats and headdresses - even undergarments. There are also plenty of ideas for embellishment such as ruffs, cuffs, collars, embroidery and other surface decoration. General advice on choosing appropriate materials, construction methods, and an insight into the Tudor tailor's sewing kit is also included.

The full range of Tudor society is represented, including lower-class and middle-class clothing as well as the more sumptuous costumes from the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. In addition to the patterns, there are detailed drawings of each costume and information about historical context.

The first four chapters provide a social history of clothes in the 16th century, drawing on both contemporary research and primary sources such as ordinary people's wills and surviving royal records. The materials used are discussed, as well as the financial and social implications of people’s clothes, and the changes in dress from birth to death.

This book is also available at a discount in a combined offer with The Tudor Child.