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Written by Tancred
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Sunday, 05 August 2007 |
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Page 2 of 3
Childrens Clothing by Ragnhild Askilsdottir
The first thing to consider when making children's kit is how much effort you can reasonably put into it. After all, children do have an annoying habit of growing out of garb just as you put the finishing touches to it. If you have a large family, or are part of a group with a lot of children in, then swapping or passing on clothing saves a lot of bother.
Fortunately, there are other ways of saving time and effort. For instance, what can you reasonably buy? A pair of plain coloured cotton trousers (not fluorescent or black) will work well under a T tunic, and your child can wear them with mundane clothing as well. Take a look at children's slippers as well, plain fabric, or velvet ones will work with late period garb, and leather moccasin style ones will be a lot better than trainers for early period. It is possible to get sheepskin baby boots in some places. Short, plain leather boots might be worthwhile as well if your offspring will wear them with mundane clothing as well, otherwise they're probably too expensive.
A plain white long nightdress will work as an underdress, if you can find one in a suitable style for your period.
Now for the stuff you actually have to make. An important point here is to make it a few sizes too big. My daughter wore her first set of garb, an underdress and a wool overdress, from the age of 3 weeks to 15 months without any modifications at all. Start your child off in a T tunic which is baggy and below the knee, and two years later they will have a mid-thigh length tunic and all you will have had to do is lengthen the sleeves by adding different coloured cuff bands as required. Jerkins and such have to fit slightly better, but you can still get away with making them in a size which allows a year or so of growth without them looking too baggy.
A gathered Viking-style under dress is a wonderful thing. You need four rectangles of fabric, and three drawstrings. It's meant to be baggy, and the sleeve length can be anything from wrist to elbow, so as your daughter grows all you have to do is add length to it. Try rolling up a big hem when you first make it, and let the material out as required. A Viking hangaroc is a rectangle of fabric, wrapped around the body and fastened with brooches. Length can be anywhere from ankle to knee, so it should last a while. Make the shoulder straps with braid to save more time. With this your daughter can wear either a plain headscarf or a simple bonnet, (see pattern). In colder weather add a long T tunic style wool dress, making it baggy and adding strips of cloth to the wrists and bottom of it as it gets too short.
If your son is prepared to wear 16th Century style clothes (he might, if you tell him that it's what pirates wore), then buy a white cotton shirt several sizes to big and cut the collar off, add a pair of plain coloured lycra leggings, a belt or sash, and all you then have to make is a sleeveless jerkin. You can add a simple hat with a drawstring around the brim for adjustability, (pattern included here), and a ruff if you think he'll go for it.
For later period girls garb try an underdress, a jerkin and hat (same pattern as for boys), and a skirt with a drawstring waist, preferably matching the jerkin.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 05 August 2007 )
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