1520s Florentine Gown | 16th Century Kirtle Remade
Nearly ten years ago, I used a beautiful pink worsted wool from Burnley & Trowbridge to make a generic 16th century kirtle . I did a pretty good job with stiffening the bodice with canvas, but some things weren't working: Bodice was too long Bodice point was anachronistic for the simple styling Skirt was cut as two selvedge-to-selvedge panels so was unwieldy and bulky at the waist Skirt was faced with a scratchy nylon wool blend fabric and decorated with a wimpy velvet ribbon It sat in a bin for years until I finally decided to restyle this beautiful fabric into something I'd actually wear to dress-up events. My original kirtle, worn a few times to Renaissance Faires Pulling the kirtle out of the bin revealed that the back skirt panel was scattered with moth (?) holes and mysterious stains - I think I spilled coffee on it or sat in something dirty and put it away without cleaning it, ugh. Thankfully I had a big scrap of fabric left. It was time to get out the seam ripp...
