I have pretty much gone from Not Sewing to being fairly decent in the last year. This is almost 100% due to The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant. The reason I love it is because it has very, very clear instructions for drafting a body block, sleeves, and hose, and it gives detailed instructions with every garment on a) how to modify the block appropriately and b) how the garment should fit. Thus far, we have used the instructions to fit me for a kirtle/cote (including sleeves, which aren’t 100% perfect in the wrist/hand region–they were supposed to have mitten cuffs and I had to end them at the wrists–but which are close-fitting and comfortable enough for archery) and F. for a pair of footed hosen (we had some trouble with the feet, but I think that’s inevitable). I also just used the sleeve instructions (which are BRILLIANT) to draft a straight sleeve for my Tudor kirtle.
It’s not a totally comprehensive or perfect book when it comes to medieval clothing–I wish it went far enough back for bliauts, covered other cote construction methods, and went into a crapload more detail on headwear, especially fitting hoods (which still defeats me), but it’s a really, really good basic introduction to drafting and fitting your own patterns.
So, when The Tudor Tailor came out I was really excited. I’m a fan of Ninya Mikhaila, and I was hoping for something similar for 16th century clothing. Unfortunately, not only does it not really discuss fitting very much, much less provide fantastic instructions on how to draft the patterns from a body block, but it doesn’t even tell you much about how the clothing should fit most of the time. Plus a lot of the garments are patterned very oddly when compared to the extant garments they’re based on–this is particularly evident with the loose gown.
I look at The Tudor Tailor a lot for inspiration, and it does have some good technique discussions, but I find it a lot more frustrating–it would almost be easier for me to work from Janet Arnold in some cases (okay, it definitely is).
I really hope the Renaissance Tailor book materializes one of these days, because I think her approach is much closer to that of Medieval Tailor, and the body block approach to sewing works well for me.
