Help - Tudor Costume for Kentwell

[louisea]

I need to provide DD with a costume for a school trip to Kentwell. I sew but really not well enough to make a dress and DD is larger than average so I can't find anything pre-made to fit her. I'm looking for ideas please. I'm probably going to sew a basic shift and somehow embellish that but would love some ideas on how to make it look a little better. I've looked online for patterns but everything is above my skill level for sewing. I can't be the only one out there with a costume dilemma.

When I did this with my dd the best bit was the headdress: wide black velvet hairband with black material hanging down the back from it and pearl beads sewn/stuck across hairband. It looked great in the photos, and made the rest of her costume look a lot more Tudor than it was. V easy, too.
M

Great idea, thanks.

Hi louisea

We used a disney princess costume but printed out tudor roses and taped them on for the tudor effect.

For the head dress I rolled up a sheet of crepe paper and then wrapped gold ribbon around it. DD wore her hair plaited back from the front, but then hanging down.

Very easy and made her feel quite the princess on the day.

Hi louisea,
My DD went to Kentwell Hall 2 years ago & the school insisted they wear costumes, they sent home a leaflet with instructions on how to make one
It has the 'how to cheat' when making - use a mans plain T shirt or collarless shirt, sewn up down the front, for the under garment. A full skirt & a mans waistcoat nipped in with a belt. An apron from the wasit (no bib attached) and the coif (hat) is just a circle of cloth gathered 3/4 of the edge & a brim sewn to it. I just used a pillow slip & searched the charity shops. They make it sound sooooo simple!
It was a great day out, all the kids loved it and it was quite amusing seeing the teachers dressed up

This instruction sheet might help?

I love Kentwell - when I was a child we used to live fairly nearby and went to the summer Tudor recreations. Then when I was at university I participated in a Kentwell recreation as a "low musician" on the "front sward" (the front lawn) - I made my own costume despite having practically no seamstress skills, primarily out of a large wool blanket I bought from a charity shop! Did a boned bodice and everything! We ate authentic Tudor food during the day time cooked on open fires by other participants who were acting as cooks.

I'm sure your daughter will have a great time - it's really very impressive and actually does feel like you have travelled back in time. I have a fantasy that I will go back (as a participant) with DH and the DDs (currently 4 and 1)...

Thanks you everyone. Very helpful. Now to get on with actually making something.

DD1 did this last year and loved it - she wore a long gypsy skirt (denim, but it had an apron over it) that she already had and the rest we improvised out of charity shop stuff for a total cost of about £3 plus hours of sweat, blood and tears sewing.

The apron was easy, picked up a cheap white cotton sleeveless top and cut the front out of it, hemmed it round and used the rest of the material as a tie around the waist (rolled up and hemmed to prevent fraying)

For the shirt I got lucky and found a round-necked blouse with bell sleeves that needed little modification. The bodice was originally a waistcoat.

The coif was a pain, I made the stiff part out of cardboard using the remains of the aforementioned cheap cotton top, but getting the cloth part to sit right around her hair was a nightmare involving lots of pins, unpicking an stitching.

I used the cheat sheet linked to upthread and it was well worth all the effort as DD looked great. Now I only hope that they will do it again for DD2 as I have kept all the stuff!