Although sewing the partlet is one of the simplest parts of my costume, more and more people are asking me to give them its pattern. Over the past few years, I have been explaining its a rather primitive construction, but so far I have not noticed anyone who will eventually sew it. Perhaps my photo tutorial will bring some light into its mysterious pattern. :)
Why do I wear a partlet? Although I answer this question very often, the frequency of asking still increases. I wear a partlet because:
- it warms me up
- I love it
- it protects the costume hidden under it
Everything else will be clear from the description below. :)
What did I want to achieve?
You will find partlet in many forms over the course of history. My model stems from early 17th century paintings and is part of my costume for the Thirty Years' War. Although its construction is really very simple, you will find many others that are even simpler (without tying, without seams, decorative collar ...).
WTEWAEL, Joachim. Kitchen Scene
Details from Joachim Wtewael's painting - partlet front with decorative collar.
Ibid.
Detail of a partlet from the back side.
WTEAWEL, Joachim- A Kitchenmaid
Partlet with a ruff. I would say - and this is just my personal presumption - that the ruff was pinned separately to the partlet, and not straightly sewn, even though it appears that the ruff is part of the entire breastplate. I admit that I have not studied this detail yet enough and I pin my ruff around the collar of my partlet sometimes - if I ever find evidence in the form of some period depiction, I promise to supplement this post with new knowledge.
RYCK, Pieter Cornelisz van. The Kitchen Maid
Detail of a not fully pinned partlet of the same style, which shows its simple construction.
I also found a surviving partlet, whose original appearance from 1560 seems to me a little obscured by many patches and possible later sewing. The partlet is exhibited at the Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum in Germany, it´s decorated with beautiful embroidery and throughout its construction it can be seen that it was really worn a lot and therefore also repaired a lot.
The partlet was reportedly found in 1994. However, I take the source with a grain of salt. It is believed that it was worn by the lady of the house and inherited by the maids until 1600. A decorative ruffle set in a high collar is visible and patches are visible at all parts of the partlet.
Tie detail - the cord is attached directly to the partlet, as well as the front side of the partlet looks sewn at the chest area.
Step by step
For this simple accessory I used only a mannikin, meter and linen (and of course everything I saw in the attached pictures above). I cut the linen straight, which is usually not my habit, I usually try everything on an old sheet first, but the pattern of this accessory is really so simple that it's not possible to ruin anything. I proceeded as follows:
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I measured the width of my shoulders and made a rectangle of the same width and with the lenght: 2x lenght from my shoulders to the stomach.
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I folded this rectangle in half, creating the back of the partlet and the front part of the partlet - I cut the front in the middle and put it on a mannikin of my size. I cut a slightly round neckline on the front of the mannikin, so that I could sew a long strip of fabric for the future collar.
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I cut the fabric on the shoulder seams - where it was folded before being put on a mannikin. Witht this I detached the front part and then I sewed it back in the same place and made shoulder seams. These seams can be left out, some partlets did not have these seams.
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I cut out a long strip for the decorative collar.
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I finished the edges along the side slopes and instead of the bottom hem on the back and on the front I made a tunnel for the string that will tie the partlet.
This is the base of the cut without the collar - just thread the string and choose the type of collar. Collar options vary, it can be made less decorative, or on the other hand, you can decorate it with lace or ruff. Since I have described this pattern live several times, when I was wearing a partlet and I am not sure it is transparent enough, I managed to find two sketches on the internet that could help.
The image ís from Margo's Patterns, you can buy this pattern (I don't have experience with this page and patterns, but I've heard good reviews on them).
This image is from the same page and you can see the construction of the collar - there is a sewn strip around the neck opening at the top (picture on the right), in which another long, gathered string is set - I made wider box pleated.
There are many ways to fold the collar. I chose the "box pleat" technique.
Try your partlet and create a collar tailored to the width of your neck and what you expect it to be. I always wear my partlet during colder weather, that´s why I chose a higher collar, which is warm enough to warm me around my neck.
First try with stitched collar and lace around the waist. The chest is closed with pins, there is still missing a string for closing the collar around the neck.
For tying, I made a lucett cord from merino wool.
Try the partlet with the costume too - make sure you can close your waistcoat, coat, etc.
If the collar is comfortable with all of yours upper costumes, there is only one thing left to do, to sew the tie - if you choose a tall collar similar to mine.
Partlet really protects from cold even in winter.
And when you´re warm in it, just untie it a little bit and remove the pins. :)
Pinning of a ruff to a partlet. Occasionally I attach it to the outside of the collar, sometimes to the inside, depending on what I wear over it. Unfortunately, I do not know how it was done yet, but I believe that the ruffs were attached to the partlets very often.
What did I use?
- Thick white linen from LH shop
- White linen blacksmith thread
- White cotton thread
- 100% merino woolen yarn in natural color
What will I do differently next time?
- Nothing, perhaps I will just sew some other partlets, because of the simplicity of their production would not hurt to have a few more nice pieces :)
Highlights:
- Partlet can be created without a seam on shoulders, for inspiration I recommend to see various pictures of different types of partlets on Pinterest
- I recommend you to try a partlet under all layers of upper costumes you will wear so that it fits nicely around your neck and does not throttle even when you close a narrow coat