For those who are looking for complete equipment for a child aged about 3-8 years, I wrote an overview of how we came up with reenactor equipment for a little boy. There are costumes that I haven't had time to photograph and discuss each of them individually in a separate post, because they were sewn in a hurry a few days before the event. Gradually, I will pay attention to each piece of clothing in more detail (shirt, jacket, accessories...)
The outfit for the period of the Thirty Years' War was made before our son's 3rd birthday. His previous costume for the age of a toddler up to 2 years differed from the new one in that it was gender neutral - that is, it was a universal costume for both girls and boys, as children at this age wore the same clothes, gender indistinguishable. Because I discussed in detail how little boys gradually got out of dresses and changed into boy's clothes in the article about growing hose, I'll go straight to what the new costume looks like.
The costume consists of growing clothes that can be lengthened and expanded with age (or modified by minor stitching/increasing in size). The basis is a shirt, hose, socks, shoes, an upper warm layer. With a child, however, it is more than necessary to have more layers of clothing, because they get dirty more often, so we also have a warm coat as a replacement for the entire costume. The equipment also includes accessories that will make the children's stay at the event more pleasant - toys and other accessories that dads got.
What did I want to achieve?
LE NAIN brothers. Peasant Family
Detail of poor boys in worn clothes. A simple type of shirt can be seen - probably heirloom, with a larger collar and neckline, which also suggests that the shirt is probably quite large, heirloom. In addition to the base layer – the linen shirt, we also see woolen hose. Their pattern is the same as for adults, they are straight or balloon-shaped and gathered at the waist. Again, based on their size, I think they are heirloom.
LE NAIN, Antoine. Peasant Children
Detail of boys dressed again in worn clothes. Again, we see a larger collar and neckline on shirts. Through the flap we can see that the shirt is longer. We again see hose reaching below the knees, with a straight cut, and here also in a set with a second outer layer, which is a doublet - in the same color and fabric. We see patches, torn pieces of clothing, showing that heirlooming clothes and managing them for life until they were completely torn and impossible to repair was quite common among the poorer class. Except for one boy, the figures have woolen socks and leather shoes to tie. I like the hat of the boy playing the flute, but also the very interesting cap of the boy on the right - I can't quite identify the pattern, I'm not sure if it's a combination of a cap and some kind of scarf and if this headgear is sewn or knitted.
LE NAIN brothers. Young Musicians
Detail of young musicians in clothing showing the bottom layer again - shirt, straight-cut hose with pleats at the waist and pockets, doublet, this time in a color that doesn't match the hose. We also see here a woolen cloak, woolen leg warmers and slippers, or maybe just old, worn-out shoes, as well as headgear and musical instruments.
BRUEGEL, Pieter the Elder. Children´s games
Children´s games - my endless inspiration since my first children's costume. The most practical piece of clothing is in this picture - it is a simple coat to put on over the head or with an opening along the entire length. We see it in different forms, one-piece or sewn from two pieces with a gathered lower part. It was worn in different ways, with or without a belt, short or long, and it can also be adapted to other historical periods due to its versatility.
Ibid.
Although our son prefers to wear a hat, I have always liked the pictured caps and bonnets. I made a bonnet despite the fact that it is not typical for a Czech military unit in this period, and was no longer worn on our territory at this time.
CLAEISSENS, Anthuenis. A Family Saying Grace before a Meal
A family prayer before a meal depicting middle-class boys in collars, doublets ensembles with hose, tights and simple slip-on shoes (picture detail).
Anon. Three boys with baskets
One domestic picture of three poor boys with baskets. The original painting is located today at Kozel Castle, here is a photo taken in the publication Clothes and its Development in Western Bohemia from 15th to 17th century by Veronika Pilná. Quoting author's description (p. 322): "At the front, sitting on an oval basket, is a boy with short white pants, a torn shirt at the front, and a brownish vest. The boy leaning against the first boy is wearing dark hose, a white shirt, and a brown loose jacket. We can see a tight round cap on the head. The third of the boys is captured similarly. He is wearing brown below-the-knee pants, a loose-fitting top and a white shirt. All the boys are barefoot."
Step by step
Shirt
It's good to have multiple base bottom layers, because there's bound to be a moment when you need to change the child. The last time my child ran around in a shirt was in the spring rain and he was soaking wet. It would be best to have a few of those shirts just in case. I tried to sew a maximum growing size - the sleeves are very long and their length is placed in reserve, the length of the shirt is also long and one third of it is placed in reserve and the neckline is large, which is collar-based and can be pared out in its vicinity and the circumference of the neck could be increased.
The pattern for the shirt is from the book The Tudor Child: Clothing and Culture 1485 to 1625. It's a very simple pattern that can also be used for an adult. I followed instructions of the pattern in detail except for the slight simplicity of the sleeves - which I left unruffled and uncuffed as they are "growing sleeves". When my son grows to the last length, I'll sew cuffs with buttons.
For one of the shirts, I tried to do the details of sewing underarm and neck gussets according to publication Seventeenth Century Women's Dress Patterns (book one, p. 118), where a reconstruction of a preserved women's shirt is shown in detail (it is now in the Victoria&Albert Museum under the number T.243-1959), and where such gussets are sewn on (gussets are typical for shirts of both sexes in this period).
The pattern of a boy's shirt isn't much different than the variations I made for my husband. The base is two rectangular panels forming the body of the shirt, one of which, the front one, has a neckline. Two smaller rectangles are sleeves. The remaining tiny geometric shapes are two triangles for the neck gussets at the collar, two squares for the underarm gussets, and two long rectangles for the collar. This pattern should be described in detail in a separate post, so don't forget to see if I've already written it down. :)
Our first ever boy´s shirt that I made on a traditional July visit to our historic group Sinister at Pecka Castle.
A visit to the open-air museum in Vysoký Chlumec, where we spent one great afternoon as farmers in the company of the historical group Die Kompanie and Danar.
Our shirts are fastened at the neck with a fabric button, which may not be the best option for some children. Our son has already ripped it off twice in anger because he failed to get the button out the first time. The second option may be string binding, which the son loosens easily at that age, but he can't tie himself yet.
The shirts are all sewn by the hand, but The Tudor Child publication also lists a type of seam that can very well mimic a machine seam by hand.
Growing hose
KETEL, Cornelis. Double Portrait of a Brother and Sister
Combined with the shirt, our son wears a pair of straight-cut hose with gathering at the waist.
I also reconstructed such children's hose according to the instructions of the publication The Tudor Child and described them in detail in this post.
In warm weather, the son spends most of his time in woolen trousers and a shirt. Both are very breathable and comfortable, which is always a priority for me at children's costumes.
The hose are very practical. In addition to the reconstruction of the sewn-in pockets (also according to the instructions from The Tudor Child), I recommend wearing a belt with them - not only to fasten the pants, but also for the pourse, pouch, knife sheath and all the other accessories that little boys love.
Lightweight woolen waistcoat
TENIERS, David the Younger. Spring (detail)
This lightweight unlined wool waistcoat was made in a hurry two days before the event. I needed some kind of insulation layer for summer days, but there wasn't much time, I would need more days for a nice doublet. I didn't have any layer in mind for cold summer evening, and due to lack of time, I opted for the simplest top I could think of.
The patern can be found in Clothes of the Common People 1580 – 1660 by Stuart Peachey. The author states that such a waistcoat was sewn from one layer as an insulating intermediate layer - it was worn over the shirt, but under the doublet. In winter, it was worn tucked into trousers for better protection against the cold. Some waistcoats were also sleeveless, in the form of a vest (I'm just getting ready to sew it).
This publication is currently unavailable and we thanks for this pattern to Milan from Common Slovak Reenactors, who promptly sent it to me when I remembered that he had once sewn it himself. He described how to warm up to it on their blog.
New waistcoat at Pecka Castle. I didn't have time for hems, but we had such a great top and my son was happy and warm in it.
There is a great opportunity to recycle and use leftover material for children's costumes. For this waistcoat, I decided to cut up my mom's old coat, which she used to wear a lot. It is very soft, red wool, and its transformation into a children's historical top made us happy. And I think also my mother, who gave it to me with this memory from the 90s. 🙂
Although the pattern of the original coat was wide and there was a lot of fabric, I didn't have much fabric left for the sleeves, so I had to put them together from several parts. It's not very recognizable and I don't mind such "sticking". Period depictions often show the patchwork of large pieces as well as the sewing together of clothing from different pieces for both children and adults. Due to lack of time and recycling, I can't say how much growing this top will be. I tried to sew the largest possible size, but we have it for two years now and it fits my son just right. However, due to the undemanding pattern, it is not exactly a piece of costume that you will spend a lot of time on, so it will not be a problem to create a new waistcoat. I guess it will last us three years.
In addition to "patchworked" sleeves, I made one other small change to the fit. Both the front and back parts should have a horizontal seam in the middle, i.e. in the middle of the back and on the chest. I made the front part from one piece.
I hemmed the waistcoat, although it would not be necessary from a practical point of view, the wool did not fray at all. The hemmed one is nicer after all. It's basically such a sweater, because it's also a little flexible thanks to the different angles of cutting the fabric (even 100% wool is quite elastic at the right angle of cutting).
Our rascal loves that waistcoat. He often wears it at home and says he is a knight.
Those who find even an accessory like this sweater waistcoat complicated to make might like an alternative option that I came up with by unfortunate but funny accident soon after I sewed our red waistcoat. While washing dark cotton laundry, my favorite warmest wool sweater accidentally fell in the washing machine. It took me a while to understand what I had washed, but when I did, very soon my unhappiness was replaced by a completely new enthusiasm. The sweater has shrunk to the size of a tailored waistcoat and now looks very similar in fit - it even has horizontal seams on both sides. My son now wears my sweater in the winter and could wear it to a historical event if needed. We haven't used it at the event yet, but I had it with me as a backup layer. I just made a neckline on the sweater. Both the red waistcoat and its modern version can be cut to make the size a little bigger. It is therefore possible to recycle old sweaters or some solid color children's sweaters. For children's costumes, a more or less non-historical solution is tolerated, but if a modern piece is maximally adapted to look period and does not spoil the whole outfit, I would not spoil the children's comfort at the event. (Because a child in comfort often also means comfort for the parents.)
Warm woolen cassock
TREVELYON, Thomas. Trevelyon Miscellany
As the first colder event approached, additional warm layers needed to be sewn. I first considered a doublet or some kind of jacket with buttons. However, my ideas and the chosen patterns did not offer many possibilities to sew a growing costume for a longer period of time, and at the same time I wanted something where my son would not have to fasten the buttons, which at the age of three he still did not know how. So I chose something practical again, which he could put on and take off very quickly himself - a cassock modeled on Thomas Trevelyon's manuscript from 1608.
For the cassock, I chose the warmest and most comfortable material I had - the upper layer is again made of fabric from my mother's old coat, and the lower layer is thinner wool that I had left after sewing my 15th century kirtle.
The pattern again comes from the book of patterns Clothes of the Common People 1580 – 1660 by Stuart Peachey, and while talking about the practicality of children's tops, Milan from Common Slovak Reenactorssent it to me immediately, thank you Milan! Milan's reconstruction of the cassock can be found on his blog as well .
Cassock is a very comfortable and practical choice for a small child. You can run freely in it, and thanks to its looser cut, the child feels good in it even with several layers underneath. He wore it over a red waistcoat, under which he had a linen shirt, and in a colder weather an extra layer would fit. I will also discuss more about sewing a cassock in a separate post.
The cassock resembles a very comfortable sweatshirt and has a warm collar with interlining. According to Stuart Peachey, such jackets were mainly worn by soldiers and sailors in various colors and fabrics. In England, many cassocks are documented in breweries, so they were probably worn by brewers.
Long coat
I sewed a children's coat for the first time for our very first universal growing outfit for a girl/boy aged approx. 8 months to 2 years, which I discussed in detail in a separate post. I was inspired by the same painting by Bruegel. I tried to sew this coat again, if possible from the most similar fabric and the most similar pattern, because it was so pratical in the rain and in the winter and is really cozy for many reasons.
Coats are both sewn from a stiffer gray wool without a lining, which is almost waterproof, so we made such a historical raincoat. Both have a slit on the chest for easier pulling over the head, but unlike the toddler version, I have now omitted the hook closure and made the slit on the neckline only decoratively hemmed. Both are long to the ankles, so that the child is as warm as possible and at the same time there is a reserve for growth. I only sewed this layer as the third one, because I wanted primarily to have shorter layers sewn, in which children can climb all kinds of obstacles better and are therefore more practical from the point of view of romping at a historical event. However, I would recommend this layer to anyone who wants to keep the child warm from head to toe and at the same time not let them get wet (if you use a similar wool). It is suitable as a spare layer, it is universal (for both girls and boys) and also practical from the point of view of the period - you can also use such a coat for the 15th and 16th centuries.
The pattern is very simple. Both the sleeves and the length of the coat are "growing" - so the coat is a bit looser to begin with. I am going to describe this coat in more detail in a separate post.
The neckline can also be enlarged and hemmed again with a simple and quick blanket stitch.
Head cover
Ever since our son outgrew his first costume and abandoned his toddler linen coifs, his favorite head cover was the hat. Of all the head coverings, I think this one is the best, universal – for cold, rain and sunny days. He likes to collect various feathers for his hat and then decorate it himself.
Hot days at Pecka Castle in a linen shirt and hose that are not gathered at the bottom and thus provide excellent ventilation. The hat protects him sufficiently from the sun and my son likes it because it reminds him of both a knight and a musketeer, a pirate - in short, he is a master of disguises. I considered making a straw hat for summer days.
BRUEGEL, Pieter the Elder. Children´s games (detail)
I also sewed a bonnet for the whole outfit, Bruegel was of course my inspiration again. The bonnet does not match the military group with which we are traveling (Regiment zemské hotovosti), but fortunately, there could be an exception at children. From the beginning, I was happy for any head covering. My son loved the bonnett at first, but his sister took it away very quickly, so the bonnet is now part of the girl's outfit, leaving my son with his favorite hat.
The bonnet is sewn in detail according to the instructions of The Tudor Child publication and its separate sewing description will also be described in its own post soon.
A knitted hat is also suitable for children. You can be inspired either again on Children´s games, where different headgear is also included, or surviving caps, many of which are from the Tudor period (basically what we see at Bruegel's), can also be found on the museum's website. I've made a collage above for comparison: top left is a knitted cap we owe to our Balkan aunt, which could be such a suitable alternative to what's on the right - a child at Bruegel's games with a similar cap, and below - extant cap located in the Victoria & Albert Museum – densely knitted, woolen, very warm and waterproof, which protected the neck and ears. More similar hats are preserved, but for a child I find the ear hat the most practical, which is why I always have this woolen one with me at the event as a reserve.
We can see that similar and even sewn caps were also worn in bohemian territory - here is the extant specimen from Václav Vilém Popel from Lobkowicz, which is located in the Regional Museum in Mikulov. We know about Václav Vilém Popel's cap from the text about his burial equipment, that it is a "common type of night cap, also intended to be worn at home during the day". It is similar to other surviving caps and was therefore common during the Thirty Years' War period. Regarding the pattern, we know from the text about the burial equipment: "The outer fabric is plain uncut silk velvet and the lining is silk plush. The cap consists of four identical wedges, straight at the bottom and tapering at the top, the edge is formed by an inverted lining.” I would very much like to reconstruct this type of cap. The little boy in the above-described painting Three Boys with Baskets has a similar hat.
Shoes and stockings
Probably the easiest would be to let the children run barefoot. But since this is not always possible for many reasons, we are equipped with appropriate shoes and socks that look as period as possible. The collage shows that the children wore both sewn and knitted stockings. Center left is a detail with a little boy in low shoes and white stockings and on the right on detail from Vrancx there are one rolled up stockings. We see the short one in detail with peeing child by Bruegel at the top. Our son mostly wears white cotton socks in the summer, which were originally over the knee socks, but now they have shrunk and are shorter, so we have knee socks. For white socks, I recommend soaking them in black tea for a while to give them a nice period look. (Roiboos also dyes well for us.) On colder days, we wear woolen socks, and when it gets cold, I put my son on both stockings and knitted socks after my grandmother, who had a surprisingly small foot. You can use basically anything that will look period, mainly to keep children's feet warm.
I wouldn't underestimate flea markets and grandma's closets. These knitted socks made by my grandmother are very warm and keep the feet warm enough, even if my son only wears thin slip-on shoes. I also found nice knitted socks that look like the ones preserved above from the Museum of London on the handmade portal Fler (the biggest handmade protal at Czech Republic - somehting like Etsy), where it is also not a problem to have someone knit them for you.
Ever since our son couldn't fit into his first hand-sewn historical shoes, I planned to sew new ones, again according to the instructions of The Tudor Tailor (I wrote about them in our first baby outfit), but due to lack of time I had to improvise. According to the iconography and preserved findings, children either wore fashionable flip-flops like adults or some very similar type of slip-on shoes.
For inspiration: three preserved children's shoes with perforated side leather tabs for lace-up - top left low shoes/clog with leather upper, top right shoes with a visibly folded tongue and below one with decoration for the little countess, but again similar in type.
Due to the lack of time, I decided to buy leather slip-on shoes, which will not disturb the overall historical appearance of the costume. Our son liked them so much that we buy it repeatedly and the historical shoes remained unsewn. This type is definitely suitable for such a small child also because he can easily get into them (and out of them) and I don't have to constantly fly around and tie the shoelaces. In addition to the shoes purchased on the Internet for a small price (see list below with links to sellers), I also improvised by lining the sturdy shoes with leather, in order to have some warmer and sturdier shoes. If a sibling inherits the shoes, it pays to invest more time in the shoes. Our leather slippers stay dry inside for a long time even when walking in wet grass, and our two children really liked them.
Accessories
Perhaps the most popular accessory our son has (besides his hat) is his belt. He likes to hang whatever he can on it - mainly a pouch, a sword, a scabbard with a wooden knife, and the new purse he got for Christmas.
A quiet moment at the Battle at Slověnice - time to sharpen the sword. It was warm, but when the sun wasn't shining, a thinner waistcoat over the shirt came in handy. All that was needed on the feet were thinner socks with slip-on shoes, and a leather pouch with coins and stones (and probably some other secret treasures) must not be missing from the belt.
Accessories that will please almost every boy: a leather belt that you can easily make from a leather strap and a buckle, a wooden knife carved by dad in the forest, a leather scabbard for a knife sewn at home, a wooden sword bought at Libušín or at some other historical event.
We have recently added this leather belt wallet to the equipment, which I sewed as a Christmas present and which made my son very happy. I tried to make something that would be suitable for the period 15th-17th century, so that I don't have to make another purse for the other costumes as well. I managed to find something on the iconography and made a belt pouch out of softer leather that can hold a lot of the boy's treasures. My main inspiration was my favorite shop with leather accessories, where you can also find a detail of the top graphic De Nestuithaler by Claes Jansz Visscher. Detail of the belt wallet on the bottom graphic The Peasants‘ Feast by Hans Sebald Beham shows, like the one above, a simple type of belt wallet with belt loops and a spacious storage compartment, fastened with a single button in the front.
For those who have no idea how easy and quick it is to sew such an accessory, I will soon upload a tutorial for this very simple bag.
Last but not least, it is good for children to have some toys at historical events. I started with leather balls. Inspiration didn't come from anywhere other than from again Bruegel´s Children Games and at the same time archaeological findings that show us different types of marbles and balls. Balls from Harborough Market held together with clay and are lined with cloth or leather. Tennis ball from Museum of London is made of leather with dog hair filling.
The pattern of the ball is very simple. On the above preserved specimens, four flaps of leather are visible, and these segments are sewn together along the seams. I gave ours to the children for Christmas and because I knew they would play with them at home, I filled them with leftover woolen fabrics. I will post the tutorial for this quick project also.
Finally, I need to mention the children's dining set. We handed over our first wooden children's set to a younger sibling and bought a new, slightly larger set at the Battle of Libušín. I still don't have any cradles for the children, so they drink from their favorite sports bottles, which we have hidden in a linen bag (had them for the baby bottles from the very first events). However, I would like to get them some cradles soon, as they like to drink from their parents' ones. I'll let you know what we got!
Our very first baby/toddler costume: coat, dress/petticoat, woolen socks, coif and leather shoes/slippers. We really enjoyed wearing it and it served two children really well. We now have our new outfit for the boy (and a separate post for the girl is coming soon as well). It's unbelievable how much I learned while sewing children's costumes. (And now I don't mean patience and sewing with children, but real sewing skills.) So many memories with this tiny costume 💙. Don´t forget I described the creation of this first children's (gender neutral) outfit on my blog with a detailed description of all its accessories.
What did I use?
For the shirt:
For the hose:
- Brown thinner wool from the Belgrade Woolen Combine (BVK)
- Cotton brown and yellow threads for machine sewing of longer seams
- Beige linen blacksmith thread
- Brass wire from Korálkárna for making hooks and eyes for hose
- Matte yellow linen of medium weight from the LH shop for lining
For the red waistcoat:
- Mom's old woolen coat
- Red cotton thread
- Red linen thread
For a warm cassock:
- Mom's old woolen coat
- Brown cotton thread
- Burgundy linen blacksmith thread
- A thinner burgundy wool form Wooltrade
For a coat:
- A gray, stiffer wool of an unknown brand, given to us by our friend Lucyfera
- Beige linen blacksmith thread
For a bonnet:
- Gray wool from the remains of fabrics of unknown origin
- Soft beige and gray linen from the remains of fabrics of unknown origin
- Gray linen thread
For the leather belt wallet:
- A piece of thick, softer leather
- Brown linen blacksmith thread
For the balls:
- Remnants of thin leather
- Remnants of woolen fabrics
- Brown cotton thread
- Brown linen blacksmith thread
For other accessories:
- For a knife with a scabbard: a piece of wood from the forest, thin leather and black cotton thread
- For the pouch: a piece of black thinner leather and a lucet cord
- For the belt: a narrower leather strap and a historical buckle
Non-products:
- A hat
- Knitted cap
- Thin leather slip-on shoes
- Knitted socks
- Cotton socks
- A wooden sword
- Wooden dishes
What will I do differently next time?
- If I were to sew more shirts, I would prefer to choose to tie the collar rather than a button
- I will soon try to replace the slip-on shoes with normal shoes. My project for the future, in addition to sewn shoes, is also the remaking of old barefoot shoes in the style of historical pieces. More on that soon, I hope.
- I will buy a tankard!
- I will add more toys!
Highlights:
- A child can be outfitted from head to toe in "growing" items if the fit is appropriate. Some pieces of clothing are difficult to sew in a "growing"style - for example, instead of a doublet, it is better to choose something that may not fit exactly and correspond to the fashionable silhouette of the time.
- All children's clothing should be as comfortable as possible and easy to put on and take off, so that the child can help himself at any time.
- I recommend plenty of spare layers. Our child has one pair of pants so far, but he has a coat under which he can wear tights. My policy is to have one spare for each item.