When our son grew up from his first historical outfit - petticoat, shoes/slippers, cap and coat, I wanted to sew the same costume for the next period. I knew that children of both sexes and all walks wore universal clothes for a very long time - skirts/dresses. Although I see in reenector circles that such little boys already have their little breeches and copy with their costume their fathers rather than mothers, I wanted to keep this historical precision and sew for our little boy petticoat again. After a more detailed analysis of the phenomenon known as „breeching“ I decided that our almost three-year-old son will also become breeched.
According to The Tudor Child, the age at which a boy was breeched varied and in the period portraits we really see boys of different ages in dresses. After "breeching", the boys finally wore clothes as their fathers wore. However, children's clothes were sewn from cheaper fabrics, decorating was simpler (if we are talking about social classes that dress decorating could afford). Boys from lower social classes were often wearing cut-down adult garments – so they were probably also a kind of "growing panties" (The Tudor Child: Clothing and Culture 1485 to 1625, p. 31).
In the images survey only two boys under seven years had hose, among the boys aged 8-12 there are a total of 20. There are documented depictions of orphans from 1584 wearing woolen breeches made of the same fabric as their doublets. We will find such hose which matched with doublets in the painting "Hilleke de Roy and her four orphans" and this type of breeches will be the subject of my sewing. This style of breeches was worn with stockings and was common to all classes until the 17th century (ibid., p. 33).
Boys between the ages of about four and seven years spent their time mainly with women - mothers and sisters. It was a period of mental preparation for integration into the world of men and school. Thus, one could say that the turning point in a boy's life is cutting off from the world of his mother and entering the world of men. His new status is therefore also reflected in his clothing (ibid., P. 29).
However, the rule/custom of "breeching" was more complicated than it seems. There were several reasons why the boys had been in the dress and among the women for so long. They learned to potty, and then it was easier to go to it when they had a dress. Fastening or tying the breeches could have been more complicated, which is why they were waiting for the age when the child could overcome this obstacle on his own and go to the toilet on his own and also get out of his breeches and into his breeches on his own. It is also stated somewhere that dresses were the most practical "growing" clothing (see Wikipedia - Breeching). I also remember a note about a boy in a dress from a tour of Brandýs Castle. According to the guide, the reason for his dress was also that the boy was the heir to the throne. Our superstitious ancestors allegedly believed that the boy would not recognize the disease among the siblings (also dressed in dresses), so women's clothing was a kind of protection against the eventual death of the heir.
After „breeching“ the boy switched to his father's upbringing and the transition is basically very individual, depending on the child's maturity and also the possibility of spending more time with his father. It is father also who suggests the time has arrived for this transition, which is why I finally dressed our boy in hose. Apart from the fact that he has been going to the potty for a long time and is well-developed, I decided that in his petticoat he would find it difficult to do some of the activities he loves to do, and he could start to get tangled up in his clothes. This means, of course, general behaving - climbing and jumping after everything he sees. I believe that the children used to crawl in the same way before, but this decision will make our stay at the event more pleasant. Because our son has been going to the forest and on trips for a long time without his mother and is generally quite in the care of his father, I decided that "breeching" was appropriate. In addition, his dad said he would give him hose. So we can say that the father decided on the transition and we followed the historical procedure!
What did I want to achieve?
Anon. Hilleke de Roy and Four of Her Orphans
Detail of Hilleke de Roy and Four of Her Orphans - the boy has breeches and doublet made of the same fabric, the breeches are probably tied to the doublet. They have a straight pattern with a gathering around the waist.
KETEL, Cornelis. Double Portrait of a Brother and Sister
Detail of a little boy in similar hose.
JUVENEL, Nicolaus. Bildnis des Balthasar IV Paumgartner
Portrait of Balthazar IV. Paumgartner in similar hose made of a more ostentatious fabric.
Circle of Jan Claesz. Portrait of an unknown boy with a horse and a dog
Similar hose with a balloon waist, straight pattern. They reach below the knees and are tied above the calves.
Anon. Filippino di Francesco I de Medici
A portrait of Francesco I de' Medici in more ostentatious breehces of a similar pattern.
LE NAIN brothers. Young Musicians
Young Musicians - detail of hoses of children from poorer classes, their abundant display can be found at Le Nain.
LE NAIN, Antoine. Peasant Children
Peasant children, detail from Antoine Le Nain.
LE NAIN brothers. Peasant Family
Peasant family - detail of boys in breeches.
KRAECK, Jan. Bildnis des dreijährigen Gerolamo B. Tosi
I also managed to find a three-year-old boy – it´s a portrait of Gerolamo B. Tosi.
VRANCX, Sebastian. The Month of November
The month of November from Vrancx and the boys in breeches of a similar pattern.
VRANCX, Sebastian. The Month of January
One more detail from a painting by Vrancx, this time the month of January.
POURBUS, Frans the Younger. Charles d'Arenberg and Anne de Croy with their family.
One of a more ostentatious type, but of a similar pattern. Detail of Charles d'Arenberg and Anne de Croy with their family.
Anon. Boy with Colf Stick
One with a decorative braid on the sides.
CLAESZ, Jan. Five-Year-Old Boy
One nicely ballooned…
First boy´s costume made for electoral prince Johann Georg (II) of Saxony (1613-1680)
And last but not least, one preserved (but really the last of the sources, otherwise it would never be the end), which I photographed in the Residence Castle in Dresden. According to the label, the doublet and hose are the color of "peach blossoms", they are sewn from silk satin and beige taffeta and decorated with pink and gold silk ribbons.
Step by step
You can find the pattern for these breeches either for purchase online or in The Tudor Child: Clothing and Culture 1485 to 1625. This is a pattern that is applicable to all social classes from 1540 to 1625.
Here you can find a link to the pattern for both hose and doublet. In my opinion it is more practical to buy the book.
The first thing I did was make a mock-up out of an old sheet. A basic pattern of breeches with a waist for measuring on a body of a child was enough – to get an idea of how big a reserve for growth will need to be sewed.
The hose are sewn from the brown wool. It is a 35-years-old lighter weight wool from the Belgrade Woolen Combine (BVK), which no longer exists. My mom worked there, so I have a few such precious materials. This wool is very soft to the touch and does not scratch at all, which is ideal for a children's costume. I cut the leg pieces in the top fabric and lining, adding 12mm (½ in) seam allowance all around. With the right sides facing, I pinned the front leg pieces to the back leg pieces down the long side seam only. I sewed these together, leaving the opening for pocket.
The lining is sewn from medium weight yellow linen, which once served as the lining of my cloak. I had this lining evaporated and it was just enough for the boy´s hose.
The lining is ready – it´s sewed the same way as the upper material, ignoring pockets.
After sewing the basic parts of the hose from linen and wool, it was necessary to make pockets that are sewn to the wool part of the hose before sewing the lining. This is the first time I have sewn historical pockets and I am pleasantly surprised with their solution. It differs from the modern ones in several elements. They are sewn in the place between the lining and the upper fabric, so unlike today's ones, you will not feel their ends from the inside of the hose, so they are hidden from the inside and outside. They are also very interesting in terms of pattern - they have a piece of fabric in the middle, which is made of the same material as the upper material, woolen part of the hose. It took me a while to figure out why this strip is hidden at the farthest point of the pocket - this is because when the load is placed in the pocket, the yellow fabric in the lining color is not visible, but only this dark strip of the same color as the upper fabric. The pockets are therefore hidden, they are not completely visible at first glance.
Stitched pocket ready to insert into hose. The open ends are the future entrance to the pocket where the hand will be inserted.
The pockets are ready to be inserted into the hose.
Pinning the pockets to the hose - after opening the pocket, a woolen strip of fabric can be seen inside. The use of hose will show how much this optical illusion will work in real life. Of course, it will also depend on how well the pocket is sewn.
Load test - the pocket is still just pinned.
Pinned pocket.
The pocket is sewn on.
Open pocket at the entrance.
This way we sew the second pocket and we can sew the inside leg seams.
I sewed the inside leg seams and pressed them open. Turned one leg right side out and inserted it into the other leg. I sewed the legs together leaving the front open.
Hose after both pockets and inside leg seams were sewn.
The linen pocket is visible now, but should not be visible on body.
After sewing the pockets, the lining is attached.
I measured the length of the hose so that there was enough reserve for wearing for the next few years - about 5 cm in length is in reserve and the hose can be easily extended by evaporation. (I leave them a little longer at the beginning, due to the rapid growth of my son, so they will be a little longer when first worn.)
I sewed the lining in place along the opening edges with my favorite prick stitch.
The gathering of the waist and sewing of the waistband follows. I cut the waistband in linen and top fabric, adding 12mm seam allowance all around. I sewed the lining into the waistband aong the top edge only.
The lining was sewn again with prick stitch.
Before sewing the waistband, the hose must be gathered so that the circumference corresponds to the length of the waistband. I made a wider stitch with a stiffer thread.
When gathering, I always make at least two rows of stitches.
I pinned the waistband to the gathered edge of the hose with the right sides facing.
I sewed the waistband to the hose.
Then I sewed the rest of the lining, again with the prick stitch.
Sewing of waistband was completed with the last stitches at the opening edges.
The lining at the bottom was then sewn on.
The bottom of the hose is ready.
The last thing left to do is measure the current width of the waist and sew the fastening with a reserve for growth. The hose are folded inwards and sewn so that the waist can easily evaporate and enlarge as it grows.
On each side there is about 5cm reserve for waist growth.
I chose to fasten the hose on a hook and eye. They should be tied to the doublet according to the pattern and fastened with a button. Since my son does not yet have a doublet to which we can tie the hose and the hose will gradually increase with growth, I chose the simplest possible fastening. (We easily evaporate the hook and sew it again.) When the son grows to the size of hose, which we can no longer enlarge, it will also make sense to sew a button and create a pairs of eyelets around the waist for trussing the hose to the doublet.
Boy´s hose are ready.
Pulled-out pocket of the finished hose.
First test. He couldn't wait.
The hose are so comfortable that our son wore them at home and did not want to take them off.
Hooray, we´re at the castle. Let's try it with the whole boy´s outfit. He wears hose with a belt, which strengthens them even more at the waist. They are very comfortable and warm. In summer, they are also very comfortable, as they are wide and ventilated nicely.
What did I use?
- 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
- Matte yellow linen of medium weight from the LH shop for lining
What will I do differently next time?
- I´ll bet on belt support. Wearing the costume at home showed that the hose slipped a bit on the linen shirt and need some supportive fastening in addition to the hook. At first I tried to sew tapes on the inside of the waistband and tie the hose on the inside, following the example of modern tracksuits, but it didn't hold more than a hook. In the end, the belt is the best solution, because our child loves the belt, he can hang his purse and it holds really tight even during the biggest jumping. It is also good to sew the hook as strong as possible so that the hose do not open themselves.
Highlights
- The hose are surprisingly very simple and quick to sew
- It is good to think about the comfort of the child and choose a soft material, especially a soft wool
- The hose should be fine for several years (according to my estimate up to about 8 years), there is at least a 10 cm reserve for the child's growth at the waist and the length of the trousers can be extended by at least 5 cm
- The pockets pleasantly surprised me, they work as they should - under load they reveal a dark wool stripe sewn in the middle of the pocket, I just don't know how practical it would be to repair them, as they are hidden in the interlayer (between the lining and the upper fabric)
Thanks!