simple working dress with Grande Assiette tailoring
March 14, 2010: I've been trying to fit Grande Assiette sleeves for my
Dürer dress. After setting at least a dozen trial sleeves into the bodice, I finally came up with
something that look alright and gave me quite free arm movement. I wanted to use the new pattern to make a simple dress first and
see how well it looks and works in a 'real' dress.
Unrestricted arm movement is the trick of the Grande Assiette tailoring - read a lot about it
here.
In short, Grande Assiette sleeves are set much more deeply into the bodice (particularly at the back and below the arm) while still
remaining a fitted appearance. They originate from men's (padded) arming doublets which were worn under plate armor and thus needed
to fit close to the body while still granting free movement of the arm. (And we all know what restricted arm movement is once we have
worn a modern blazer or suit...) By the end of the 15th century, Grande Assiette sleeves became popular in women's (working) clothing
as well. You can see Grande Assiette examples for example in the Housebook end elsewhere (notice the deep armhole at the back and the
close fit under the armpit):
women's dresses with Grande Assiette sleeves
I wanted to use the Grande Assiette sleeve pattern first in a simple dress with short sleeves, an everyday or working dress. Short sleeved dresses or kirtles were often worn with pin-on sleeves, thus making a very versatile garment: Take off the sleeves and roll up your shift's sleeves for work (picture 1), pin on simple everyday sleeves (picture 2 and 3) or, if you can afford it, wear expensive damast or brocade sleeves (picture 4) on a Sunday. The length of the dress's sleeves varies from just below the shoulder to above the elbow, and so does the length of the pin-on sleeve:
pin-on sleeves of varying lenght
Here are some examples of (working) dresses with short sleeves. The first is a simple, early example with front lacing. The women in the first and second image wear their short sleeved dress directly over the shift. In the third image, you can see blue sleeves fastened to something below the red dress (although you can't see an additional layer of clothing besides the shift at the front opening). The last image shows a short sleeved dress worn as third layer of clothing (the virgin wears an additional dress below that is not an undergarment).
short-sleeved dresses
April 03, 2010: My dress
I've used medium weight, indigo coloured wool for my dress. I've cut 2 fitted panels each for front and back of the dress and inserted 4
gores below the waist (which gives a total hem width of around 4 m). Bodice and sleeves are lined with medium weight, white linen. As in
most pictures shown above, the dress is laced in the front. As it is supposed to be a 'working' dress, I've made the skirt no longer than
ground length. As well, I've sewn two shorter pin-on sleeves (as in the above image of the wise virgin) to
match the lenght of the dress's sleeves. They're made from reddish, medium weight wool and lined with white linen.
making my dress
Grande Assiette sleeves
