FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Lady Polgara
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
I had been hesitating for a while to make a historic gown. Since I have always been interested in history, especially fashion history, I thought eventually I was going to take the plunge and get the courage to make one. So when I heard that Ruth Goodman was going to be judging the “Foundations Revealed” competition, that was it, I had to participate.
Now, for the “Once upon a time theme”, the one book that would inspire me in a costume, which I had read eons ago, was the book “Polgara the Sorceress” by David and Leigh Eddings. For the short amount of time I had, especially with the stores being closed in my area due to Covid lockdown, I was limited in the availability of material. I had already ordered a nice wool flannel to make a dress, so that was going to be the fabric. The author does not make a lot of garment descriptions in his books. The one thing sure is, Lady Polgara only wears blue gowns. From the book cover illustrations, the clothing of the characters is inspired from the medieval era.
So here I go making a medieval gown for Lady Polgara. It is a very simple gown, because the character is not inclined for anything fancy. She usually tries to keep a low profile since she lives to be 3000 years old.
Outline the construction…
I made the pattern following Morgan Donner’s explanations on her 2018 video of drafting a medieval kirtle dress pattern. I really enjoyed making the pattern, and found it relatively easy and accurate using only a few measurements. After 2 mockups, and obviously a few sleeve mock-ups, a few tweaks here and there, I was ready to cut my beautiful blue wool flannel. I had decided to fully hand sew the kirtle, including buttonholes (Youtube How to make Handmade buttonholes, from the Yorkshire Tailor) and eyelets (Youtube, Abby Cox video I hand sew a medieval dress).
Trying to stay as historically accurate as possible in the construction of the gown, I used silk thread for all the seams. That was a real joy!
I only had enough linen left to line the upper part of the dress. I had used most of the linen to make a shift to wear underneath the kirtle. To add just a little pizzaz, I lined the hem of the sleeves with gold colour silk Dupioni I found in my stash. The only thing I would do differently, to stay with historical techniques, is not to add facings for the buttons on the sleeves.
A favorite book series! You’ve certainly done Polgara justice (and exactly the shade of blue I think of her in!) Love the button detail!
Thank you so much, I feel a little more confident about it now that people can recognize her.
Oh I really like Eddings ! Your dress is really great, and fits the character very well !
Thank you Floriane
Thank you 😊
Love the buttonwork! And the shape looks great on you♡
I LOVE the book series. I’ve read them multiple times. And I love this dress. Jean is right. This is the exact shade I picture. You nailed it. Now excuse me while I pull out the books for another reading.
Thank you Manon ☺️
Thank you Manon
That is just what Polgara would wear! Wonderful!
Thank you Briana