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Keladry’s Blood Red Dress
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Outline the story …
This costume was made for the character Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan from the Series Protector of the Small, by Tamora Pierce. As a girl, Keladry was a hero to me because she was strong, tough, a fighter and protector of those who were weak and exploited. She was also tall, like me, and a lover of animals. Keladry also has a feminine side, which she likes to show when not at work as a Knight. As a knight, Keladry will have many types of missions, some more discreet than others. The outfit was designed to wear travelling disguised as a commoner or about town as a mixture of feminine and masculine styles. There is decoration and practicality, as a Knight never knows when a fight may start. The shortened length of the dress allows for ease of movement, as Keladry’s weapon of choice is a glaive and she often has to perform nimble, sweeping movements. The woven bands add flair to an otherwise plain garment. The blood red color hides stains well from battles past. The world of Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small Series showcases costume descriptions from middle ages as well as the renaissance, with a blending of many cultures. I wanted to create something that used multiple styles and cultural inspirations to match this.
Outline the construction…
All the fabrics used were hand dyed by me with materials such as madder root, juniper berries, yarrow flowers and onion skins, with mordants of alum for the linen and wool hose, and Iron for the wool overdress. I learned tablet weaving for this project. The woven bands are patterns from Shelagh Lewins’ work on a band from the Oseberg Ship Burial and variations on her work by those at Tablet Weaving in Theory and Practice. The Flowers on a Vine band shows the femininity hidden behind the practical exterior. The overdress pattern was loosely based on ideas from the Herjolfsnes finds, but altered through draping on a mannequin, with some inspiration from men’s doublets added in. The underdress is a basic squares and triangles pattern. I used the hose pattern from MedievalTailor.com, who derived their pattern from the work in Museum of London: Textiles and Clothing. Lastly, the shoes are a crude turn shoe pattern, which I created based on my pattern work from my hose. This was my first attempt at shoes. They are made from thrifted leather. It is also my first work drafting patterns entirely by hand, other than garments that were purely rectangles. I used only measurements and draping, though I have some experience in slightly altering items or following someone else’s pattern. Most of my work until this point was in costuming amateur theater productions in which items were mainly bought or rented, then altered slightly to fit.
This is definitely something I could see Kel wearing out and about!
The shoes!!! And the braided edges. Beautiful!! Gorgeous!!
I am SO IMPRESSED by how much beautiful work you did here– just jumping in and learning tablet weaving and turn shoe construction blows my mind in the best of ways. I also love how your plant dyes turned out. Such a beautiful range of colors! I can definitely see Kel rocking this look and feeling great about it.
So many different techniques in these pieces! Great job❤
Going the extra step to dye your materials, as well as getting such even coverage is impressive. Very nice!
Damn, this looks like a lot of work. Congratulations! And say hi to that kitty!
I love the earth tones, and that you “did the work” on this. Excellent weaving. Very cool shoes. Strong, varied skills. So practical, natural, and good old fashioned hands-on, sturdy work.
Hand dyed fabrics and you made your own shoes? I am very impressed. These are skills I would love to learn myself. It’s a practical outfit, but still has some nice little touches in the trim and the fit of the garments.
Holy cow! This is impressive! I love that you hand dyed everything yourself! Well done! Thank you!
Keladry! Fantastic work!