|
Sewing
Tutorial:
Basic Surcote With Only Four Seams for beginners
 Re-enactors
can use this pattern for a working class surcote which isn't
too big or too formal. It can be made with two styles-
1.
high
armholes like you
see at the right. This is seen more often in the 13th century
and early 14th century and is often worn with the barbette
and fillet. (The pie-hat, hairnet and chin thingy.)
2.
low armholes.
A very basic sideless surcote. This style is mid to late 14th
century and into the 15th century, not worn
with a barbette and fillette, but with other hairstyles
and headdresses.
The instructions will be colour
coded for each style.
Orange for high armholes.
Green for sideless.
Black text applied to both types.
This is an overdress
and always has something with long, fitted sleeves underneath.
Make it from linen or wool
for day wear. Re-enactors who want to use silk, you need to be adding
extra gores to make it fancier, like the NOBLE
LADY SIDELESS SURCOTE.
Non-reenactors, you can made
it out of linen blend or wool for daywear, or silk or brocade and
with a train, it's gorgeous for feasts and festivals!
 |
Step
1
You need: your fabric, pins, scissors and a cotton shirt for sizing.
Don't use a stretchy one as it can give a false sense of
how it will fit you around the bust because it will have a lot of
give. Your surcote won't have that, and it will be too small.
If you don't have a cotton shirt, get thee to an Op Shop
and get one that you don't mind cutting up. Make sure it's not too
tight.
Lie your fabric flat on the floor unfolded. |
 |
Step
2
Fold your shirt and your fabric in half lengthways. The good
side of the fabric is on the inside.
It doesn't matter if your arm goes off the edge. There are no
sleeves on this surcote, so it doesn't matter.
If your fabric is skinny, you will need to fold your fabric double
(two runs of fabric instead of a folded over piece) before you begin.
Your folded shirt matches the side with the folded fabric.
Fabric fold check! Your fold is on the left side. Your loose sides
are on right. Your shirt is sitting right in that corner ready to
mark out your surcote. |
 |
Step 3
Marking out your pattern. This is not quite so terrifying as it
sounds.
Always, ALWAYS cut the seams a bit bigger than you think
you need. You can always take a dress in but it's really hard
to add pieces in once it's cut. The bottom one will be longer
at the bottom so you have a little train.
If you are
doing high sleeveholes, mark higher closer to where the
sleeve underarms are.
If you are
making a sideless one, mark your seam from the edge of
your shoulder straight down to your belly button and then curve
out to your hip where the dotted red lines are and then out
to the fabric edge for the skirt. The front width should be as
wide as your nipples or a bit wider. The back is wider.
You will need to mark out 2 of them. One for the front and one
for the back. You can cheat by cutting out one and simply tracing
around it to make the other one.
To get the width of your skirt, draw a line from:
under your arms to the very edge of the
skirt.
the hip (the bottom of the shirt) to the
very edge of the fabric. The wider your fabric, the more
skirt you'll have. Your centre seam is as long as your shoulder
to the ground. If you want a big train, allow more. Okay,
start pinning!
|
 |
Step 4
Just double check again that the fabric is folded the right way
on the fold before you cut anything...
It should look like this...
Cut your new surcote out.
Unpin the sides now that your dress is cut.
It looks like this if it is the sideless. The higher armhols one
will have higher armholes.
|
 |
Step 5
Unfold the surcote pieces so you can clearly see your two
pieces.
It looks like this.
If you are
making the high armholes surcote, it will look pretty much
the same front and back. One piece will be longer if you cut it
longer for a train. That is your back piece.
If you are
making a sideless one, you will have two slightly different
pieces.
One piece is thinner at the front across
the chest and shorter at the hem. This is your front.
One piece is wider at the back and longer at the bottom. This
is your back piece.
|
 |
Step
6
Unfold your dress altogether.
Swing one piece around 180 degrees so the shoulder pieces
are touching.
Make sure your fabric is the right way out so you have the two good
sides together. When it's spread out of the floor, it looks like
this.
The side you want to be the front is the one without the
train. Cut the neckline at the front a little lower. Just a
little.
Remember, you can take more off, but it's really hard to put it
back on. Okay, so now you have a front and a back neckhole.
You will want to double check the front of
your surcote is not as wide as the back, but you can trim it in
later if you like. |
 |
Step 7
Pin the shoulders together, remember to double check the good
side of the fabric is facing the good side of the fabric on
the inside.
You want your sewing on the wrong side, so the good sides face
inwards.
Pin, pin, pin those side seams all the way
from the under arm to the hip. Now try it on.
Pin, pin,
pin those side seams all the way from the hem to the hip. Now
try it on.
Once you're happy with the fit and you've adjusted your neckline,
sew your two shoulder seams and the two side seams.
Now is the time to trim the front of the
surcote a little if you want a really cutaway garment. Remember,
you need to allow enough fabric to do a rolled hem around the
side openings.
If you want to fur trim, you can, but normally
the fur trimmed surcotes have gores and extra fabric, and there's
another tutorial which is almost as easy as this one for that!
Hem your neck, armholes
and bottom hem and you're finished!
Happy sewing!
|
 You
can also line this surcote with a contrasting colour. All
you need to do is cut two of these together and sew them together.
If you are doing this, just be aware that sewing the armholes together
can be a bit perilous. Do them one at a time. Do the neck seperately.
Do the hem last of all.
ALWAYS pin and try on before you sew. It beats the heck out of unpicking
later on. If you just sew it all at once, you may accidentally sew
the surcote to itself and it won't turn back right-way out. I've
done this.
It took forever to unpick.
Other variations include making a particolour surcote- that
is one colour on one side and another colour on the other side,
but be careful cutting out that your sides line up. One entire
side should be one colour all the way from the centre
seam to back seam.
The image at the right from
the 14th century Romance of the Rose shows a super-low cut
sideless surcote. You'll notice that you can't see her kirtle underneath
at the neckline. The surcote neck should always cover the
neck of the garment underneath.
Copyright
© Rosalie Gilbert
All text & photographs within this site are the property of Rosalie
Gilbert unless stated.
Art & artifact images remain the property of the owner.
Images and text may not be copied and used without permission.
|
