A kirtle is more the word for an underdress, with gown for the overdress. Confusingly kirtle, when used as a half-kirtle, can also mean a petticoat or underskirt without a body garment attached.
Wide and narrow as terms suggest to me that some garments may have been made with some sort of farthingale (hoop skirt) (wide), or without some form of hoop skirt. Do you have any images to work from, or is it simply written documents? As to the ruffs, using an organza would be the easier way to minimize work later as it does have the spring needed - the neckband can still be in a soft linen for comfort. I also know folks using a monofiliment fishing line to the edges of a ruff to give that spring - in which case a nice light linen works nicely. In the period they starched it, but from firsthand experience I know that starch is a pain to keep up with, which non-historical costumers may not want to deal with. And welcome back Bjarne. :-) Kimiko On May 13, 2011, at 7:25 AM, Leif og Bjarne Drews wrote: > In some danish inventory lists, wich all are written in german ( it was the > language used then in Denmark) it is often mentioned with wide dresses and > narrow dresses. > My question is, could a narrow dress be the same as the english word “a > kirtle” > Its hopeless with danish study of danish renaissance costumes, because nobody > knows the danish terms for different costumes (costume parts) No danish words > for anything except the major things like ruffs, cuffs and the like. > Another question i have for you is: wich fabric would you recomend to use > when i make ruffs and cuffs? They should be able to wash them often, and i > thoaght about maybe using a synthetic fabric wich will hold the shape, and > dont need to be ironed, or perhaps to use silk organza, as this also is stiff > and keeps the shape. > Any suggestions and any help would be greatfull apreciated. _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
