Van Der Weyden / Memling Kirtle

This is a Nether­lan­dish kir­tle from the 15th cen­tury. Though the style is not exclu­sive to Rogier Van Der Weyden’s or Memling’s paint­ings, I used these sources as my pri­mary inspi­ra­tion. This kir­tle has a waist seam and a sep­a­rate skirt, and the front closes with lac­ing rings and hand­made cord. This is my first waisted kirtle, and as much as I love it, I have to say I prefer the fit of the non-waisted kirtles. That said, I won't stop making these because they are also lovely!

The belt is made of vel­vet with metal fil­i­grees.
The ruf­fled veil is linen. I hand stitched all the edges!
The sleeves pin on. They're made from a bit of brocade I had in my remnant stash.

This style was also worn under the famous Bur­gun­dian, or Nether­lan­dish, gowns, in addi­tion to being worn on its own. I intend to make a new Burgundian gown in the near future, and that was my excuse to make this dress too.

The last photos are me being silly, trying to pose like the women in the very dramatic scenes I stared at for hours when I made the dress.

You can see more photos here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/van-der-weyden-kirtle/