Project: Capt. Kate's Red Outfit

Okay, I know I'm thinking about this instead of the climax of the Hyrueliana because I'm procrastinating. Well, the story needs to percolate some more and this has to be done as well. I'll probably end up starting another blog over it with my need to document: The Garb Closet, I like that for a title. I don't want to be pretentious since garb creation is a low rung on my ladder of hobbies.

I glanced through my online photo album. I have very few good pictures of pirate captain's garb, and none of the ones online have the skirt which I consider the intregal part of this outfit. And I can't draw, and since I'm at work and can't even take pics with my lousy digital camera. I'll spare readers and try to post as many photos as I can to illustrate.

*Time lapse while I attempt to sketch. Return to commentary silently cussing.* I need to invest in paper dolls. I can't draw anything resembling a humanoid shape with any symmatry. Ah! Thank you, Elizabethan Costuming Page. Apparantly, other people have issues with human figures and supplied stock figures to trace and draw on top of. Huzzah!

Using a supplied figure, I have now managed to draw an approximation of what I want the garb to look like. Karen Dick that drew the figure put her in boots, thanks! What's going to be fun is coloring all the layers once I get home. Okay, so I'll play with it in PaintShop first.

The idea I want to convey with this outfit: this is what Captain Kate thinks dressing up is. She was raised by pirates, what do you expect? She is putting her best foot forward in hopes of gaining a ship and a letter of marque from the king.

Here's the colored ideal. Save your comments on my drawing skills. I know that looks like slops (otherwise known as pumpkin pants) but it's a skirt really. And after spending hours erasing in PaintShop, I've decided all other plans will have the separate layers traced on tracing paper and then colored and scanned.


In planning this outfit, I need to consider each layer. Ignoring underwear, the first is a shirt. This is one that I have been wearing as part of pirate captain ensemble since 2003. Since the doublet collar is high and the collars on the shirts I have drive me nuts, I want to sew two shirts. Yes, two, nothing makes a difference like putting on a clean shirt during a two day RenFaire event and you have to wear the same garb.


Next layer is the corset. I used one last year and decided that it made everything simpler with the doublet layer. Unfortunately last year's corset won't survive year two.

Boots: our local cobbbler has to fix the laces but I have at least another year left in them. And I put them here because if I don't put them on at this point it become hard as hell to do it later.

Next layer is breeches. These are handmedowns from my boyfriend and nothing's wrong with them. Well, nothing other than the non-period pockets. But the skirt covering them should cub my instint to stick my hands in them.


Final layer is two parts: the skirt and the doublet.

The skirt is actually ankle length of red cotton. I keep it permanently gathered up and held in place by my belt (actually safety pins in the waistband). All I need to do is add trim, sew the tucks at the waistband, and give it a sturdy fastner.

The doublet will have to be sewn from scratch. I bought all the supplies last year, and haven't used them on anything else. I'm planning on using Simplicity #5574 View A as my starting point, but I will need to do a lot of fitting to get it sized right.