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Medieval
Sewing Techniques:
Stitches, Seams & Sewing
STITCHING
- JOINING FABRIC - HEMMING
- NECKBANDS -
EYELET CONSTRUCTION - BUTTONHOLE
CONSTRUCTION - REINFORCED EDGES
 Methods
of sewing, joining seams and making eyelets and buttonholes is a topic
of great interest to many re-enactors. Contemporary sewing guides say
little about actual techniques, although snippets of information come
to us from other sources- such as advice to a young housewife when caring
for fabric that it should be 'sprayed by mouth as a tailor sprays water
on the part of a dress he wishes to hem.' This small piece of information
tells us that it was fairly common practice for a tailor to dampen a hem
with water as it is being sewed.
The image at right is a detail from an unknown illumination showing a
woman cutting and patterning.
Stitching
There is a common misconception about medieval clothing. Many suppose
that because sewing machines were not invented, the stitching and quality
of clothing was rough or poor. This is nothing more than a gross insult
to our women forebears. It must be remembered that as everything was hand-stitched,
sewing was a skill that a young girl would attain great proficiency in
at a very young age. By the time a young woman was sewing clothes for
herself or her family, a considerable level of skill could reasonably
be expected. Even a poor woman with home spun fabrics would take care
to provide her family with the best sewing she could manage to produce
garments which would be both warm and durable. Shoddy workmanship would
lead to clothing falling apart at the seams whilst the fabric was still
serviceable- a waste that the poorer woman could not allow.
Joining fabric together
Different methods were employed for the joining of different
fabrics. For a comprehensive look at archaeological sewing, please visit
Heather Jones's website ARCHAEOLOGLICAL
SEWING.
I will not reproduce all the information here when she has done such a
huge amount of excellent research already.
Three simple methods of joining fabric together are shown here-
1. First the fabric is laid with the good or outer side together. A running
stitch joins the fabric.
2. A backstitch provides greater strength for a seam.
3. A more time consuming method of seams utilises an initial join which
is then opened flat and overstitched with two lines of running stitch.
This third method makes a very solid and flat seam.
The images shown here at left
and those shown below are taken from the "Museum of London"
series of books about medieval clothing and remains their property.
Hemming
It appears that if a selvedge
could be used, it did away with the need for a hem. Cut edges, of course,
required hemming to prevent fraying. The fell stitch, where the fabric
is folded under and the folded again and
stitched into place is depicted below along with variations: combined
with a running stitch and a running stitch used alone.
 Neckbands
This example of a neckband shows that a silk
strip has been sewn to the inside of the neck of a high-grade woolen garment.
A band like this one would provide extra re-enforcing where wear and tear
is likely to occur.
It is possible that this garment or others like it had similar bands at
the ends of the sleeves to reinforce the edges which were subject to the
most wear.
The opening reinforcing is made from a narrow silk strip. It is dated
between 1325 to 1350.
 Eyelet
construction
Without the use of zips, dresses were fastened by either buttons or lacing.
It was more likely that the underdress was laced, providing and smoother
and flatter silhouette and a more snug foundation garment. The outer dress
was more likely to be fastened with ornamental buttons which were rounded
or ball-shaped rather than flat.
Shown at right, a detail of eyelet holes on silk facing from a deposit
dated at the 14th century. Traces of woolen cloth from the original garment
are able to be seen at the edges of the facing band also.
Eyelets and lacing holes on kirtles were generally no more than 2cm apart.
Placing the holes any further apart and the lacing would not prevent the
dress from gaping unattractively. A well-made eyelet was as strong as
the metal ones we use today. 
Pictured at right, are a row of eyelets made by me on a linen kirtle with
a linen re-enforcing band for added strength.
Firstly, pin your two sides of the opening together to prevent movement
whilst marking. You may use a large tacking stitch if you like. Take a
tape measure or ruler and mark out the eyelets at no more than 2cm intervals.
When you have marked the eyelets so they are evenly aligned on both sides,
you may remove the tacking stitch.
Using a double thread or a thickish linen thread, backstitch a circle
around the marked hole to provide re-enforcement. It will also give you
a guideline to keep your eyelet where you intended and prevent it becoming
lopsided.
Using an awl, pierce the fabric carefully pushing the threads apart. It
is very important that you do not tear or cut the cloth or your
eyelet will lose some of its strength or tear under pressure or repeated
wear. Make 4 stitches north, south, east and west to hold the hole open
and gently use the awl to reopen the hole.
All that remains, it to sew around the circle with close stitches, using
the awl from time to time to keep the hole open. You will be surprised
at how sturdy the result is.
 Buttonhole
construction
Similar in construction
to the eyelet, the buttonhole is achieved as shown in the picture. The
main difference in construction is that the buttonhole always needs be
cut before stitching. The blanket stitch is then used to go around the
opening.
Buttonholes, like eyelet or lacing
holes, were very close set and always ran at right angles to the edge
of the opening of the garment. Care must be taken to make the buttonhole
not too large as it will open a little with sewing.
The images shown here at right
and below are taken from the Museum of London series of books about
medieval clothing and remains their property. The image shows buttonholes
at the edge of a woolen garment from a deposit dated to 1325 to 1350.
 Re-enforced
edges
As shown here, a sample of re-enforced edges where braid is directly braided
and sewn on to the edge of the garment opening. The possible reason for
this is added strength where the buttonholes are likely to need it most.
Copyright
© Rosalie Gilbert
All text & photographs within this site are the property of Rosalie
Gilbert unless stated.
Artifact images remain the property of the owner.
Images from the Museum of London books remain of the authors.
Images and text may not be copied and used without permission.
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