Renaissance Doublet/Jerkin - Part I: Getting Started

This is part of a series following my progress making a doublet. 
Renaissance Doublet/Jerkin - Part I: Getting Started
Renaissance Doublet/Jerkin - Part II: Problems
Renaissance Doublet/Jerkin - Part III: Buttons

Now that I have a great kilt for the renaissance fair, I've been working on accessorizing it. I've seen a lot of kilt outfits with jerkins or doublets and would like to do something like it. All of the English doublets I've found have a prominent point in front. Jerkins on the other hand, do not. Since I'll be wearing this with a great kilt, I'd rather avoid excess fabric below the natural waist, so I'm modifying the doublet to be more of a jerkin.

Doublet patterns are a bit odd. A doublet is supposed to fit snuggly, unlike modern clothing. A pattern is really just a suggestion. You need to drape and pin to fit, copy something that fits correctly, or sacrifice an existing shirt to make a pattern.

I have an old denim jacket that fits rather snug like a doublet should. I copied it to make a pattern. It must have shrunk over the years :-)

If you want detailed instructions there are a couple of nice web sites. http://www.theweebsite.com/landsknecht/patterns.html has many basic patterns with instructions, including doublets. A very nice site with incomplete but helpful construction tips and photographs can be found at http://freespace.virgin.net/f.lea/doublet1.html. I won't go into the details here.

The interlining material is simple muslin. The inner/outer fabric is cotton broadcloth. To make it more versatile, the inner and outer fabric are complementary browns. I'm going to attempt to make the doublet reversible. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle the fasteners on something reversible. We'll see.

After a dry run with pinned interfacing (see the second link above), I was satisfied with the fit. I traced an one inch border around the interfacing on one of the outer fabrics and cut.

Doublet back interlining with incorporated collar

After cutting the outer fabric, I trimmed the corners and made stress release cuts (I have no idea what the correct term is) so the fabric would go around the curves. Trimming the corners removed enough material so I could fold fabric around the corner without adding bulk. Make sure you don't cut all the way to the interlining or your cuts will be exposed on the edge.

Next you fold the outer fabric guided by the interlining edge. Pin them down to hold in place.

Side and front panels with outer fabric and interlining pinned together

Back panel with outer fabric and interlining pinned together.

Once you have them pinned, hand stitch them together from the inside but only through the interlining layer. This will hide your stitches from view once the inner panel is sewn on.

Stitching the outer panel to the interlining

I have to stop here for now. I'm in the process of sewing the outer fabric to the interlining. I'll return with more soon.

After stitching the outer panel to the interlining, use the panels you have finished as the pattern to cut out the inner panels. Turn the edges of the inner panel inward toward the outer panel. At this point the panels and interlining are pretty thick. Instead of pinning the panels together, use metal clip barrettes. They hold pretty well and don't distort the fabric like a pin does. They are also easier to move as you work.

Use a ladder stitch to stitch the inner and outer panels together. Stitch a millimeter or two from the edge of the panels to hide the stitch between them. If you do not plan on making the doublet reversible, leave the inner panel edge slightly short of the outer panel edge. This will help keep the inner panel from showing.

Ladder stitching the outer and inner panels together

The finished panels, ready to be sewn together.

Once you've finished sewing the panels together, you can whip stitch them to each other. A whip stitch is fairly strong, and if you sew close to the edge, very little of the stitch will show on the right side. Put the panel edges together right sides facing. It's unlikely your panel edges will be exactly the same length, so start at the bottom and work your way to the underside of the arm so you can hide the discrepancy under your arms. For the shoulder, start at the shoulder and work your way toward the neck. If they are way off, you can always rip the seam at the long, adjust, and resew.

Whip stitching the side to the back.

The finished seam from the wrong side

The finished seam from the right side. Notice the length discrepancy at the right.