doublet progress/feedback requested

[anotheranon]

In a fit of dedicated sewing, I managed to cut out, assemble, and baste in place the tabs/"skirts" for my fencing doublet. I took a couple of pictures, and have some questions for anyone who's made men's Elizbethan/16th century before:


Back, showing tabs basted in place


Front, showing same

Background: I'm loosely basing this on Janet Arnold's research of a fencing doublet from 1610, with some alterations: I'm using linen instead of kid, and the front is pointed because my navel lies below my waistline.

My concern: despite their resemblance Arnold's drawings/proportions, these tabs look too large to me! I didn't pad with cotton batting because I didn't want to add bulk (the batting is sparse enough I didn't think it would add much stiffness), but these look like a row of droopy dog's ears! Am I perhaps basing my opinion (incorrectly?) on the smaller sized tabs seen on women's stays and bodices from the same time period?

Short version: Is this how it's SUPPOSED to look? If anyone can answer I'd appreciate it - given the layers of fabric I'm sewing on by hand, I'm reluctant to wear out my hands a stitch further until I know this is right.

Comments

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I've seen the one in the Met, and the tabs are definitely shorter and narrower. OTOH, I've seen one in Carl Kohler's book where the tabs were larger. I'd experiment with paper templates until I got something I liked.

[jdulac.livejournal.com]

the size of the tabs varies with the time period. If you are doing around 1600 then they are of a modest size generally. The get much larger as the century wears on and the waistline rises. With the waist that you have, you would not have large tabs. Also, the corners of them are generally quite sharply turned, they are not rounded off, which would change the look somewhat.

At least in some cases, they are finished on all sides and whipped on, which reduces bulk at the waist. However, it is common to sew them into the unfinished upper side into the waist and turn it up. The tabs themselves need considerable stiffening. A few layers of linen pad-stitched or a piece of canvas interlining to give them oomph.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

The way it stands now, I'm less concerned about the shape (which is pretty much what Arnold's sketches show) than the size. Arnold shows a doublet from 1610 that has a straight front, the shape + later date might explain the size.

I'm definitely going to stiffen these with something (likely canvas), but I'm going to sleep on the decision to shrink them a bit longer, simply because it was so hard to find a size that distributed evenly across the full circumference of the waist!

[jdulac.livejournal.com]

it was so hard to find a size that distributed evenly across the full circumference of the waist!

well, they do overlap... so you can make anything fit :).