COURSES ON COSTUME

Since 2004 I've been running weekend courses through the winter on specific aspects of costume making. These have proved to be very popular, with many students coming back for more:

'The medieval hat course was excellent, very informative, and fun!!'

'The most informative and practical course I have ever had the pleasure to attend: a true inspiration whether you are novice or expert'

'The course was very well received and the people I have seen are very complimentary'

'Thanks for the wonderful weekend, we learned so much and met some great people'

'Worth coming just to learn how to cut linen in straight lines!'

More information on these courses below. Meanwhile I offer the same standard of tuition in other settings:

We're working on dates and venues for a couple of weekends in the southern midlands, and I'll post details when they're fixed: possibly one on 'body to block' and one on more advanced pattern cutting.

My teaching charges are staying the same for 2010:

£10 an hour/£60 a day if you come to my workroom (maximum two people )

£120 a day plus expenses if I come to you. I don't have a minimum class size, and the day rate goes down for consecutive days. Mid-week deals available!

Teaching for other organisers
Past bookings including Walford and North Shropshire College and Ludlow Museum Services

On-site training for staff and volunteers, past bookings including Cosmeston Medieval Village, the Royal Armouries and Tatton Park

Clothing sessions for re-enactment societies past bookings including the ladies of the Plantagenet Medieval Society, the Knights in Battle and the Ferrers Household. These sessions look at the precise dates and social types being re-created.

Flexibility is the key! I have taught in village halls, pubs and private houses, anything from Napoleonic shirt-making to the many ways of making buttons from fabric and thread. If what you want to learn isn't on the list below, I'll write a syllabus to suit your needs; and if there's only one or two of you, contact me about a session in my workroom.

  These are the weekend courses I've run to date : some are repeated each year, and any can be adapted to your requirements.

Getting Into the Clothes
The background to your era. Reliable sources of information; textiles; what they really wore, what it was like, and how to recreate it.

Garments without Patterns
The early medieval tunic (9th-14th centuries) for men and women, in all its astonishing variety.

All About Hose
History, materials, patterns, and making; separate and joined hose, and the Tudor transition.

Perfect Linens
The authentic cut and hand construction of shirts and smocks, from Saxon to Victorian.

Women's Medieval headwear
In fact, not fantasy. Linens, nets, hoods and fancy things; their history and construction.

Medieval Tailoring
Fitted garments for men and women, from toile to pattern adaptation.

Doublets in Detail
The true shape and nature of the most misunderstood garment in the medieval re-enactor's wardrobe.