Making Working Women's Costume: Patterns for Clothes From the Mid-15th to Mid-20th Centuries

Making Working Women's Costume gives a unique account of the clothes of ordinary women from the mid-fifteenth century to the early twentieth century. As well as introducing the historical periods, it gives patterns for a range of typical garments that women of the poorer classes would have worn. Organized by century, it draws on historical sources and finds, paintings and photographs to recreate the clothes of these under-celebrated women.|Useful information about equipment for present-day use, calculating curves, taking measurements and sewing techniques not in current use.Patterns for late medieval clothes, such as smocks and gowns, are developed from ancient T-shaped garments and can be marked out on the fabric with given measurements.Garments for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including bodices, waistcoats and skirts, are drawn on grids.Proportionate cutting is used for the clothes of the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as nurse's uniforms and cotton frocks, with options to add a range of features.

Elizabeth Friendship studied fashion at St Martin's School of Art and theatre design at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She then worked in the theatre for fourteen years as a designer and costume maker, principally at the Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow and The Welsh National Opera Company. She created the theatre design department at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and is now a visiting lecturer.