4a
continued from page 117
Cut and finish the neck opening. Sew the gores to the body, with the side gores straight edge to straight edge. Insert pairs of gores in slashes on the Centre Front and Back. Either set the sleeves on fiat and sew the underarm and side seams in one, with the gussets if used; or, finish the side seams then set in the completed sleeves (Metbods, Figs 7, 8).
Sew by hand with lapped seams or run-and-fell (Metbods, Figs 3, 6), or machinę stitch with open seams. Finish unlined surcotes by overcasting the seams if the cloth seems likely to fray. Finish neck and sleeve ends with hems or narrow facings of linen or silk.
For lined surcotes cut and make up the lining as the outer fabric. Insert it and finish the neck, hem, and armholes or sleeve ends (PI 1), perhaps with a fancy stitch in a contrasting thread (Metbods, Fig 22).
Most surcotes simply puli on over the head (Fig 2); a few have a front neck opening with a couple of buttons (Metbods, Figs 19, 21). Fitted examples may be laced at the back or side (Metbods, Figs 16, 17).
4. Simple sleeved surcote, 13th and early 14th century
A loose, square garment with plain elbow-length sleeves.
a. Calf-length man's version with gores and front slit. It could be lengthened for a woman (Fig 1).
b. Cutting layout for a, shown on 2.5 m of single layer cloth, 150 cm wide, with seam allowances included. Garment width is 75 cm - a generous fit on modern size 42 (Chest 105 cm). The side gores reach to the base of the separate sleeve gussets, D. The centre gores, at front and back, are quite short and cut in one. The front gore is slit for most of its length as shown.
b
- I50cm
CB
GUSSETS
119