Flat Drafting a Medieval-style 4-panel Kirtle
This is not a pattern. This is a guide by somebody terrified of patterning and for people who might also be afraid of patterning. The purpose of this document is to walk you through the process of patterning a “bodice block” for a 4-panel kirtle as painlessly as possible. Hopefully, by the end of this document, you will have a better understanding of how to translate 3-dimensional, irregular shapes to paper and then fabric.
I always go through the full process of drafting a pattern at a smaller scale on paper to make sure my numbers look right. I find this to be best practice, familiarizing myself with the resulting shape, including the process of marking lines and curves before moving to the more intimidating fabric.
You will need a length of string, a tape measure, a straight ruler, paper, and pens/pencils/markers.
Additional notes before drafting:
You may be interested in taking the horizontal and the vertical measurements at the same time. Be my guest. I’m not your mom.
Baseline Measurements
Tie a string around the smallest part of your waist. This MIGHT NOT BE your natural waist. If it does not match your natural waist, please note the distance between this “waist” and your natural waist for gore placement.
This gives a consistent vertical point from which to take all other measurements.
For me, this point sits immediately at the base of my rib cage.
Measure from the back side of your neck to your waist (Neck)
You are marking the highest point you want your kirtle to sit. I usually measure this using the back of the neck of a crewneck shirt.
Measure from your waist to your underbust (ub)
Your underbust is the most important part of this pattern if you’re making a supportive or low-cut bodice.
What is your underbust? Where the underwire of a bra would sit, or the base of the pectoral muscles.
Measure from your waist to the fullest part of your bust (fb)
For many bodies, the fullest part of your bust is in line with your nipples. This is not true for all bodies.
Mark a neckline above the full bust equal to the distance between the underbust and full bust. (fb-ub = neckline)
Why do we make this measurement? Assuming perfectly spherical breasts, the measurement of the underbust to the full bust should equal the distance from the full bust to the top of the bust. This generally ensures a safe, low neckline without risk of indecent exposure for first drafts. I frequently raise my neckline about an inch from this point, because I don’t like sunburn on my chest. I know a spherical breast is absurd, but it is useful for a first draft.
Extend all lines horizontally across the pattern, as seen below. Ensure that you have a vertical line running through all of these horizontal lines at the approximate center.
More Measurements
Measure horizontally at your “waist” string.
Remember, this might not be your natural waist!
Divide this measurement by 4, and center the divided measurement on the vertical line of your draft on the waist line. For example, for a waist measurement of 36”, each of the 4 panels will get 9 inches across the waist line, or 4.5” inches on either side of the vertical line.
Why divide these measurements by 4? The resulting pattern will be 4 panels, with a seam down the center back, center front, left side, and right side.
Measure the fullest part of your bust
Remember to keep the tape measure parallel to the floor. You may need help taking this measurement accurately.
Divide this measurement by 4, and center the divided measurement on the vertical line in your draft on the fb line.
Repeat this step with the underbust line.
Draw a gently curving line between the bust and waist measurements
Continue with a soft curve inward above the bust line
Measure from the “point” or hinge of your shoulder along the shoulder to where you would like the neckline to sit. For me, this measurement is the shoulder , and the measurement is usually 3-4 inches. I like reducing sun exposure and recommend this if you are planning to wear this garment outdoors..
Measure from the waist to the underside of the arm and transfer this to the paper. This is the bottom of the armhole or armscye (a)
Measure around the arm where it meets the shoulder. This is called your armscye. Divide this measurement in half (b).
Using a flexible ruler, tape measure, or French curve, use this measure to create the armscye. If not using a French curve, be sure to bulge the armscye out a little more towards the bottom than the shoulder. The upper “tip” of the armscye should approximately line up right inside the width of the full bust.
At the top of the armscye, mark the shoulder at a slight upward angle. I unfortunately do not yet have a strong system for getting this right on the first try. It takes some guess work, and I recommend leaving some extra paper or cloth here for later adjustments.
The best practice is measuring from the point you would like your shoulder to end in the neck of your garment horizontally to the center of your chest/neck. It may take some Ruler Jenga to accomplish this. Adjust the angle of your shoulder line so it ends with the distance between the inner point and an imaginary vertical line extending up from the full bust measurement. This will equal the distance between the inner point of your shoulder and the center of your chest/neck.
This is, unfortunately, one of the points that will take the most trial and error. You will eventually develop “an eye” for the angles. It will take time, but it won’t be nearly as painful as it sounds right now, I promise.
Draw a smooth line from the new shoulder seam to the point where the curved top of the bust line meets the horizontal “neckline”
Measure from your waistline down to the widest part of your hips. This may be your butt. Mark this line on your pattern (again, this should be BELOW your waistline). This is labeled h.
Measure the widest point of your hips (or butt), divide this by 4 for h.
Don’t hold the tape measure too tightly for this measurement; you want to be generous. This is to ensure that your pattern has the bare minimum measurement to give enough room to fit over your hips and butt.
Center this measurement on the vertical line at the h line
Draw a smooth line from the waist to this hip measurement.
You should now have a shape approximately resembling the above.
“But wait!” you ask. “I am not a perfectly symmetrical tube! Right now, the pattern has too much of a ‘boob pocket’ on the back and not enough on the front!” Good catch, hypothetical reader.
Now we make some adjustments.
Copy your pattern. You have half a “front” and half a “back.”
Measure across the front of your bust at the fb line, from side seam to side seam. Divide this by 2 for the front.
Measure across the back at the fb line, from side seam to side seam. Divide this by 2 for the back.
Subtract fb from front. Add the missing width to the front along the side that does not have the armscye.
Do not attempt to evenly distribute this width across the center line, add it all to the armless side. You are (probably) not a perfectly symmetrical tube.
Subtract back from fb. Remove the missing width from the back, from the side that does not have the armscye.
Mark a SEAM ALLOWANCE around both pieces. I usually use ½” SA to give me plenty of wiggle room for seam finishing.
Cut a twin for the front and for the back, and label appropriately. My pieces are usually labeled ASHILDR KIRTLE FRONT MARCH 2025 MK1 SA ½”, This helps me readily toss the out-of-date pieces and patterns and more easily find the coordinating pattern for a given project.
Using the Bodice Block
You now have 4 panels for your kirtle, congratulations!
How do you extend these to floor length? The first and most fabric-efficient (read: cheapest) option is to draw a straight line down from the bottom of your pattern and let the gores do all the work for skirt fullness. The second option is to follow the angle established from your waist to your hip measurement all the way down. This is going to make pattern pieces that don’t nest quite as easily, but require fewer seams. My suggested best practice is the first option, as the straight grain to attach the gores helps prevent sagging over time. I generally prefer to be conservative with fabric usage and this offers the most conservative layouts, as everything is largely rectangular.
Now extend your pattern to floor length. How do I get that measurement right? Measure from your waist height to the floor.I prefer the top of your foot and recommend you consider where you will be wearing the dress. You can extend this later for a longer garment. For maximum accuracy in the draft and minimum hemming needs, for your back panels, measure from your waist to the floor over your butt. For your front panels, measure from your waist to the floor straight down. A resulting body panel may look like the following:
Gores are the usually-triangular pieces that give more volume to the garment without needing to cut the main body panels on the bias. I usually do at least 4 gores, a pair on each side of the body, and sometimes do 6 gores with a pair in the back. Most sources point towards having gores in the front as well. I prefer having a smooth line down the front and lots of volume in the sides and back.
I prefer the overall circumference of my dress to be approximately equal to or greater than my height. To calculate this for the “straight down” panel option, subtract your hip measurement from your height and divide by the number of gores you need. Add an inch (half an inch on each side) for seam allowance, and you will get a gore width that produces a kirtle with a hem circumference approximately equal to your height.
To attach your gores, make sure the bias edge (the hypotenuse or long edge) of the triangle is sewn to the straight edge of the body panel and that the grain edge (shorter leg) of the triangles are attached to each other. This will add strength and durability to the garment, as bias edges should almost always be sewn to straight edges. Woven fabric tends to stretch along the bias. If the side seam stretches and sags, the dress will develop an uneven “handkerchief” edge that will need to be adjusted or repaired multiple times over its lifetime. This will mean that the edge attached to the body panel is longer than the measurement from waist to hip. This problem is easily remedied with a quick trim and produces less overall waste than attempting to even out a handkerchief edge.
I install my side gores with the point at my waistline, and my rear gore a few inches above the waistline. This gives the fabric more room to spread across the rear to avoid the dreaded “buttcrack” seam.
Congrats! You’ve flat drafted a 14th century style kirtle! Remember to cut this out with seam allowance and baste together on your mock up fabric before you touch the good fabric. Even the most careful measuring and drafting is unlikely to get a perfect pattern right out the gate, but this should get you much closer to a final product without as many fittings needed.
Explanation of drafting sleeves to come in a future post, but remember that there’s lots of fun to be had with no or short sleeves! I frequently use a sleeveless kirtle of this type as a supportive undergarment, or as a layer to provide a smooth base for upper garments. I have fought both rapier and chivalric combat in a fully supportive and compressive kirtle of this type made in this way. Don’t tell the laurels, but I frequently use this type of gown as a base layer for Rus to provide more fullness to my skirts and compression to my torso.
This process was refined through the process of creating the Elizabeth le Despencer kirtle, pictured below.
