Leine of yellow linen.
Middle layer of under skirt made of gray
linen.
Outer dress with fitted bodice and open
front skirt made of blue linen.
Hair is up in a bun.
Head coverings for married women included the
kerch or kerchief.
Shoes were hide currans or turn shoes worn
with stockings.
Accessories include a belt, and pouch.
Jewelry consisted or torcs, bracelets, earrings, and rings.
An Airsaid is worn since I am Scots.
Much of the information in this section came from Kass McGann's wonderful website. She is listed
in the library of links.
In the Middle Ages, Ireland was the hinterland, the desolate island to which monks
migrated to get away from the evils of the world. It was not a center of fashion or
commerce. Nothing ever develops in a vacuum. Even in remote Ireland, the clothing of
other peoples influenced fashions. The léine (other historic spellings include léne,
léinidh, lénni, léni, lenid, and the plural lénti) is the basic, linen unisex garb of
the Celts, and was often worn under other clothes. Those with big, baggy sleeves date
from the 1500s and later. They were similar to extant Italian and French houppelandes
of the previous century. From stone effigies in Ireland, we know that at least the
Anglo-Irish ladies of the 15th century wore the houppelande. Lééinte in the 16th century
were reputedly made with 25-35 ells of linen. The Irish seem to have modified the
continental style to suit their own tastes. The pendulous and bagpipe sleeves were
also an element of early 15th century Continental dress. The 16th century liéne was a
continuation of this trend.
Women wore the leine to ankle length. At home, in private, the léine was worn alone.
The longer the length of the léine the higher the wearer's status. A léine with a lot
of fabric meant that the wearer could afford the fabric, and did little manual labor.
Most léinte were yellow and are referred to as the "saffron shirts". In their efforts
against the Irish, the English imposed laws stating the maximum number of yards that
could be used.
Over the léine was worn under skirts. The under skirt was made of linen or wool. It
was full and gathered into a waistband. It was generally of ankle length. Multiple layers
of skirts could be worn for warmth.
The outer layer of clothing was the overdress. It was also usually made of wool. The
clothes greatly resemble many of the woolen gowns depicted on the Continent in the 15th
century. It consisted of an un-boned bodice and skirt attached along a straight waist
seam. The skirt is made of trapezoidal pieces of cloth sewn together. The skirt is
gathered onto the bodice.
The bodice has side seams that slant backwards at an angle from the underarm to the
lower back. There is a small standing collar that is only about 6" long and about 1" wide.
It is anchored to the inside of the back piece by a larger piece of fabric to stabilize it.
It does not wrap around to the sides or front of the neck. Front of the bodice is constructed
of two halves sewn together only at a small pint at bottom center.
The sleeves are of a uniquely Irish style. They are open at the bottom. The sleeves are
only six inches wide and the length of the wearer's arm. The sleeves are fastened at the
wrist edge with hooks and eyes.
It is not clear, but it appears that sometimes the dress was designed to not close
completely and leave the léine exposed. There are lacing loops along the edges of the
front bodice to allow for lacing.
Hair and head coverings are very hard to document. Unmarried girls wore their hair down
and loose. It appears that perhaps for married women the hair was braided and wrapped
around the head or gathered into a bun. Over this was worn the kertch. This is an article
of the finest linen. 36 inches square, folded into a triangle and worn pinned to the hair,
with the points tapering down the back. A simple cap or coif known as a mutch was also
worn, sometimes under the kertch. Another style of hat that was depicted by Lucas De Heere
in 1575 was a type of rolled hat. It looks like a roll of fabric tape that is then placed
on the head over a short veil.
Women were often described as going barefoot. Otherwise, they wore the same shoes as men,
the hide currans, or turn shoes with stockings.
Accessories consisted of a belt with a hanging pouch.
When jewelry was worn it consisted of torcs, penanular brooches, bracelets, rings, and
earrings.
The Book of Kells seems to indicate embroidery or woven borders at the neck, wrists,
and hems. The embroidery could go from the chest to the knee in some cases. Léinte may
also have been striped.
Typical fabric colors worn at this time were bright. The léine is usually described as
being gel, or bright which indicates pale yellow or light-colored linen. The over dresses
were dyed yellow, indigo, red-orange, green, blue, red, and purple. The typical materials
for clothing were linen and nettle cloth or hemp cloth, especially for the léine. These
fabrics are incredibly durable, and wear very well. Outer dresses might also be made of
wool.
- _____Nape of neck to ankle + 1"
- _____Arm length with bent elbow
- _____Armseye measurement
- _____Wrist measurement / 2
- _____Neck to shoulder measurement
- _____Neck measurement + 1"
TO MAKE THE LÉINE PATTERN
You will need a length of fabric twice as long as measurement 1. Cut this piece in half
from selvege to selvege.
Plus, for the sleeves, you will need two lengths of material as wide as measurement
2 and at least as long as measurement 1. This will give you sleeves that hang down at
least half way to the hem of your léine. I am 5' 8" tall and it takes 5 yards of
fabric.
PATTERN - OVER DRESS
TO MAKE THE BODICE PATTERN
- Armseye ________ divide by 2 = ________
- Raised waist to floor ________
- Bust at largest point ________ divide by 4 = ________
- Ribs (all around immediately under breast) ________ divide by 4 = ________
- Waist(3" down from ribs) ________ divide by 4 = ________
- From top of shoulder (over bust) to waist ________
- Across shoulder ________ divide by 2 = ________
- Top of shoulder to neck ________
- Hollow of neck down to intended neckline ________
- Across neck from hollow to hollow ________ divide by 2 = ________
- From neck to raised waist ________
EACH STEP IS NUMBERED AND SHOULD BE MARKED ON THE PATTERN AS THEY ARE USED.
THESE NUMBERS WILL SERVE AS REFERENCE POINTS.
- Mark the shoulder point, by measuring the distance of the shoulder (after division)
horizontally from the edge of the paper. (Label this dot #1)
- Draw a straight-line 2" toward the center and up 1/4", and make a dot.
- Mark the neckline (front).
- Connect point #2 with point #3 to make the neck.
- Measure down from #1 the distance of the shoulder point to the axilla.
- Measure down the axilla onto the pattern in a curve, with the lower edge
intersecting the chest measurement at point #5. (Label the intersection point #6.)
- Measure down from the axilla the number of inches to the ribs and place a dot.
- Measure down from the ribs to the raised waist and make a horizontal line across
the paper.
- Mark the waist measurement on the horizontal line drawn in step 8. Make a dot at
the intersection point.
- Draw a line connecting dots #6, #7, and #8.
- Add seam allowance to all edges.
- For the back, raise the neckline up. Double the pattern if for a closed back.
LÉINE LAYOUT
Step 1
Make pattern using directions above.
Step 2
Cut out front and back body piece all in one.
Step 3
Cut out two sleeves.
OVER DRESS LAYOUT
Step 1
Make pattern using directions above.
Step 2
Cut out front and back bodice pieces along
length of grain of fabric.
Step 3
Repeat step 2 using canvas.
Step 4
Repeat step 2 using lining fabric.
Step 5
Measure from waist to floor and add 2" to
measurement. Cut panels of skirt material
straight across, from selvage to selvage at
that measurement. Cut at least four panels.
The more panels the fuller the skirt.
General Sewing Tips:
- It is very important to pre-shrink all fabric. Treat the fabric as you would
after the garment is complete.
- All seams are to have 1/2" seam allowances.
- Zigzag all edges to prevent raveling.
- Backstitch 1/4" at the beginning and end of each seam to keep seam from coming out.
- Pin pieces of fabric being sewn together before sewing to keep fabric from slipping
and edges together while sewing.
- Always put "right" sides of fabric together when sewing.
- Mark "wrong" sides of material if necessary with a chalk pencil or soap as pieces
are cut out.
LÉINE
Step 1
Press a crease in the center of the body fabric.
Open out the fabric. Make a keyhole neck
opening where the creases cross. See the
Geometric Construction of a Tunic section
for directions to make a keyhole
facing if you don't know how.
Step 2
With right sides together, stitch sleeve pieces
to the front piece on both sides, from the top
of the shoulder down to 1/2 of the armseye
measurement. Stitch two sleeve pieces to
the back piece in the same way. Press
seams open.
Step 3
Hem the sleeve opening (2x the wrist measurment)
at the wrist edge by turning 1/2 seam allowance under
to the wrong side twice and top stitching. Repeat for
each sleeve.
Step 4
With right sides together, match armseye seam
and pin at that point. Pin the rest of the shoulder and
sleeve top seam to neckline and out to edges. Stitch the
seam from the neck to the outer edge with a 3/4"
seam allowance. Repeat for other side and press seam
open.
Step 5
Fold 1/4" of the shoulder seam allowance under and
press. Stitch this casing as close to the outer edges
as possible on both sides of the original seam. Repeat
for the other sleeve.
Step 6
Cut a 40" piece of cording for each sleeve.
Thread the cord through the casing beginning
from the sleeve edge. Pull some of the cording out the end
at the neck edge. Insert cording back into the channel and
work back down to the wrist edge. Even out the drawstring.
Tie knots in each end of the cord string.
Step 7
Put on the léine as you would wear it normally.
The shoulders will be large and droopy. Get a
friend to help you gather this excess shoulder
material by pulling the shoulder portion of the
gathered seam up until the armseye seam hits the
edge of your shoulder. Pin at that point. Repeat.
Step 8
Lay the léine out flat and stitch across the
casing at the pinned point on each seam. This holds
the body pleating in the correct position, and lets
the sleeve gathering be adjusted.
Step 9
Fold the léine together in half, right sides facing.
From the top seam of one of the sleeves, measure
in a distance of two times the wrist measurement. Starting
here, stitch the front and back together, down along
the sleeve, (you may wish to round off the seam
along the bottom inside of the sleeve and trim
off the excess) then down along the side of the
léine. Repeat for the other side.
Step 10
Hem the léine.
SEWING DIRECTIONS - UNDER SKIRT
See directions under "Generic Gathered Skirt"
SEWING DIRECTIONS - OVER DRESS
Step 1
Baste canvas to wrong side of fashion
fabric.
Step 2
With right sides of fashion fabric
together, sew front and back shoulder
seams, and side seams.
Step 3
Repeat step 3 with lining fabric.
Step 4
With right sides together, sew lining
to bodice on each side of the front.
Do Not Sew Up Armholes. Trim
seams to 1/4" and snip corners.
Step 5
Turn wrong sides together and press
along seam line.
Step 6
Machine sew a line 1/2" from both of the
front edges. This provides a casing for
the boning.
Step 7
Using the casing line as a guide, place
buttonholes about 1" apart down both
sides of the side openings. Make sure
they are offset.
Step 8
Slide boning into casing along front seams.
Step 9
Armhole Finishing - Turn both bodice
lining fabric to inside and pin around
armhole. You may need to clip the
curve so it lies properly. Hand sew
lining to bodice using small, hidden stitches.
SKIRT CONSTRUCTION
Step 1
Sew skirt panels, right sides together
along selvages until you have two
equal pieces. Sew the two large pieces
together, leaving a gap of about 5" at
the top to allow for the side opening.
Step 2
Pleat the skirt into the bodice. Divide
the total width of the skirt by 4, then
divide the bodice into 4 parts. Pin the
skirt fourths to the bodice fourths so
you know how much skirt material
must be pleated into each bodice part.
Divide the number of inches in the skirt
width by the number of inches in the
bottom seam of the bodice. No matter
how you do it, pleating comes down
to a matter of patience, trial and error.
Step 3
Machine sew the pleats into place. Be
careful to sew them to the bodice fabric
only and not to the lining fabric.
Trim seam to 1/4".
Step 4
Press seam selvage up into the bodice.
Turn under edge of bodice lining and hand
sew to skirt seam, securing bodice to skirt
and finishing bodice.
Step 5
Hem bottom of skirt.