The Luttrell Psalter Film

The period over which the Psalter was created 1325-1340 (aprox.) was a period during which the cut of clothing began to change.

Since textiles were first created clothing was made by first tying, then pinning, then sewing rectangles of fabric together. The value of textiles was such that when they were cut to form a garment they were cut without waste. This was achieved by using simple geometric shapes - rectangles,  triangles and squares ingeniously pieced to create fit and fullness.

Left: The old lady on the left is wearing one of the simplest of the Luttrell garments. The sleeves are close fitting, but otherwise the garments are fairly loose. The sideless surcoat is the simplest shown in the Psalter. As with all the Psalter images, no seams are shown.

As a result of not being able to determine the position of seams, we have had to look to archaeological and other evidence.

Left: My initial interpretation of this dress was to make it without any armhole shaping, much as earlier garments were made, but it simply didn’t sit and fall correctly. By studying all of the available evidence, followed by testing trial garments for the correct fit and drape, we decided that the cut of the garments was probably transitional. Each having features of the early cut, but with some fitting around the armhole.

In fact, the radical change in the cut of dress in this period begins with the armhole; instead of fitting sleeves T-shirt wise, they begin to fit the sleeve closer to the arm and into a shaped armhole. This frees the arm movement and allows the arm to be raised without the garment pulling up. As a result, garments could then be tailored to fit the figure.

So, after studying archaeological evidence,  tomb monuments (which do often show seams) and comparing them with the Psalter illustrations, we decided to make most of the women’s clothing in this transitional cut - with fitted sleeves into a simply shaped armhole, but with the remainder of the garment formed from the rectangles and gores with some limited shaping.