It's time to start thinking about the finer detail of the kirtle and having looked at picture after picture without much luck or flashes of inspiration I decided to go back to my favourite Holbein and see what the Unknown Lady had to say. As ever, she had the answer.
She appears to have pearls sewn to the kirtle edge, as well as the pearl strands across her bodice, and a narrow bilament across the front of the kirtle. I also love the ribbon ties to the sleeves, though I won't be copying the furlined sleeves. Best detail of all (and this is a total copout on my part, to which I am perfectly ha[[y to admit), she does not have any blackwork embroidery detailing on show. Phew! I have pondered the prospect of embroidering the cuff sleeves since I started this project, but don't really think that it would suit. It would be more of case of doing for the sake of doing.
The Tudor bilaments that you can buy, tend to be a little too "bling" for my tastes. I have boxes full of beads that my mother gave me a while ago, I'm going to raid them in the first instance. The pearls are a definite must; black or white, I need to decide. My instant thought was that black pearls would look amazing. White ones however, might work to tie in the other white elements of the outfit. It's time to browse, surf and maybe do a little shopping,,,
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