Woman's 16th century sleeves by The Tudor Tailor

Woman's 16th century sleeves

Knitting
December 2020
yarn held together
Lace
+ Lace
= Fingering (14 wpi) ?
9 stitches and 12 rows = 1 inch
US 0 - 2.0 mm
1900 - 2200 yards (1737 - 2012 m)
A wide variety of arms sizes are accommodated
English

These sleeves are featured in the book The Typical Tudor: reconstructing 16th century everyday dress (now available on Etsy). They are based on detailed examination of extant originals, as follows:

A sleeve (late 16th to early 17th century) Norfolk Museums, Norwich, inventory number NWHCM: 1961.74.7;

Sleeves (16th century) Museum of London, inventory numbers 22448 & 22449;

Sleeves (1577-1600) Netherlands, inventory numbers 15T17, 48T2 & 30T2;

and a contemporary image:

Unknown artist (circa 1545) The field of the cloth of gold, Hampton Court Palace, The Royal Collection Trust, inventory number RCIN 405794

The instructions were developed by Sally Pointer based on research by Jane Malcolm-Davies and Lesley O’Connell Edwards for The Tudor Tailor and are part of the ‘Knitting in Early Modern Europe’ project, which was grant funded but the European Commission as a postdoctoral Marie Skłodowska Curie Research Fellowship awarded to Jane Malcolm-Davies (grant agreement 656748).

They are knitted with two lace weight worsted spun singles (not plied) held together. Kits will be available to purchase from The Tudor Tailor after the book is published.