I’ve decided to go Near Eastern for my persona but I’m having difficulty finding accurate information on my chosen time period and culture for garb purposes so for now I’ve decided to make my first set of garb “close enough”. It is still period garb, though likely not quite fitting to the persona (which I will discuss in another article later).
My persona is going to be Mamluk Turkish however information online is sparse on garb so I’ve chosen to make an Ottoman Turk outfit from around the 16th century.
Near Eastern dress traditionally had several layers. Though these layers were called different things depending on the culture, I’m simply going to call them by the names I can remember. Don’t quote me for historical accuracy on terminology.
Salwar are the pants worn under it all. They were large and billowy around the hips and tight about the ankles. Fortunately for these they are easy to make and there are dozens of patterns to be found only.
Then there was the pirihan or undergown. I tend to think of it as undergown since I’m not sure if pirihan is precisely the correct term for it when applying it to Ottomans. I’m still learning quite a bit about the differences between the peoples of that time and area and a lot of the information online is rather confusing. This was a simple, light gown with fitted sleeves that could hang anywhere from the knees all the way to the floor.
Over the undergown was worn the entari. I think of that as the overgown, once again because I am unsure if I am using the correct term. Generally this layer was of some bright color or pattern, not necessarily matching the kaftan. It could hang anywhere from mid-thigh to brushing the ground. Mostly had long fitted sleeves, sometimes closed with buttons. Most often it had a small rounded neck line and could also be closed with buttons.
Then came the kaftan. This was a coat like piece that could have long or short sleeves, could hang mid thigh to floor length, often had slits up the side for ease of movement, and generally was made of a heavier, more sumptuous fabric than the other layers. It could be buttoned up the front or left open with a sash around the waist. Often the front gores were tucked up under the sash to get them out of the way.
First Piece – The Kaftan
Since it seemed the kaftan was going to be the most difficult piece I chose to work on it first. There are several sites with different patterns out there and each one creates a different style of kaftan. However I didn’t find a site with instructions or patterns for the type I wanted. See picture below:
This isn’t the exact one I was using for my inspiration but it is pretty close. I wasn’t able to find a picture online of the one I am using and I can’t seem to get any decent scans off the picture I have.
This particular kaftan is semi-fitted, though it doesn’t fit as snugly as what would be thought of among European fitted dress of the same era. There is still freedom of movement when wearing it.
Though I didn’t find any specific instructions I did find a site by Lady Cecil de Bretigny documenting her Ottoman kaftan entry into the Gulf Wars XX A&S competition. This gave me a good starting point to work from.
Using the information there and what I had learned while sewing the Cotehardie in my earlier post, I was able to draft a pattern on butcher paper. See the below diagram for the basic shapes of my pattern pieces:
Click to embiggen!
Since this is the first EVER piece of garb I have done without specific instructions, it has been quite an adventure and learning experience. Hopefully someone will find something here useful, though I can’t guarantee ANY of this is the “right” way to do it. It is simply how I did it.
Measurements
The body of the kaftan itself is based on my own measurements but conforming to a basic rectangular design. Letters on the diagram of the front piece correspond with certain measurements:
A = Circumference of chest + 4” + 2” for seam allowance divided by 4
B = Circumference of ribs + 4” + 2” for seam allowance divided by 4
C = Circumference of waist + 4” + 2” for seam allowance divided by 4
D = Circumference of hips at widest point + 4” + 2” for seam allowance divided by 4
F = Length from shoulder to bottom of kaftan + 1” for seam allowance (I chose to have mine hang to mid-calf).
Now a note here, I had the same measurements for chest and hips, so I made that the width of the body pieces to keep the rectangular shape.
The length of the sleeve was subjective and mostly a guess. I wanted it to hang just above my elbow and had to kind of eyeball the measurement since the shoulder of the kaftan will hang a bit lower than where a traditional seam would be. I measured the width of the sleeve at 12” so that it would fit loose and allow ease of movement, even with multiple layers.
The length of the gores I set from where the hip measurement is to the end of the kaftan and the bottom width is, once again, a subjective “guess”. I measured it at 15” though on the upper curve of the side gores I didn’t get that quite right. Next time I would make them more prominent and perhaps set them a bit higher on the hips.
For the lengths of the various points I used the following measurements:
A = Length from shoulder to widest point of chest.
B = Length from A to widest point of ribs
C = Length from B to natural waist
D = Length from C to top of hip bone
After marking the corresponding points I drew a line to create the waist on the pattern piece.
The collar on the front piece was more subjective guessing. I took the measurement of my neck about where a t-shirt collar would sit, divided it by 4, subtracted ½” (to compensate for what would be lost in hemming) and drew a light quarter circle. Then I decided how low I wanted the collar line to sit and freehand drew it down the edge of the paper.
For the pattern piece for the back I simply traced the front pattern piece, omitting the collar.
Once it was all cut out, I had my pattern. Part II will be time to work with the cloth!
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