Sew a Mini Gown for a Tudor Client
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D&T & history KS2 LESSON PLAN Sew a mini gown for a WHAT THEY’LL Tudor client LEARN Establish your own fashion label and learn about l How to work historical fashions with towards a Adam Newman’s crafty idea design brief @3edmigos l Design a product to meet 3edmigos.creativeblogs.net a specification l Evaluate materials for a The Tudors is a classic topic, but after a few years away purpose from its mix of splendour and muck, I wanted to come back to it from a different angle: the opulence, colour l Learn sewing techniques and lavishness of the Tudor court. On a recent school and technical trip, my class ‘met’ Bess of Hardwick at the fantastic vocabulary Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Over the subsequent l Be aware of weeks, we ran our own Tudor fashion ‘brands’ and purpose and designed and made new ball gowns to impress our new audience client, Bess, all in time for fashion week. Considering and outlining START HERE MAIN LESSON how their ball gown will fit together is a problem-solving task in itself. You can purchase Having a context for 1|MATERIALS AND miniature mannequins this project helps PROPERTIES inexpensively online for taking enormously: ours was Before any dresses are made, measurements. Pupils can use historical. Pupils need you need to source the perfect material for your client. You can a working knowledge incorporate science enquiry and of the fashion of the knowledge at this stage, exploring time and our trip to the various properties of materials Hardwick Hall was and making reasoned choices really immersive and for the final product. My class particularly enjoyed testing for included meeting and waterproofing – especially given interviewing Bess (above). This created a sense of a some of the challenges of walking ‘client’, which I extended by sharing letters Bess had through a Tudor street! Pupils ‘sent’ to the children, outlining her requirements. Pupils also need to think about what the established their own fashion ‘brands’ (an opportunity various patterns of materials may for a wider literacy unit on marketing) and saw the mean for the client; what do they want the product to ‘say’ about project through from moodboard to fashion week. This them? Studying Tudor portraiture was not just a D&T lesson, but a very real commission, to discover more about perception aided by some mantle of the expert principles. and portrayal will help here. 66 | www.teachwire.net 66-67 Adam Newman LP.indd 1 28/09/2018 14:14 “Learning to thread a EXTENDING needle is a good way to THE LESSON teach resilience” l Gather in the hall for a 2|SEWING SCHOOL fashion week catwalk. Line When your material is prepared, up PE mats to walk along it’s time to sew. You may need with rows of chairs on either to do this in stages. Assembling side. Ask pupils to prepare the gown in two sections (an for the demonstration by oversized skirt and separate top) rehearsing a short speech to works well – the two can then be describe their gown. Invite in sewn together on the mannequin. families to celebrate pupils’ Firstly, pupils will need to achievements. know how to do a basic running l Create an advert for your stitch. Learning to thread a new fashion brand using an needle is a good way to teach app like iMovie. Use simple resilience! Pupils can then sew green screen technology to a hem into each piece of the place your product into the garment to create a clean edge. Tudor world, or dress up as We created the appearance of Bess or another historical a linen undergarment on our figure to endorse the outfit. dresses by joining one side of the l Make an outfit for a Tudor more lavish fabric to the plain gentleman. Pupils can apply undergarment material. Give their knowledge and skills the gown a ‘ruffled’ look to design a complementary by backstitching across the outfit for a man to develop top and pulling tightly to their brand’s range further. create a pleated effect, before knotting to finish. Once you’ve sewn the hem and achieved a pleated look, fit the garments onto the mannequins. Use a stitch to join both sides of the material together, around the farthingale, to complete the bottom of the dress. these to drape their chosen this element to extend pupils’ 3|TIME TO fabric and visualise the process. knowledge. Test out sizes and ACCESSORISE Create the popular Tudor shapes with paper templates Create the top of the dress farthingale hoop skirt with a before cutting your material. by measuring a piece of simple cardboard cone disc You may find that creating material around the torso of or, if you have more time, art templates or prototypes in the mannequin. Sew it using a wire. Explore the history of advance will help pupils succeed. running stitch, remembering to leave space for arms, before placing it onto the mannequin. The importance of sleeves in Tudor times – to show power USEFUL – provides another historical QUESTIONS insight into the fashions and culture of Tudor England. Add them to your design if you wish. Give pupils the opportunity l What does your design to design accessories to go with say about your client? their creations. Children can l Why should the client use their newly-acquired sewing choose your dress over skills to create cloaks or ruffs. other outfits? l How do you know the Adam Newman is KS2 and design will fit together? curriculum leader at Farmilo l What key vocabulary Primary and Nursery in can you recall and Nottinghamshire. explain? www.teachwire.net | 67 66-67 Adam Newman LP.indd 2 28/09/2018 14:14.