Welcome to Cyber Week at Lee & Pearl!

Today we are thrilled to announce the release of the A Girl for All Time® doll version of our beloved Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe, circa 1330–1450 — and we're celebrating with a 20% off sale on BOTH sizes!

CLICK HERE to shop L&P Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe for 16 Inch A Girl for All Time Dolls, now 20% off through Friday, 12/3/21

CLICK HERE to shop L&P Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe for 18 Inch American Girl® Dolls, now 20% off through Friday, 12/3/21

Introducing Lee & Pearl Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe, circa 1330–1450 — now available for 16 inch A Girl for All Time dolls!

Wearing her SHIFT and laced snugly into her fully-lined KIRTLE, with her gore-enhanced skirts swirling romantically about her and her MANTLE hanging elegantly from her shoulders, your doll will be the perfect picture of a medieval maiden.

With this pattern, your doll can truly step into the world of the 14th and 15th centuries — a turbulent period of great beauty and great tragedy that spanned the crucial century and a half between the waning of feudalism and the birth of the Renaissance.

Let's talk about these beautiful garments...

One of the most important clothing innovations in history appeared in Europe sometime around 1330: the set-in sleeve. This development allowed garments to fit the torso like never before. The resulting woman's dress, known as a KIRTLE (and also as a gown or cotehardie — and in today's re-enactment circles as a Gothic Fitted Dress) was graceful and flattering, with a wide neckline, a tight bodice typically laced or buttoned in front or back, tight sleeves often buttoned from the wrist to above the elbow, and a very wide skirt flaring from the hips with side, front and back gores.

Our 18 inch version of this pattern has long been a favorite with Lee & Pearl fans. We knew that it would have to be completely redesigned to achieve the same historically accurate fit on the uniquely sized, poseable A Girl for All Time dolls. This kirtle was a design challenge — but well worth the effort as we found A Girl for All Time dolls have the perfect proportions for medieval fashion.

Our pattern maker "Pearl" worked especially hard to fit the kirtles to the graceful lower back curves — a feature that medieval artists loved to show off in paintings and illuminated book illustrations, and that we loved being able to replicate.

Pearl also took great pains to keep the dolls' arms fully poseable in their snug sleeves. You are going to love the fit of our two-piece sleeve pattern, set off with a row of tiny bead "buttons" from wrist to elbow.

This pattern package includes a sleeveless medieval SHIFT (undergarment), based on the simple shifts seen in a 14th century Bohemian Bible, as well as a half-circle, lined MANTLE, a ceremonial cloak seen in many period illustrations and sculptures, attached with laces looped through decorative shank-button BOSSES.

We have also included suggestions for making medieval GIRDLES (belts), and ideas for creating your own fantasy and easy-to-sew stretch fabric kirtles.

Along with the patterns and detailed, photo-illustrated directions, Lee & Pearl Pattern 3001 features an eleven-page historical introduction, with sections on the era, the garments, the construction techniques, the fabrics, the colors, the patterns, the embellishments and the people, all illustrated with beautiful, period images and backed by a complete bibliography, with links to online inspirational sources, and our very own Late Medieval Inspirations Pinterest board.

If you are a history lover or parent, grandparent or homeschooler looking to foster a child's love of history, this pattern provides an invaluable entry into the world of medieval Europe!

Pattern 3001 — both the 18 inch and new 16 inch doll versions — has been a labor of love for us. We hope that you enjoy making outfits from it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

CLICK HERE to shop L&P Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe for 16 Inch A Girl for All Time Dolls, now 20% off through Friday, 12/3/21

CLICK HERE to shop L&P Pattern 3001: A Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe for 18 Inch American Girl® Dolls, now 20% off through Friday, 12/3/21

Stay tuned for more Cyber Week fun, with a new featured sale, release or tutorial every day this week, through Friday 12/3/21!

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See you next time!