Detail of the clothing made by Maya Rae Griffin based on Caroline Johnson's latest research into the Royal Wardrobe accounts in The National Archive.

This year has been a busy one so far with several different projects running alongside one another. We recently made a big leap forward with one of them - Caroline Johnson's follow-up book to "The Queen's Servants". In "The Queen's Servants" Caroline analysed the clothing issued to ladies in the royal household between 1485 and 1509, through her exhaustive survey of original wardrobe accounts in The National Archives. The follow-up book has been affectionately named "The Five Wives" (though this will not be the actual title) as its focus is on the years between 1510 - 1547, during which time Henry VIII married five more times! The latest progress has been thanks not only to Caroline's recent hard work in the archives, but also to Nottingham Trent University costume students Eleanor Soulsby and Maya Rae Griffin. Eleanor and Maya chose to work with The Tudor Tailor for their final year projects and they each created a set of clothes based on Caroline's latest research. Eleanor's set of clothes were reconstructions of the garments issued to Lady Margaret Douglas (niece to the King) in 1531 which included a red satin kirtle and black damask gown and two amazing sets of interchangeable sleeves. Maya's choice was the clothing of Henry's daughter, the Lady Mary, issued in 1540. The Lady Mary was sumptuously dressed in cloth of silver and "right crimson velvet". Both ensembles will feature in the new book, along with the full set of patterns and instructions for making. We are really pleased with the results, as were Maya and Eleanor's tutors who awarded both with First Class degrees! We will of course keep you all updated with the progress of the book, but in the meantime we have something special to offer. The gorgeous pair of fore-sleeves made by Maya for the Lady Mary were finished off with pairs of gold plated aiglets. These aiglets, originally sculpted by Michael Perry, are now available to buy in the Tudor Tailor Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/545490667/gold-plated-aiglets-for-historica-

Calling all the Tudor Tailor's Knit Wits - here is the programme for the forthcoming Knitting in Early Modern Europe seminar in Copenhagen on Sat 5 & Sun 6 August. Do come!

The Tudor Tailor Etsy shop will be closed for holidays from 1st - 14th August. We currently have good stock levels of all of our patterns, fabrics, books and haberdashery. If you are currently working on any projects, or plan to start soon, please place your orders asap! https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheTudorTailor?ref=shop_name_search_sugg

If you get a chance to go to London in the next couple of weeks do pop into the gorgeous Weiss Gallery and treat yourself to the visual feast that is "Courting Favour: From Elizabeth I to James I" - An Exhibition of Tudor & Jacobean Portraits, 26th June - 14th July 2017 The exhibition features two of Ninya's costumes, and the centerpiece of the show is a beautiful portrayal of the youthful Queen Elizabeth I, a bust-length version of the magnificent 'Hampden' fulll length, currently on loan to Tate Britain. Displayed either side of the Queen will be portraits of her two great favourites Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. For more details visit www.weissgallery.com

Once again, The TT's web designer and all-round IT guru, Jodie Cox, grabbed a lot of golden bling at the World Transplant Games in Malaga this week and led the British swim team to many more medals. Jodie is achieving all this because a liver donor gave her a new lease of life. Well done, Jodie! And thanks to everyone who carries a donor card!

Today is Hannah's last day here in the Nottingham studio. We have had the pleasure of her company and contribution since September, when she began a whole placement year with us from Huddersfield University. Hannah has been great company as well as an able and valuable asset, working diligently on checking and entering data from countless Tudor wills and adding and annotating images for our ever-expanding databases, in addition to working on numerous making projects. The year has culminated in working alongside Ninya and Harriet Waterhouse on the six different sets of clothes that will feature in the forthcoming BBC4 series "A Stitch in Time". Hannah will return to Huddersfield to complete the fourth and final year at University and complete her Costume with Textile sandwich degree. We wish her all the very best and look forward to hearing of her certain successes in the future.

Jane is hosting the second Knitting in Early Modern Europe seminar in Copenhagen on Sat 5 & Sun 6 August. Take a look at the preliminary programme here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1866535333589744/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22page%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22page_upcoming_events_card%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[]%7D]%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D

Ninya and Hannah travelled down to London last week to install two costumes to complement the latest exhibition at the Weiss Gallery. "Courting Favour" showcases the latest collection of breathtaking early portraits and is being held to coincide with London Arts Week. One particularly exciting part of our contribution to the exhibition is the replica of a 1620s suit made by Ninya for Perth Museum and Art Gallery. The museum have kindly agreed to lend the suit so that it may be displayed alongside the portrait of Sir Rowland Cotton. The replica doublet was copied from an original in the museum's collection, whilst the breeches were copied from the pair in the V&A which originally belonged to Sir Rowland himself! https://www.weissgallery.com/events/courting-favour-elizabeth-i-james-i-exhibition-tudor-jacobean-portraits-26th-june-14th-july

Our new ribbon bodice laces proved so popular that we sold out entirely. We are happy to report that they are now back in stock in our Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheTudorTailor

Gina-B Silkworks

A visit from the lovely Gina Barrett featured in today's filming!

The Tudor Tailor by TheTudorTailor

Etsy have now expanded the ways you can pay for purchases in all their shops. This means that, in addition to Paypal, you can pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, iDEAL (Netherlands only), Sofort (Austria and Germany), Apple Pay, Android Pay, and gift cards for any of the 149 items on offer in the Tudor Tailor shop! We won't be increasing any of our prices to cover the increased commission until the end of the week, so if you have your eye on anything buy it before midnight on Friday 19th May and grab yourself a bargain! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheTudorTailor?ref=hdr_shop_menu