I make most of my costumes. When I joined several years ago, a number of
already-members gave me a lot of help. Now, depending on the intricacy of
the pattern, I can pretty much look at an illuminated manuscript and copy the
piece by making my own patterns from scratch. However, if you are not that
brave, several consumer sources provide ready-made patterns for costumes from
500 to 1900 such as Amazon Drygoods out of Davenport, Iowa. Phone -
800-798-7979. In addition to a pattern catalog they also have a shoe and
boot catalog with period selections. There is another pattern supplier out
there, unfortunately, I can't remember the name. However they often
advertise in Victoria Magazine.
Good Luck!
Mary