1. Look at lots of pictures in books
and websites on Henry VIII to research what they wore at the exact date you
have chosen.
A web site with some images is:
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/gable.html
Your Library may have books on how to make theatrical costumes.
These are useful guides to shapes and sizes; however the results
will not usually look as authentic as the methods described here
will achieve. Notice differences such as between younger and
older women, the headdress size, the jewel designs on the front, how
the black hood is folded and that the earlier the headdress the more
acute (steeper) the angle is at the top of the head, and so on.
from painting of family of
Sir Thomas More
at their home in Chelsea
attributed to Holbein
Enlarge one or two pictures onto paper and keep referring to them as you work to keep the details correct - it is easy to go off into flights of fancy when you do not mean to.
Jane Seymour 1536-37
Henry VIII's third wife
painted by Holbein
Equipment guide:
sewing kit
tape measure to check your head measurements
scissors to cut fabric
pack of sturdy needles
very strong thread; it can be helpful to use a
beeswax block and pull the thread
through this
small piece of leather or leather glove to grip
the needle as it is pulled through the pelmet buckram
pale gold thread similar to the colour of your background fabric
black and white thread
gold thread for sewing jewels, pearls and decorative border
for decoration
fancy flat-back gold buttons that look like goldsmiths work -13
flat-back cabochon jewels in two colours - 13
2 sizes of
pearl buttons or beads, 14 larger, 60 smaller;
avoid those that
are bright white as they look artificial
and modern. A mixture of shades looks more natural
nail varnish in off-white, pearl and pale gold
other
millinery wire (white) or thin wire coat-hangers or similar to wire
the base
cardboard to make the patterns to fit you - cereal boxes are the right size and shape
white paint spray - car spray will do
3 large chrome press-studs
0.5m elastic or 2 tape ties
tools
wire cutters
small pair pliers to bend the wire
pencil and straight edge to make and transfer the design
scissors to cut cardboard and pelmet buckram
PVA glue
child's paintbrush and old
pin/hat pin to transfer the glue
jam jar or tile to put glue on to
fabric
0.5m pelmet buckram
for basic frame
0.5m gold or silver fabric to cover pelmet buckram
0.5m coarse net
to look like gold wire
0.25m sturdy linen or calico to act as a hinge to join pieces
together
0.25 gold, silver or black soft leather to cover back
1.5m fine white linen
to fold over framework
1m fabric or braids to decorate white linen cover
1.5m light-weight black fabric;
many books
recommend using velvet but this is too heavy
1m polyester
quilting wadding
0.25m striped silk fabric for front band
2. Make patterns for the gable framework
out of cardboard
There are two parts: the front section which is covered in
pearls and jewels and the top frame which gives the typical
gable shape. The front section sticks up above the top frame to stop the
layers of fabric falling over the face. The top frame, mostly
hidden by fabric, forms the whole basis of the whole headdress.
front section shape
(in pelmet buckram and wire)
Measure your head and adjust these guide sizes to suit you
a) the distance front to back of your head is the pattern height (guide:14.5cm)
b) the pattern length, the longest measurement, goes from one side of your head to the other (but over gable shape)
c) the sides of the top frame come down only as far as your side hair-line
d) the side pieces of the top frame are about 3 cm longer than the side pieces of the front section for the little upward curl of the lappets around the chin or mouth.
Draw your patterns out on paper. Put your hair up out of the way and check and recheck against your head.
top frame pattern guide
front section shape
For the 1530's gable front use 110o at the top and 70o for the side
angles as suggested on
http://www.montgomerie.demon.co.uk/enghood/enghood4.html
Transfer your patterns onto cardboard. Cut out
and try on and revise and redraw until your templates look like the
pictures and also feel right for your head.
top frame shape cut out in cardboard
draft front section
(before curves are added to the sides)
3. Make pelmet buckram and wire framework
Use your two cardboard shapes as templates to cut out exactly the same
shapes in pelmet buckram. Try on these shapes to check they still fit
your head comfortably.
Check that the top and front still match.
this is an online book written in 1928 on how to wire a hat:
http://vintagesewing.info/1920s/28-mhd/mhd-05.html
Now make the same shapes in wire. Straighten one very long
piece of wire first with your fingers. Using your pelmet
buckram as the basis place the wire at about 3mm from the edges and use pliers to make the sharp
bends.
Make the wire shapes as accurately as possible so they do not pull
on the pelmet buckram when sewn on.
At any joins and at the beginning and end overlap wire by at least
6cm.
Bend the wire into 'hair pins' as you go round where the front section and top
frame
will be fixed together; I used 3.5cm on the front section. Add longer 'hair
pins' at the back to clip to your
hair; I used 9cm but it depends upon the shape of your own head.
top frame wire almost completed
All sides have wire running along them so that even if you sit on the
headdress the framework can be bent back into shape.
front section in the process
of being wired
Wire the pelmet buckram. The stitch used to sew the wire on to the buckram has the thread going through one hole twice. Use a piece of leather or an old leather glove to help pull the needle through the pelmet buckram. Waxing the thread will help it pull through more easily.
sewing on the front
sewing on the back
Draw pencil lines on the underside where the bends are to be.
Wire this top frame making any modifications as you go; I added a third back 'hair pin'. Keep checking that front section and top frame exactly match up.
Then bend the top ridge a little.
underside of top frame
with fold lines marked
Make a final check that the front section and top frame still exactly match up.
Each section is decorated separately and then the two are put together.
Put a layer of PVA glue onto the outside of the wired pelmet buckram. It is easier to control glue if you decant a small amount into a small jar or onto a ceramic tile. Paint the glue on evenly using a paintbrush.
Then place your front section down onto a piece of fabric; I used gold lurex. Press lightly into place with your fingers. Wash any glue off your hands whilst doing this so no glue can get onto the front of the fabric. Leave to dry over-night.
Now trim the fabric, leaving a wide border.
My thin gold lurex frays so easily in both warp and weft.
front, one edge turned under and glued
the back, one edge glued
I used a coarse net in a lighter gold colour so that the decoration looks more delicate, more like goldsmiths work. I left a border of about 2.5cm (1") on each side. I sewed this net on with tiny stitches that cannot be seen on the front. The net was used as a guide to positioning of the decoration.
A leather glove helped grip the needle to pull the waxed thread through all the layers. As I sewed on the buttons and pearls I tucked the net on the outside edge under so my stitches caught the net back.
I glued flat-backed cabochon jewels in two colours over the sewing in the centre of the gold buttons and left them overnight to dry. I used the end of an old hat pin to aim the glue correctly. Add slightly more glue than is needed; when the jewel is pushed down into place the glue goes up the sides a little. When it dries this will seal the jewel in so it will be less likely to fall off.
The pearl button's colour now looked too brash so I 'distressed' them with nail varnish. The first layer was off-white, then gold, then a few layers of pearl. Dab the colour on in blotches to look more natural and leave to dry between layers.
6. Prepare the top frame
Bend the top frame to the correct
shape using pliers. First 'show' the material where to
bend by running a blunt metal edge along a straight edge along the
pencil lines you drew on the underside of the pelmet buckram.
This makes the bend much sharper. Make a few small careful
bends in the wire rather than trying to do one big bend.
Curve the sides gently with your
fingers. Keep checking the top frame against the front section
to ensure that angles and curves match.
top frame bent along pencil lines
into gable shape
(from the front)
top frame bent to gable shape
(from the back)
Spay paint the top frame white to represent white
linen. Do this out of doors if possible due to the toxic fumes;
spread lots of newspapers underneath to protect surfaces, and
leave to dry overnight.
(In Tudor times the maids would disassemble the headdress for
laundering and then re-make
it.)
Add one large chrome press-stud at the top to affix the white linen
layer to enable you to remove it for
laundering and storage. (At the time the maid used pins to
hold all the parts together.)
Put a small blob of glue on the painted pelmet buckram and sew on the press-stud
whilst the glue is wet. This gives a really firm fixture.
top frame
sprayed white
view from the back
showing 'hair pins' position
7. Make the striped band
This covers up the hairline, though some portraits do
show the hairline a little at the temples. It also provides a
good base to hold the headdress in place as you carry out your daily
tasks.
Previously ladies may have plaited their long hair,
bound it with a cord and wrapped the plaits around their head.
Lady Willoughby de Eresby, 1533
Measure your head.
Wrap the tape measure around your head and overlap at the front, going
under the bump at the back of the head where it meets your neck.
Right or left can be on top.
Cut out a slightly curved piece of calico to this
measurement
When it fits comfortably cut out in 2 layers of striped silk and one of
wadding.
Sew on the inside, leaving a gap in one seam, and turn the right side out.
Sew the overlap so it looks like the portraits.
Cut open at the centre back and turn in the edges. Add two ties or elastic (depending
upon the level of authenticity you require) so that you can put it
on and adjust the fit over your pinned-up hair.
a) the white linen layer
Cut the white linen on the fold and add a strip of wadding to the folded edge. This will give the slightly 'thick' look seen in the portraits.
Add your decorative border and any decoration.
Fold the edge over to form a cuff and sew one press stud on the underside to match that on the top frame.
white linen pattern
(to be added)
(to be added)
1. Check placing of the linen layer on the top frame and mark the fold position up the side for a press stud.
2. Check the position of the fold against your own facial features (nose or lips) and sew press stud just above this fold position.
to be continued
Cut one circle in black fabric and a semi-circle in the wadding. This wadding lining will give the stiffness that makes the folded-up black fabric at the back stand of the head out, rather than droop downwards.
Machine sew on the inside, leaving a gap. Snip the seam allowance along the curve. Then turn through and sew up the gap by hand.
black hood pattern
folded hood at back of head
(Jane Seymour)
to be continued
a) Make fabric hinges for the front section
Glue two pieces of calico or linen over the excess lurex fabric to form fabric hinges.
When dry trim shorter.
'hinge' on front section
glued onto excess lurex fabric
(before trimming)
underneath
to be continued
Alternative methods are to either use press studs or to sew the two together.
There is a white band that goes over the shoulder of all the ladies in the Sir Thomas More painting. Noone seems to have worked out what this can be:
http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/whiteband.html
Maybe you have a good idea. Please let me know.
