Frankenblogging Part 7: Medieval veils and other headwear

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. This one is late! My apologies.


Today's installment is made of a couple of pages from the old site. The first section is the short opinion/advice piece that grew into a larger research project, on 12th Century French women's court headwear, and the second is a set of pieces I wrote about buckram and other materials in making historic hats, closing with a tiny little thing I said once about straw hats.


A short observation on early veils

The early veil (think Norman Conquest - there are two ladies on the Bayeux tapestry wearing something that looks like this) seems to have been a smaller version of the roman matron's veil.

It's a large rectangle, worn by laying the centre of the long side over the head, crossing the ends over the front of the throat, and tossing them over the shoulders. No bands seem to have been worn with this style of veil, but keeping it in place would have definitely been helped by pinning it to braids wrapped around the head. It's very warm, as well, so if you live in a hot place, make it of thin cotton or linen, with a slightly open weave, to let air pass through. For winter, make it of wool or heavy soft silk.

A good place to get inexpensive, high-quality, premade veils (my early veil is exactly this item) is at Dharma Trading Co. They carry them in silk and cotton (though they call them sarongs).


Buckram and Elizabethan Hats
This is OLD, I wasn't as much of an expert as I thought I was, and this wasn't EVER my main focus of research. I can MAKE hats, and I was trained in modern millinery techniques (i.e. 1800s and more recent). Please have a look at the websites of those who do specialize in this period, like Sarah Goodman and Drea Leed.

I trained with a professional milliner (who is now retired) making reproduction hats, using traditional techniques and materials. I've done theatrical costume and I've also been researching and making documented period costume for over 10 years. Much of what is given below is based on my experience with the various materials.  

That last sentence is pretty accurate. It's practical advice on using modern materials, NOT AT ALL a piece on making authentic reproductions. Keep that in mind!

Period Usage of Buckram  No, not really about buckram at all. I didn't find any. See my cautionary note, above, PLEASE! This is another case of "Ive got a BOOK! Look! Expert! ME!" syndrome. 

Sigh.

I have checked my copy of _Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd_ (Arnold), and it seems that buckram was used in giving body and shape to clothes (as Pellon interfacings are used now), but not to hats, during Elizabeth's time. Stiff felt was used for shaping hats, which would then be covered with the fashion fabrics. I suggest Arnold's _Patterns of Fashion_ for more information (with photos of construction details on an existing example) on at least one hat (my copy is now gone and I have been unable to replace
it). Also, try the Elizabethan Costuming Page, as it focuses more on this period than I do, and may
have more information on where to look. The main downside to felt is that millenery felts are fairly expensive.

Modern Buckram

Modern buckram is made in a similar way to period buckram. 10-years-ago me seems to know SO MUCH about things I haven't really researched personally. Please ask someone who really knows what they are talking about! "Buckram" basically is now defined as a coarse-woven cloth stiffened with starch, and the meaning of the word has not changed very much over the intervening time, save that in the 16th c it also referred to the unstiffened cloth. If you want to use it for hats, you should look for and purchase millinery buckram as it is superior for hatmaking. It should, in any case, be reinforced with a millenery wire frame securely whipped down onto the buckram, in order to produce a reasonably sturdy hat. Buckram's main advantage is that hats made with a wire-and-buckram base are less expensive to make, and are lighter, cooler and tend to breathe better than felt hats.

Other materials (In hatmaking)



This is actually pretty good advice for people wanting to learn how to build hats on the cheap. I've used posterboard, plastic jugs, coathangers, cardboard pizza boxes (unused), cereal boxes, etc. Alternative materials are a great way to learn.


Now, if you are wanting to *practice* making hats (or if cost is an issue), lightweight posterboard is a reasonably cheap and practical alternative for working out shapes and fit before working with an unfamilar (or expensive) material or technique. Also, medium- or heavy-weight posterboard is quite sturdy for costume hats, and is often used for making headwear and props for theatrical productions on a smaller budget. A posterboard base can be covered with fabric and finished just as a buckram-and-wire base can, and I have a few 'practice' or 'stage' hats in my costume closet that are indistinguishable from the 'real' hats to the uninformed. I have found that using an equivalent weight of posterboard for a base structure is almost equally durable as an inexpensive sized felt.

All three materials (sized felt, buckram, and posterboard) are sensitive to moisture and will lose shape if they get wet, are crushed or damaged in any way. I suggest that you start out with posterboard to begin with, and, once you are familiar with the shapes, fitting, etc, you can then move on to a felt base hat. The successful 'practice' hats, if nicely finished, will do nearly as well as felt-based ones would for camping events, loaners, dress-up hats for demos, or other situations where one's best costume isn't really recommended anyway.

On Straw Hats
Wow, actual good advice without too much Authoritative Tone. Straw hats are nice, anyway. 


The basic woven grass/straw 'farmer hat' has been around for at least 2000 years. They are shown in many medieval illuminations of field workers. I have also seen Roman artwork depicting travellers and laborers wearing woven grass or straw hats of a very familiar shape.

I suggest, if you are unsure of whether they were used in your period, that you check contemporary artwork for images of travellers, laborers and other persons who might need protection from the sun.

Resurrecting the Bliaut Project and other signs of activity

So, today I am putting out a call for questions regarding bliauts, handout requests (a few are available online, but I have to mail or fileshare the rest), etc.

If anyone needs or wants copies of my handouts (these are the same ones from KWCS a few years back), pleasego download from Lulu.com (free, may ask you to register) or convince me to post them at Scribd (I have an account and have not yet posted anything). If you have the handouts and want to pick my brains for stuff not in them, please ask!

Direct links to the lulu.com pages:
Introduction to 12th century Western European Clothing for Women and Men
Serpentine Braids or Straight as a Scabbard: Women's Court Hairdressing in 12th Century Europe

I have a couple more that are not yet online, and one that is a handout version of the Adventures In Dagging project, done for a workshop. I will hunt those up and mail out copies on request.

I am also considering reworking my old "bliaut handout" into a more updated version, with the cheats (shortcuts in girdle making, mostly) as a separate section. Any interest?

I am duplicating this post over at my livejournal, so if you subscribe to it as well as read here, ask in one place or I might get confused ;)

Frankenblogging Part 6: Medieval Wire Jewellry

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. Annotations are in this typeface.

I wrote this a long while ago. Please excuse the 10-year-old, grainy, low quality digital photography. 


On Wire Jewellry in the Medieval Period

Good books on the subject:

Welch, Martin Discovering Anglo-Saxon England isbn 0-271-00894-6

has some information on grave-finds, including color pictures of a double pin connected by a chain and spiraled-wire beads. 

Ogden, Jack Ancient Jewellry (from the _Interpreting the Past_ series) by ISBN0-520-08030-0

Slim book, lots of information and illustrations. Ancient wire-making techniques, chains, etc. 

Egan, Geoff and Pritchard, Frances Dress Accessories c1150 - c1450 Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 3 isbn 0 11 290444 0

In-depth catalogue and study of artefacts from the Museum of London excavations of the London waterfront. Lots of clear photographs, some colour plates, many detail drawings of jewelry, belts, pins and other accesories. Extremely useful to the medieval costumer for all the finishing touches. 


I've copied several pieces from this book, in particular two copper wire annular brooches, shown on p 254,
fig 164, artefacts 1340 and 1341. Descriptions of these artefacts and two further similar pieces (one in gold, from York) are given on p 256. The chapter of Hair Accessories is of especial interest. I've made several
of the decorative u-pins (p295, fig 196), and recreated possible original states of both of the nearly-complete circlets/headdress frames, which are made of silk-covered wire.

There are also spiraled wire beads and of course chains from Anglo-Saxon england, rome, etc, as well as a sort of naalbinding technique used to make chains from viking times to the present (although modern examples
are mostly from the Middle East and North Africa).

This is another clear case of "I've got a BOOK! I'm an EXPERT NOW!!!" I'm sorry. But, that said, these things are both documentable and easy to make with cheap and widely available materials, which makes them kind of fun to have references for. Hence my geeky excitement.

Jewelry and personal items made after items in Dress Accessories

A grouping of homemade reproductions of medieval period items.

Author's note: I took these with a terrible, terrible old digital camera sometime in 1998 or 1999, and the picture quality is just AWFUL. My most heartfelt apologies for that fact. I plan a new post on some of these items with new photos, as I still have most of them.

A grouping of homemade reproductions of medieval period items, this time with a wooden jewelry casket bound in incised leather.

Author's note: This "wooden jewelry casket" is actually a fairly nicely redressed 1950's or 1960's small mass-produced jewelry box. It's lined on the inside with tooled brass sheet and printed cloth. I think it's still neat enough to get its own future post. 

A full-size (1") and a double-size (2") reconstruction of a small double-spiral ornamented ring brooch in Dress Accessories (p 254, fig 164, artefacts 1340 and 1341). There are actually numerous examples of this type of brooch, in base and precious metals.

My versions are all in copper.

A conjectural brooch made with a flattened coil wired to two concentric rings and decorated with flat spirals at the compass points. It is all copper.

A reconstruction of a simple but effective little (1") flattened
coil brooch described and illustrated in Dress Accessories. It has no foundation ring. Mine is copper with an iron pin.

A first attempt to create a period grooming set (earspoon, tweezers and toothpick) after examples shown in Dress  Accessories.

This attempt at reproducing one is made from hammered copper sheet, cut and shaped, with fine brass wire wrapped around to provide grips. it is perforated and strung on a small chain, which depends from a brooch.

Hair or veil pins made after examples shown in Dress Accessories (p295, fig 196). They show the characteristic doubled-spiral decoration. The originals were made in copper, brass, silver and gold (if I recall correctly).

These I made in two sizes, all in copper. I have since made more,
in brass.

A draft of a conjectural recreation of the fragmentary iron wire headgear with silk-wrapped spiral brass wire decoration shown in Dress Accessories. These pictures are larger than the others to attempt to show the detail of the piece.

Mine is made of heavy copper wire for the base, instead of iron, because it is easier for me to get my hands on. The spiral decoration is made of brass wire, wrapped with cotton embroidery floss, which was then formed into the double spiral motif. The base wire was wrapped with the same floss, and this was used to secure the ends of the wire into smoothly covered loops. Finally, the decoration was attached by wrapping on a further layer of floss. The ends were sewn down to secure them. It is held shut with a matching floss tie.

I have not attempted to attach a veil to this piece because I'm saving the good translucent silk for the final product.


It is not known if the original is in fact a circlet or if it is
some other kind of head ornament, such as a veil frame. The original was found to have fragments of a  transparent silk veil attached to the spiral decoration, and one end of was formed into a hook or opened loop. The other end was broken off.

This is a reconstruction of the silk-wrapped iron wire circlet with silk-wrapped square knot decoration in two colors shown in Dress Accessories. Mine is made of heavy copper wire for the base, instead of iron, because it is easier for me find.

The base wire was wrapped with yellow-dyed unspun silk, and this was used to secure the ends of the wire into smoothly covered loops.

The ornamental wires are copper, wrapped with blue and red dyed unspun silk. These were carefully knotted around the base wire so as to form decorative square knots at regular intervals (about 1 inch apart). Once these were attached, red silk was used to smoothly
cover the ends of the decorative wires near the loops. Finally, the circlet is held closed by a silky cord tied through the ends.

The two circlets, together, and another image of the two together, on edge to show details.

Frankenblogging Part 5: 13th century Spanish male court dress

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. 

More old content, but this time, it is my notes and illustrations on trying to make heads or tails of some men's clothing in a Spanish museum catalog. The drawings are my drawings made to accompany my notes. I think this was originally written to share my notes with someone working on a reproduction and no access to this one, and at the time, best source.

A suit of Spanish Royal Clothes

These are my observations on a suit of clothes belonging to Fernando de la Cerda and dating to the 13th century.


Note: They are held in the textile collections of the Burgos Museum. The first link has a photo of the Saya sketched below.

Pellote (man's overgown): 

A detail of the fabric and a photo of the item in question before conservation (very sad! only shreds, really) are shown in the catalog, and it does not look as though the fabric is much stiffer than your average brocaded silk, though it may have been lined with something stiffer, perhaps linen, to give it body. There is extensive information with the photos, but I do not read Spanish very well and I can't tell yet if there was any lining, or evidence of a lining, found during the conservation process. I would make a test version out of a stiffish taffeta rather than cotton.

Was there some kind of stiffening to help the pellote hang correctly? The pellotes shown in surviving illuminations hang as if they have support, so I'm supposing there must have been something. This example may have had a two-layer linen facing at the hip, and a linen lining in the body to prevent stretching, but not being able to decipher the description of the pellote, I have no idea if they mention anything. The main thing
I know about grave finds is that any linen (or other vegetable fiber) that might have been there as underclothes or supporting linings tends to vanish. Silks and wools survive, but linen dissolves everywhere except Egypt, glaciers and bogs. 

Saya (man's undertunic):

The sleeve cut is unusual (to me, don't you love my generalizations?). It isn't shaped in any way other than being slightly tapered from shoulder to wrist. The seam is along the back of the arm, presumably so that the seam could be either decorative (as shown in the illuminations) or so that the heraldic brocade of the fabric on this particular item was not obviously broken at the seam when worn. It appears that the sleeve was sewn up first, then slit under the arm and sewn over the shoulder portion of the tunic body.

The rest of the tunic is constructed according to the usual method, except for a gap left on the left side that is laced shut, presumably for a good fit.

Manto (cloak or mantle):

A cloak (manto) made of the same elaborate heraldic brocaded silk, also belonging to Fernando de la Cerda. A discussion of the placement of the ties is (need to link to previous day's post).

Frankenblogging part 4: Medieval Half-Circle Cloaks

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. 

More Old Content! Please feel free to post comments, questions, and crticism :)

On the wearing of half-circle mantles

At least one surviving (non-ecclesiastical) example has two ties, one on either side, which are rather farther down than you would expect. This fits with my experience of wearing one, and actually helps to 'fit' the
garment to the body so that it stays.

My heavy, fulled wool, winter mantle is a pure half-circle, calf-length, and is worn opening at the front, clasped with a heavy double pin (bridged  by a chain of approximately 6 inches). It does not tend to slide down the back, but that is because the double brooch is pinned at shoulder level, /after/ arranging the cloak so that the extra cloth wrinkles up at the back of my neck (nice and cozy in cold weather). This is usually
about 16-18 inches down from the crease when the cloak is folded in half.

My summer mantle, being a little shorter and of finer wool, can be pinned to my gown with lighter brooches and doesn't wrinkle up much at the back of my neck because the lighter fabric drapes more easily across my shoulders. It is light enough that it can be comfortably pulled over my head (in the veil/mantle manner) if I need to do so. 

Note: This observation really has not changed at all in the intervening 10 years since I first made it. 

On decorating mantles

Virtually all of the surviving cloaks from period (And yes, I mean the whole 1000+ year stretch) that we have are decorated in some way. Some, like the 'Schnurmantel' and the coronation mantle of Roger II of Sicily are elaborately embroidered with designs that stand out from the base fabric, some are only 'trimmed' with embroidery (the Mammen cloak). The cloak from the Burgos collection is decorated in that it is made of an elaborately patterned textile of Moorish origin.

Due to artistic evidence of undecorated cloaks, I'd venture that lower classes wore them, and that these would be unlikely to have survived as they would be ideal candidates for recycling into other things (and also
because the richer garments were given into the care of the Church after a period of secular use, which helped to preserve them).

Half-circle cloaks were pretty much the norm from about 1100 on, although scattered survivals of the earlier rectangular cloak (mostly among poorer or isolated peoples) continued on for some time. The more extravagant 3/4 and full-circle cloaks seem to have evolved as weaving technology became more efficient, just like the rest of the world's fashion did. If you want easy, rectangular cloaks are very easy and practical, in that
they convert quite easily to blankets.

Frankenblogging Part 3: Miscellaneous notes on hand sewing and medieval sewing

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. 

More old stuff! Complete with only slightly repaired poor formatting and a less well-thought-out writing style. My newer notes are in this typeface. Enjoy!

Medieval sewing stitches
From _Textiles and Clothing_:

Running stitch (not recommended for bias seams or any seams that will take stress or wear as the fabric may shift and the thread may break or pull..)

Not really. Make them very small and regular and they are just fine. This was actually the most popularly used seam and hem stitch.

Backstitch (the most solid stitch and most suitable for modern fabrics, takes stress and wear well)

Used for heavy stress areas and embroidery.


Overstitched edges (good for selvedges or fulled edges)

This is also called butted edges.

Felling seams:
French seams are not described at all in _Textiles and Clothing_, but a flat seam finish is: The seam is opened flat and the seaming allowance is sewn flat with a running stitch (which is safe to use as it is not going to be stressed at all). For modern, unfulled fabrics, I would roll the raw edge under as I sewed the seaming allowance flat with the running stitch. Other methods, not found in Textiles and Clothing can be found
below.

Hemming stitches: 

There are three basic techniques shown in _Textiles and Clothing_:

1. Hem stitch is shown used on both a single and double folded hem. 
2. Top-stitching done in running stitch is shown on a single-folded hem hemmed with hem stitch. This would give a stronger hem, and reduce stretching on bias edges. 
3. Running stitch is shown used on single-folded hems.

Rolled hems are shown on fine fabrics such as silks and I suspect they may have been done on fine linen edges, although no examples have survived to prove or disprove this theory... Personally, I would use this edge on fine linen.

Sarcastic note about my own tone here: "I bought a BOOK! I'm an EXPERT!" Sigh. 

Facings and edge finishes: 

Necklines and open armhole edges were often faced with narrow silk bindings or facings on the straight grain. You could use inexpensive Habotai silk for these facings. They are sewn on with a fine running stitch. Lacing edges are finished with the same type of facing, with the lacing holes worked in buttonhole or whipstitch through the outer fabric, lining (if any) and facing strip. I'd use a doubled strip for my lacings, as I know how much stress I always put on them :) Buttonhole edges were finished with a narrow cardwoven band, about 4 cards wide, sewn on as it was woven ( the weft thread was the sewing thread). If you are going to the trouble
of handsewing anything that will have buttonhole edges, you should really do the cardwoven reinforcement. I'm working on a project right now that will have these edges on it. 

Some Handsewing Stitches


This is my own advice and therefore is less directive and "experty." However, that means that I felt that my little illustrations spoke for themselves. I think I need more explanation for these to be really practical. Or just more illustrations. 

And no, I can't really draw a needle. I'm better now, but not by much.

This diagram shows how to measure and knot the doubled thread.
Measure wrist to shoulder, cut your thread.

Thread your needle, then knot the two ends as shown.


Anchoring the knot in your cloth.

Running stitch

A good basting stitch, and a good hem stitch for lightweight fabrics.

Not very sturdy for seams. Unless small and close! Take small, neat stitches forward on both the front and back of your work. Can also be used for gathering up fabric.

Backstitch.

A sturdy seam stitch. Take long stitches forward on the back of the work (2x your desired stitch length), then stitch one stitch backward on the front of your work.


Chainstitch

Decorative and useful as a seam stitch. On the front of the work, punch the needle through near to the point where it emerged, making a loop. On the back of the work, bring the needle forward one stitch length and back up through the fabric to catch the loop.

Whipstitch

A hemming stitch, also useful for finishing seams and sewing down trims. Worked like running stitch, except that it it 'zigs' on the front and 'zags' on the back of the work. The second diagram shows how to trim one side down to ease rolling the seam allowance under for finishing.

whipped hem

Crossed whipstitch

Whipstitch worked double for durability. The second row is worked across the first, forming x's.

Oversewn or whipped edges

Use to join selvedges for a flat smooth finish. Take small, neat whipstitches all along the doubled edges. When finished, open flat and press.

Finishing a gathered edge

A gathered edge can be neatly bound by carefully whipping a binding onto it, being careful to catch the binding on both sides as you work.

Ladder stitch

Makes a strong, decorative join on two hemmed pieces of fabric. Stitches are worked in a figure-eight pattern (second diagram), going in one peice and coming out of the gap, then going in the other.

side view 

Frankenblogging Part 2: On facings in Medieval costume

Author's note: The Frankenblogging feature is a republication of older content from my former personal webpage, with some annotations. It occurs every Monday morning. 


 I wrote this a decade or so ago, originally for a post to a discussion list, later re-written for my old website. This is installment 2 of the bits and bobs coming over here from over there. 

On facings

First, for clarity and beacuse the two are often confused:

• Interfacing: A supplemetary layer of fabric, normally placed between the fashion fabric and the lining, or between the fashion fabric and the facing. It is intended to help stiffen or strengthen the fashion garment. In fully lined garments (such as jackets), all stress points may be interfaced, sometimes severaly layers deep, to help the garment keep its designed shape. 
• Facing: A shaped piece of fabric intended to finish a garment edge, often cut as an abbreviated version of the garment piece it matches. This is seamed along the garment edge, turned and either finished and left loose inside, or sometimes sewn down either inside or outside, depending on the design of the garment. 

In modern clothing the facing is often only attached at the garment edge (collar, cuff, placket, hem, etc) and is left to hang loose inside the garment. These loose facings are often interfaced to keep them from crumpling, flopping, or slipping out of the garment edge. Which they always do anyway. Personally, I hate these and I sew them down invisibly inside my garments.

In some eras of period costume, facings are used as a decorative motif, and are often embroidered. They serve a dual purpose, in that they are both a finishing technique (practical) and a form of ornament (decorative).  Where facings are used as a decoration, additional fabric bands may also be applied to continue the ornamental theme across the garment. I do 12thc, and therfore I make use of this decorative technique, and I find that I almost never have to interface my applied facings, *unless* it is a fine or unstable fabric.

On fastening keyhole necklines

I have often been asked how one should fasten a keyhole neckline. The simple, documentably period answer? A brooch.

Author's note: Small brooches are also really useful on regular clothing as well as medieval period clothing. They are also a really nice fashion detail. Every time I've worn a period-costume jewellry item with my everyday clothes, I've been complimented on it.


Medium-sized annular (unbroken ring) brooches with a hook catch on the back to anchor the pin seem to work well, as well as simpler ring- or disc-brooches. It takes a bit of practice to use a pen-annular (broken
ring) brooch to close the corners of a keyhole neckline, but it can be done.

You only need to close up a keyhole neckline if it's cold enough to, or if decency calls for it. If the corners of the neckline like to fly open and you don't want adventurous people looking down the inside of your tunic, pin them together. If you don't want to have to pin them, apply a trim or decorative facing that is fairly stiff.

This type of neck-finish was fashionable in various areas for hundreds of years. Generally speaking, the period way will turn out to be the most practical way, IME. If you are curious about exactly what is right for your persona, look at illuminations and period art for help. 

Frankenblogging Part 1: Some thoughts on the gown in The Accolade

Author's note: Welcome to Frankenblogging! This is a feature in which I comment on my own older web-published advice and reference, as a way to make myself feel better about subjecting folks to new posts of it while I am porting it over here.


I wrote this piece a decade or more ago, originally for a post to a discussion list, later re-written for my old website.  While it is an older opinion, most of what it has in it is still both valid and consistent with my current opinions on the subject of medieval costume in Victorian artworks.

Some thoughts on the gown in The Accolade

I get asked about this every once in awhile, since it's such an attractive painting, and the gown shown is so lovely to the modern eye. Unfortunately, it's also a Victorian fantasy of what a generalized 'medieval' gown would look like. While it would make a nice 19th century theatre costume, fancy dress outfit, or even a modern wedding gown, it isn't really a medieval gown at all. I'm going to go over its various features and analyze them for the reader, based on my background in studying and recreating medieval, rennaisance and Victorian dress.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

What I see in this gown:
It looks to me as though the artist spent a bit of time looking at a couple of costume texts of the day in an effort to get the right feel. However, some of the details are a bit off for the probable intended period, while, at the same time, being right on target for later periods.

12th century elements:
It seems, at first glance, to be a sort of 'Victorianized' bliaut, which probably doesn't help much, if you are at all familiar with the contorversy about how these garments might have been made. Things that make me think it's a bliaut (or just generally intended to be a noble lady in 12th C. dress, which would fit nicely with the knighting motif, and the dress of the rest of the figures):

• The 'V' neck on the overdress
• The tight and wrinkly undersleeves
• The neck of the undergown closed with a brooch
• The bicep trimmings
• The wide sleeves of the overdress,
• The location of the belt.

'Victorianized' theatrical costume book elements:

• The puffy sleeve cap on the overdress sleeves (regency/Victorian)
• The plaque belt (which *is* medeival/rennaisance, but doesn't
  appear until about 100-200 years later than the intended period
  in its earliest form)
• The fact that the belt has no upper loop around the torso
• The overgown and undergown being of the same colors (although
  this is probably both a painterly and a theatrical convention)
• That the torso's silhouette is that of a gently corseted woman
  of about 1880-1900 (which would make sense if he had a model pose
  in a theatre costume to get the light and shadow right - she would
  have worn her stays underneath it).
  

If you compare this to the Chartres statues, you'll see what I mean about the details: (Note: links are dead, I have to replace them - search for "Chartres West Portal" for good images) There are manuscript illustrations as well, but I have no links for those.

I like The Accolade. Really. It's a charming, romantic work, and was the stuff of my knights and princesses fantasies as a child. Plus, the dress is like every little girl's fantasy Medieval queen dress up outfit. It makes a fantastic wedding gown, and a number of custom wedding gown makers have a version in their catalogs. That said, it's a Really Really Bad Historical Reference, don't use it as one.


Also, I've been asked DOZENS of times about how to make this "bliaut" for historical reenactment wear. At the time I wrote this, I had been asked about seven times, and I was already getting kind of burnt out. I think I made up a form letter, actually, then thought better of it and put this on my site and just redirected folks to it.

Some other thoughts on Victorian ideas about Norman dress
Don't blame the painter too much for the dress being wrong, although the subject matter is romantic fantasy. The whole 19th century concept of how Norman court dress was made and worn was very wrongheaded. Much of this had to do with the idea that it had to be constructed in some manner similar to that of formal dress of the time (restrictive, separate bodice, either over or under the gown). Additionally, art and costume historians of the 1800's had little or no archaeological evidence to work from, and this, combined with the lack of clear photographs (most worked from others' redrawings of period artworks) contributed to their ideas about how things must have been made. Unfortunately for the beginning costumer interested in Norman court dress, most costuming books easily available today still use these ideas.

I think the current transmission of these ideas mostly comes through Braun & Schneider and Norris, but originally came from Voillet-Le-Duc (who WASN'T a tailor, and boy did it show - I'm not of the opinion that he was much of an artist, either) when he sketched the statues badly 200 years ago. Montfaucon's (earlier) sketches were much better but are less well known. Interestingly, Strutt wasn't as influenced by Voillet-Le-Duc's ideas, possibly because they were near-contemporaries. Strutt, however is more useful for later eras and leaves much out in his redrawings of clothing of the 12th century, though he does seem to have done them from direct observation of illuminated manuscripts.

This bit is more of an analysis of the whole 19th century take on Medieval dress in general. Still pretty opinionated. 

Over the hill and through the woods to granpa's house we go...

Or, the promised trip report

Don't EVER EVER get driving directions from Expedia. They doth SUCK. If you do anyway, buy a map before you leave. They give you 'shortcuts'. Meh.


We left last Thursday morning, and got to where we thought we were supposed to turn off (no exit number was actually given, very bad), and we actually miss the exit. Lo and behold, thirty miles further there's another exit ... For The Same Road. Bad sign. We take it, since it seems to be going in the right direction. It actually isn't. it's narrow, and dark and has no other cars on it. We pass a prison, while going down this lonely road that reminds me of Close Encounters. Creepy.

To cut it short, we drove for miles in the wrong direction (south) trying to find our way back to the highway before we gave up and declared that we would take the next road that carried significant traffic in the right direction. Bonus: I saw a sign for a town I recognized in the direction we needed to go. So, back on track, we head off, with only 150 miles of needless backtracking under our belts.


We stop for gas and a map, and the remainder of the trip is uneventful. We get to our hotel and check in ... at 2 am.

Sleep happens, and we get up, have breakfast and try to jog my rusty memory of how to find D&I's house. Much fairly aimless driving around, during which we discover that a favorite old cafe is gone (sniffle) and are forced to resort to Staryucks. We buy another map, and discover I was on the wrong expressway. Embarrassing. We go see freinds, D&I approve my choice of guy, coo over my 'little wiggly pink thing' and we arrange to have dinner. Discover Chris likes Indian food. Go back to D&I's and bullshit, and then back to the hotel for sleep.

Saturday & Sunday are mostly set aside to visit Chris's aunt and Uncle in Grass Valley.
Beautiful, uneventful drive. We arrive at dinnertime and see their amazing house. It's really gorgeous, they have all manner of wildlife, a small koi pond, a gazebo, a veggie garden, fruit trees, a pool, a hot tub, and just all the neat things we'd like to have when we retire. They, of course, love FX. Everyone loves FX, since he's really charming. We sit up late and tell stories on the patio, then go to bed. In the morning we have breakfast and go wander around Nevada City, buying little cool things (I got new cheap silver hoops for my ears, and new cheap hairsticks, FX got a gobbly-noisy-thing and a book, Chris got a box of color-block magnets for the fridge, and we got some little booklet thingies for gifts). We stop for dinner at a yummy Chinese buffet, go home, take pictures with T&R and baby, head off to SJ.

Back in SJ we stop by and visit D&I again. D. is evil and introduces Chris to Star Wars Galaxies (hereafter referred to as "crack") while I. and I talk. Around midnight we finally pry Chris away from D's computer and say our goodbyes. Back to the hotel for sleep...

Monday we see my sister and the town I mostly grew up in.
We drive up to Oakland, I take Chris to my favorite dim sum resataurant EVER (if you ever go to Oakland, go to the Jade Villa on Broadway. Expensive, but worth it), we shop a bit in Oakland's Chinatown and buy a real wok (I do a lot of Asian cooking and my old flat-bottomed American wok isn't cutting it) as well as some nice cheap dishes for our asian food nights.

Next, we head to the house I grew up in. We tour my old neighborhood, take some pictures. The newest owners of our house have painted it a pale slate grey (not blue, for the first time in 30 years) and put in a slate walk. It's not so much my old house as it used to be, and I'm sad. We head off to the Mountain View Cemetery in Piedmont, becaseu it's beautiful, we have a couple of hours, and I have to show it to Chris. We end up (as I expected we might) spending 2 hours taking art photographs of the views and monuments. Off to the Windmill to meet my sister.

We get there, and Chris decides he likes my sister and her intended. We hang out, her mom gets there, and we go off to see our bio-father. He likes the baby, pictures are taken, we go to dinner. I am disappointed that nobody else could come, but we eat anyway. After we eat Far Too Much, we go back to my sister's house and talk and catch up a bit, then it's back to the hotel.

Tuesday we go see my Dad (step-dad, but we are very close) in Carmel.
We check out of the hotel, get gas and head off down the coast. The drive down 17 is pretty, and we decide to eat lunch in Capitola after we get on 1. We find a nice little diner-style restaurant with decent prices and the undersides of duck decoys tacked to the ceiling. Really Good Food, nice service (eat at the Capitola Beach House if you are ever there). We have 45 minutes left on the meter so we go shopping, not intending to buy anything. So, of course, we find a little shop that has reasonably priced frog netsuke, which I buy for Mom and Dad for Xmas gifts, and a suprise for Chris's grandma, as well. Then, having spent too much money, we go on to Dad's.

Off into the hills inland of Carmel, and we sneak up on Dad, who is vacuuming. After scaring the crap out of him (hee hee), we introduce the Baby, and Dad, of course, loves him. We go out to dinner, walk along the waterfront in Monterey and watch the seals beat each other up and cavort in the night waters. Back to Dad's, sleep. In the morning we let Chris sleep and Dad, FX and I go out to breakfast (well, alright, lunch). After that, Chris, FX and I go to the Aquarium, while Dad does some maintenance on the house. The aquarium trip is expensive, but, as it turns out, worth every penny. FX loves fish. Really loves them, as in crawling out of the stroller or my arms to press his body against the glass to be closer to them, and sitting fascinated for 20 minutes at a time. So, we must have a fishtank, later on.

Very tired and achy, we head home and pick up Dad for dinner. After dinner we go for a walk in Monterey's downtown and Dad buys Chris a congratulatory cigar, which Chirs happily smokes. We go back to dad's watch a strange movie and go to sleep.

Thursday, after my younger sister comes by and meets the baby, is an uneventful drive home, with a couple of stops for food. At about 10 we're FINALLY home. I've never been so happy to see my messy living room. FX spends a couple of hours crawling around on the floor getting tired, and we get to bed by 12:30.

I'm tired. I don't want to get in a car for a LONG LONG time. I just wish we'd had time to see everyone - I missed a whole bunch of beloved freinds ( , for example, who was out of town, sigh) and some family (my aunt&uncle, some cousins, my brother) who I wanted to see. Ah, well, next time.

PMS, Product review #2, and other news

PMS. Ow. Cramps last night, woke with back spasm today after 4 hours of sleep. Hot shower kinda helped.

ow. Figures. (see 'other news', below)

---

Product review:

That "kaboom!" stuff actually works. We bought a bottle at Wallyworld for 3 dollars (I'm not paying 20 bucks plus shipping for 2 bottles and a freakin' sponge, when I can get 1 bottle for $3, thanks). I got bored yesterday and sprayed it on the nastiest part of the hard water/soap scum/dirtmarks (that build up in a week and take HOURS of concentrated scrubbing or vats of noxious chemicals to remove. And then they come right back, of course.). Further information: we have a small not-very-well-ventilated bathroom - no window and an exhaust fan that I'd swear had been roofed over at some point.

I wasn't expecting much for my $3. Mostly becasue I HATEHATEHATE that loud-ass guy who advertises the stuff on tv.

Surprise #1 This stuff doesn't make your ungs shrivel up. It's not yummy smelling, but I can now stand to be IN the bathroom while cleaning it. Always a plus.

Surprise #2 It actually does what it says it does (if the surface is bone dry - if the bathroom is damp, you need to scrub a bit). The test spots are scary in their sparkly whiteness, which means that I really need to finish cleaning the tub now.

But, on the bright side, at least I can.

---

Other news:

Going on a trip. I get to show the Baby Of Doom to lots of people whom I love dearly and who have not seen me in ages and ages. Whee. We leave Thursday. See you in a week!

FX is having a growth spurt. How do I know? He's sleeping a lot, eating when he is awake and I am constantly starving. And I've lost some weight, while eating what feels like too much.

And he has another tooth. Upper left Incisor. Yes, that means my nips hurt, thanks for asking. We're doing lots of 'no bite' training. He gets put down when he bites me and I've asked him not to. He doesn't like that, so he's learning not to take chunks out of Mom. The blisters are healing, and I've been using baby Anbesol gel on my nips after feedings more than on his gums (he only gets gum0numb stuff when his new tooth really bothers him).

The neighbors are dropping furniture repeatedly on the floor above us. It's been going on for hours and it's getting OLD. Bump. CRASH. Bang. THUMP. I thought when you are moving things you are supposed to avoid dropping them? Right?

Stuff and things

Things about FX:

FX is completely fascinated when I pick things up with my toes. He tries, but does not have the coordination yet.

FX had a dry night last night - he woke up crying 2x and both times went on the potty. His diaper was DRY! wooHoo! And no accidents on the floor today (yet). Happydance! If you want to know what the heck I'm doing, go here.

baby poo is VERY yellow. Everything that comes out of babies, with the exception of most barf, is yellow. I am perpetually cleaning yellow substances off my son.


Stuff about me:

I hate the latest spate of faked MS security patches. F*ck the idiot who wrote this latest net vermin. I have deleted at least 10 of those HUGE stupid emails in the last day.

Gaming last night went well. It was fun. However, 2 things:

1:If you are tired, eating more than half a cup of chocolate-covered espresso beans chased with coffee will not help. It will only give you a sick stomach and a racing heart. Even, or especially, after eating pizza.
2: DO NOT do a websearch on "wookie nookie", and if you do, DON'T click any of the links. I mean this. Mental scarring will occur. And possibly screaming. Don't do a search on shaved wookies either.

Quote for the day:
"If you can't say anything nice, come over here and sit by me." Dorothy Parker (I think. I can't be bothered to go look it up)

I'm putting my cards on the table (AIPON)

Okay, since I've been following the vicious screaming matches in AIPON's top 10 pages, I've decided to put my cards on the table, so you all can tell what I've put up (as if anyone cares but me! Hah!)

My entries are (fake drumroll here):
The SRB, which should be obvious. Docs and notes are here.

My Illuminator's Blue Loose Gown No online docs or notes or anything, but I wanted to make a gown that looked like an illumination. The color of the wool is deliberately accurate to an illumination and not to period dye methods. Yes, I know, bad, but fun. Sneakily Not Period. Like unto wearing Loud Silly Undergarments under period clothes.

The Ringer, or my deliberately posted, WAY not period outfit. It's a faire costume, made to the guidelines for St Brigid's at RPFN in 1992 or so. AT THE TIME we were told that we were making non-period theatrical costumes, based somewhat in reality, but mostly intended to convey a vague feeling of "Olde Scottisheness" to the Tourons. I'm amazed by the number of people who think it's African or Middle Eastern simply by virtue of the fact that I've got a pot on my head...
(this bit added acouple of hours later) Oh, another thing. There IS NO gap in the front lacing. The gown is dark yellow wool, laced around lighter wooden buttons (over a hook&eye closure). I'm guessing this is why some people think the front is gapping. It's not a modern cut, either, it's an older interpretation of the Shinrone Gown. (end of later bit)

My German Ren, first copy (I asked that Kirrily remove it, but I guess the request got lost). Not the best image, and I spaced on the auto-resize feature of teh server software, so it got even smaller and less clear than it was. I am amazed at the PURE HOSTILITY of some of the comments, and I'm amazed that anyone could imagine that someone could gain anything by pasting their face on someone else's pic. The other two ladies are two of my best freinds and I did not want to post someone's pic wihtout asking (nor does my very best freind want her face on the web without her permission), and somehow this became an obvious clue that I had edited myself IN the pic. Most interestingly, all the hostile commentary stopped after I posted the second request for emails from people who have issues with me. No emails either.

This is a much fussed with copy of the above image, to show detail better, with my freinds cropped out. No online docs, though once I've got this thing reworked, I'll put up pics of the process and notes on my reasoning for re-doing it. Currently, it's in storage 2000 miles away, so it'll be awhile. Mostly, it will be re-done as a 2-layer gown, kirtle and 1-piece overgown (more like a flemish market outfit, really), instead of a 2-peice bodice and seperate cartridge pleated skirt worn over a petticoat. Much reworking to be done, but the gown is made of the most wonderful brushed wool, so that I feel it's worth saving.

So, those are mine. I may put up a couple of more recent outfits, if I can get photos.

Off to continue the neverending housecleaning...

I wanna go home...

I read 's journal entry on how she's going to an event in Ansteorra today, and I got all homesick.

Alas, I'm stuck in southern Caid until at least October, with a closetful of garb that fit my pre-baby body much better than now. The people here are wonderful, and I've finally gotten to meet a lady whose research into German Ren has impressed me for years, BUT... I'm sitll homesick. I misssed the entire reign of a King and Queen who I really like, several arts comps I had wanted to enter, my family back home, my freinds. I missed the presentation of the first piece of Regalia that I ever had a hand in creating. My SCA 'parents' are back there too, and my 'little sister' just went into the air force, and I didn't get to see her off.

I'm just mopey today.

About that garb...Even if my figure is better (meaning that I seem to have finished developing at the ripe old age of 32, and I actually HAVE a figure now), it's still a pain to have to alter things. Everything is too small in the bust, too big in the arms (breastfeeding actually uses up that 'wibbly bit' - that's what your body puts fat there for!), and too big in the waist (I've been losing wieght since I left my ex andmost of my garb dates from before that.. And I don't seem to have time to finish the new stuff that's already cut out.

Whine, whine, whine.

I'm also all wound up about wanting to get down to remaking my German Ren, which is sitting happily in a box in my storage in TX. And then there's the box of sari silk that I want to try making a couple of bliauts out of. Argh.

You always want what you can't have...

ScaGeekCode

I used to be addicted to stuff like this:
http://www.therotunda.net/sca/geek-code.html

I found it in 's journal

Here's mine, but I'm not so sure that I've got it right.

SCA GEEK CODE. Version YF0307c. %
HF-i AS+ii SR-i {DM KW MC} CK/+i {BF} HS-ii {A} A+i HW+o G+ii
P.1150-1220~fr/+o EX.96+o/-iii(+ii) TR-i/-o EN+i HH+o
FM+iii MP+ii NT+ii WB+i

Yes, I'm avoiding housework, with the expected result.

old site all fixed and other news

Well, my issue with (my old web host) is all cleared up. Seems they changed their rate structure and didn't realize that it might have an effect on old users... Anyway, it's all better now and I'm not going to make (my old website, which is now gone, years later) go away any time soon, though the ads are there to stay. I liked the old teeny ads better, but I can't get them back now. I made the banners as unobtrusive as possible (they are the kind that scroll away after they load).

I'm trying to get ahold of the lady who runs amiperiodornot(dot)com (also long gone) since I've put together a browsable index, but she won't email me back (or my mails keep going astray), so I don't know if it is okay for me to make it public or not. Sigh.

The bliautlady site is up, but not updated. We're expecting houseguests and I've been busy trying to clean around the baby. That means, unfortunately, no sewing either. Argh, I can look at the Eyesore Gown, but no working on it until next week at the earliest. It seems fated to remain a pile of parts for awhile. My head is just bursting with ideas for the new site and improvements to the old one and I have a half-finshed set of illos for Arrianne de Chateau-Michel that I need to ink and scan. Too much to do, not enough me to do it all in time for me to be ahppy with it all.

Oh, go to her site: (website gone, sigh try the archive, here: https://web.archive.org/web/20070928174759/http://www.chateau-michel.org/ ) READ her articles. They are GOOD. She writes as well as I draw, or better.

I'm thinking I might want to make a custom set of moodicons, and make them public, since I'm not so happy with what's there right now. I used to do icon design at Tivoli, so I've certainly got the skillset.

Kid is TEETHING. 2 teeth and counting, he's working on the third and it really hurts him. Left Upper incisor is cutting thru right now, poor thing. We're going at a rate of about 1 every 8-10 days. Yes, before anyone asks, he's been biting, but he always did that, and I'm pretty good at getting him to stop.

Wow, this is my longest entry ever, not counting my project outline. ;)

Hope I have time to update soonish.

Fun with 50megs

Well, as you probably noticed, 50megs made some policy changes (weird) in the past couple of days without telling anyone. So I had to spend an hour or so wrangling my account and I may have to delete http://jauncourt.i8.com entirely if they still want to charge me 24 dollars for my free account.

HOWEVER, They still do free accounts (now with no setup fee...) and I've made a new diary site, just for my 12thCentury stuff. It's kinda fetal right now, but expect updates in the next week.

http://bliautlady.50megs.com

I'll probably set up seperate sites for my personal life and my more general SCA/costuming notes. But that can wait.

Oh, my.

I saw a post on a mailing list asking for information on SCA personas that would be appropriate for a woman with (drumroll please) Knee Length Hair.

Gasp. I have *seen* hair like that in my life, but not since childhood, and not since I began the Great Bliaut Hunt and Research Project.

Never before have I wanted to mug someone for their hair.

Whimper. Mine is only to my hips.

A project!

The Great Eyesore Gown is now underway! all cut out and everything.

Why eyesore? Why, the extremely LOUD and very period looking fabric, of course. I've been informed that I should only make an undergown out of it, for the protection of others. :D

You can see a bad scan of the cloth here:
http://jauncourt.i8.com/diary.htm

It's actually somewhat brighter than that in real life.

Mmmm. Where to begin?

Wow, another blank page. At least my son is helping me type.. . ;)

Well, this is supposed to be where I'm doing my dress diary thing.

Here's the outline of my eventual research doc (it's been called a book by some sly people...drat, I didn't want to write a book):

-------------------------
Outline for research paper on Norman dress v1.0

Introduction
Intentions of author
Description of approach
Explanation of techniques used

Section 1: Survey of Sources
Artwork
Stonework: Statuary and Relief Carvings
Painted works: Illuminations and Wall Paintings
Textile works: Tapestries and Embroideries
Graph of characteristics found in contemporary artwork
Textual sources
Fiction: Poetry and Romances
Nonfiction: Biographical Works and Contemporary Letters
Graph of characteristics found in contemporary texts
Archaeological sources
Examples of earlier periods
Examples of the period (fragmentary)
Examples of later periods
Graph of characteristics found in archaeological sources
Conclusions
Overall graph of sources and characteristics
Timeline showing probable evolution of this type of dress
Simplified theory based on research

Section 2: Theories on Construction
How I got here from there: Description of methods used to determine my theories
Logical deduction
Physical experiment (making examples)
General Construction Methods
An Explanation of Rectangular Construction (cutting diagrams)
Measuring and basic cutting
Putting in gores
Putting in gussets
Neckline Types (cutting diagrams)
Slit-v type
Keyhole type
Round type (also called rotated keyhole)
Sleeve Types (cutting diagrams)
Narrow
Maunch type I (turnback)
Maunch Type II (pendant cuff)
Pleated square cuff
'Angelwing'
Knotted (dual-opening sleeve)
Overview of Ornament Placement
Waist seam
Hem
Cuff
Bicep
Neckline
Undergarments 'Chainse'
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams
Undergown (laced or unlaced)
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams
Loose (unlaced, pullover type) Gowns
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams
Laced Overgown Type I 'Bliaut' pleated skirt - earlier?
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams
Laced Overgown Type II 'Bliaut' gored tunic - later?
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams

Section 3: Accessories
Mantles
Description and Explanation of garment
Instructions for making
Cutting Diagrams
Girdles 'ceintures'
Description and Explanation of item
Instructions for making
illustrations of patterns shown in artwork
Headdress
Graph of characteristics found in artwork
Descriptions from contemporary texts
Explanation of theories on hairstyles and accessories
Methods and Instructions for hairstyles found
Three-strand Plaits
Two-strand Plaits
Bound Plaits
Theories on hair extensions
Braid weights
Illustrations and descriptions
Graph of occurences and presumed occurences
Use and making of
Veils
Illustrations and descriptions
Graph of occurences of various types
Use and making of
Cutting Diagrams
Fillets and crowns
Illustrations and descriptions
Graph of occurences and presumed occurences
Use and making of
Shoes
Description and Explanation of item
Graph of characteristics found in artwork
Descriptions from contemporary texts
Use and making of
(short overview, notes on where to locate information on making period shoes)
Jewelry
Illustrations and descriptions
Graph of occurences of various types
Use and making of
(short overview, notes on where to locate information on making simple jewelry)

Footnotes
Detailed list of illustrations including sources of originals
Bibliography
Suggested further reading (includes books in Bibliography)
Glossary
Index

------------

So, am I biting off more than I can chew, or what?