14th century head dress

latheaxe · Post by **latheaxe** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 5:39 pm

Do any of you know of any "how to guides" for making the various styles of 14th century head dress.Managed to find one source but it aint' that good.

thanks

Alan E · Post by **Alan E** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 5:48 pm

Male or female ?

latheaxe · Post by **latheaxe** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 6:31 pm

Sorry..Mainly female but male as well if possible...Thanks

nutmeg_bec · Post by **nutmeg_bec** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:30 pm

You could well feel swamped by the amount of information out there on this one (particularly ladies headwear)! Since you mention in the other thread that you portray such a large chunk of the 14thC, it might be wiser to go with simpler styles, using rectangles pinned in place, which although a pain to master, means that you can use the same linens/silks depending on whether you're aiming for an early or later style (great for those of us on a budget, and are slow hand-sewers).
My own headdress is a bit of a cheat, the wimple part is a tapering tube, narrow opening around the face, wide over the shoulders, with a rectangular veil tied over this. This was easy for me, since I have long hair the plaits were no problem. Things get more complex if you need to create the shape first. One way round having short hair would be to buy a crespinette from someone like Kats Hats, or make your own: This might be a better option if you're portraying someone higher up the social scale.
It's worth just experimenting with cheap (but *similar weight*) cloth cut in various shapes and some nice long pins, just play about until you find a style that suits. I can almost guarantee you'll stick yourself (or rather your ladyfriend) a few times, but it gets easier with practice!
I'm afraid when it comes to men's headwear I'm a bit of a novice once they go beyond a simple caul or hood (though you can have fun with a longer liripipe, colour variations and dagging for eg).

latheaxe · Post by **latheaxe** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 9:42 pm

Hi,
Thanks for the info.We are actually trying to find some information on making crespinettes,Cauls etc..

..Are there any websites/books out there?...

Lena · Post by **Lena** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:44 pm

Cynthia Virtue has a few articles on headdresses (IIRC http://www.virtue.to ). Otherwise I'd recommend looking at discussion list archives as this topic comes up now and again. (PM me if you want some links.) Another way - especially for veils and head wraps - is to get together with some like-minded people and try it out on each other.

DARTH VADER · Post by **DARTH VADER** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:10 pm

Latheaxe try and e-mail kats-hats as she makes fantastic headdresses for ladys for the 13th,14th and 15th century(14th is her forte)
kats-hats@blueyonder.co.uk

Karen Larsdatter · Post by **Karen Larsdatter** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:34 am

Try the links at http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=168 for a variety of pre-17th century headwear; I've found Thursfield's Medieval Tailor's Assistant to be helpful for patterns and ideas for constructing a lot of different styles.

Alan E · Post by **Alan E** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 12:15 pm

Sarah Thursfield is running a w/e course on the subject beginning of April, you might want to get in touch with her ?

frances · Post by **frances** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 7:24 pm

Oh Alan, really. Can you post details, or ask Sarah to do this please.