A Tudor Style Brimless Bonnet

Here's one I didn't get around to posting back in May.

I had a Tudor themed event coming up and found that my French hood has warped due to the buckram being affected by humidity. I did make an attempt at replacing it, but I didn't have enough time to do a decent job so I decided to make a brimless bonnet to wear over a wired coif.

I got this lovely brown wool remnant from an SCA buy/barter/sell day, and it seemed the perfect size. This project was very much a ''fly by the seat of your pants' project! I had made flat caps before, but never a bonnet with no brim.

The project was inspired by these Holbein portraits-

Portrait of Amelia of Cleves by Hans Holbein
Image from http://www.thetudorswiki.com/page/Hans+Holbein+Paintings+&+Sketches

Portrait of a Court Official's Wife - 1534- by Hans Holbein
Image from https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/97/e2/3197e20e723823ba058a6f6683f05f5c.jpg

I traced out a circle shape that seemed to be the right size. Then a second one with a smaller hole cut in the centre for my head. Because I was guessing re sizing, I cut smaller rather than larger.

I machine sewed the two pieces together with wrong sides out. I tried it on, and it fit ok, so I did a small hand sewn hem around the head hole edge. I notched my seams to prevent bulk on the rim edge.

When I tried the bonnet on over my coif, I found it just a smidge snug and I worried that it might slide off over the course of an event. So I unpicked the hem, trimmed off about 1.5 cm and re-hemmed it. Much better!

The part that touches the head. The hem added a lot of stability and gave a surprising amount of support.

I was really happy with how this quick project turned out. I would make another one, but only in wool. The wool gave enough stability that I didn't need to add wire or buckram. Wool is really lovely to work with, but quite difficult to come by where I live. I'd also like to try making a Tudor bonnet with a brim and a Lettice cap. I guess I'll have to make a new French hood too.

Cloved Lemon Soltelty

At our recent Royal Visit, I made a surprise gift for a friend who HATES cloved lemons. It is a novelty cloved lemon made of marzipan.

I made a lemon shape out of marzipan and made little indentations in the skin with the small side of a cheese grater. I painted the lemon with commercial food colouring, studded it with cloves and dusted it with caster sugar.

The presentation was greatly enjoyed by the populace, and the ''treat'' accepted with mixed emotions by the recipient :-)

Sleeveless Partlet Experiment

You might remember that I have been experimenting with different partlet styles. Here is the latest; cut to sit high around the neck and with no ties or cords to go around the waist to cause lumps and bumps and affect the line of the bodice.

I designed this one to be worn with a late Tudor/early Elizabethan gown. The back of the partlet is pinned to the back of my pair of bodies. Needing to have someone around to pin it into place is a negative element of the design, as often I don't have anyone to help me dress (which is why I favour front lacing gowns.) It's not as easy to get sitting right as my partlets with armholes - it takes a bit longer when getting dressed to make sure the front sections aren't tucked up. No problem if you have an attentive maidservant or lady in waiting!

The partlet is cut in one (vaguely) Y-shaped piece. The edges were hand stitched to form a very small hem.





I felt that this experiment had mixed success. I expected that the partlet would not sit well under the gown and possibly move around. This did not happen and the partlet stayed in place. However, I did find that the neckline was cut too close to the neck and was not very comfortable. I ended up folding the edges of the neckline under so it was more comfortable. I thought that it looked okay.
Now I am considering cutting the pattern down a bit to make it more comfortable...

Photo credit: M. Nicholas