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Completed: March 2013

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The following Accessories were created and/or finished in preparation for the Kingdom of Caid's A&S competition known as Pentathlon. Unfortunately, I got very ill a few days before the event, and did not go nor compete. I also didn't finish my writeups for documentation, which I may do at a later date. But I provide them here for you, so you can see what was made.

English Bonnet & Frontlet

The first item is an English bonnet and frontlet, known more commonly as the English gable. It was its own entry under hats. I had started the project on July 5, 2009, and it was worked on in fits and starts. It was finally pulled out of the holding box and completed by February 19, 2013. You can view public photos of me wearing the completed hood on my FB page. The dress diary blog entries for the English bonnet & frontlet can be found under its own tag.

Wealthy Merchant's Wife

The other three items, a pair of hand sewn linen stockings, a fingerloop braided cord, and a linen suite of ruffs, were to be worn with my MAAS Embroideress outfit to present a completed Wealthy Merchant's Wife outfit from head to toe. I had plans for other items, but didn't get to those. These three items were not blogged in any detail as I was under a deadline, but are mentioned under the MAAS Embroideress tag. They were made during the month of February and March 2013.

Pair of Linen Stockings

The linen stockings were draped with the help of Cherylyn Crill-Hornsby, who got it right on the first try. It was our first time attempting this process, but she's great at fitting garments. They are based on the info in both The Tudor Tailor book, and from Melanie Schuessler's web site.

Both stockings were completely hand sewn with a run and fell seam, with back stitching for a stronger seam. The finishing was usually a running stitch, with some areas done in a whip stitch for additional protection to the linen. I also added a small web at the upper corner of the ankle gusset for reinforcement, since the seam allowance there is very narrow. It is important to finish linen seams well as it will unravel during wear and washing.

Fingerloop Cords & Brass Aglets.

The fingerloop cord is from white and cream colored DMC cotton embroidery floss. I haven't done fingerloop braids in a long while, so I made a black & red cord as a practice piece, which is included in the photos. The white cord is tipped in a pair of brass aglets that I made. I am new at making brass aglets, so they are primitive, but they do work nicely enough. The white cord was made to be used with my high necked smock, and to hold the linen ruff in place. I also included an older cord made with 7 strands, since it also got a brass aglet. It will be used on some future garment.

Starched Linen Ruffs

The linen wrist ruffs were made by me, using a process that was provided by Noel Gieleghem in a document he has available online. He made and gifted me the neck ruff, which is the one I am wearing in the photos from MAAS. The wrist ruffs were made by machine and by hand. I machine serged the edges to prevent it from unravelling. Then the lace was zigagged on by machine. The gathering and sewing the gathered ruff into the neck band was done by hand.

The starching was done using bottled starch, which is ok for a single day's wear, but I will be using old fashion cooked starch from now on as the hold is much firmer. I did the goffering of the ruffs using a copper pipe with a wooden dowel holder that Noel had gifted to me a few years ago, when I was working on the large 1590s ruff. And yes, starched ruffs will wilt. I wore them at a coastal event recently, and they were wilted by the end of the day.

Photo Album

The photo album includes some photos I took of the process along with final images. The photos are described fairly well, but if you have any questions please contact me.

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