tecedekaxtone | Recent Entries

My friend Renika has made an awsome dress, and one of a kind that I've been coveting for a while, Now she's graciously agreed to help me get mine going, i.e. kick my butt in gear. I need/want a new dress after spending most of my spare time on sewing for the man in my life : ) After having made him a complete viking outfit, and summer wear to survive a week long event: 4 shirts, 3 pants and a bunch of braies I deserve to make myself something new, don't I?

So here are an image of what I'm going for:

Nuremberg virgin in dance dress by Durer

Getting started with the pleating of the panels. The heavy wool backing has been marked for the strings to be sewn in, and awaits basting to the front panel piece.

I have not disappeared...just a lot has been going on since my last post. A short summary:
Got into a relationship, found lumps wich turned out to be benign but still needed major surgery, then it has been a slow return to normal life and recover from what the myoma had done to my body and mind. Now I'm back on track and thought it just might be time to resurrect my blog. I love making stuff, and I also like to share my experiences into recreating historical garb.

My current project is a housebook dress, just got started on the first pleated pieces, and the plan is to photograph and describe what I do, my mistakes and all ; )

I love flea markets, yard sales, antique and kurio shops. Every summer I spend a lot of days driving around the island with my mother and checking out whats on offer. Close to our village there's one that I've found lots of good stuff at during the past years. Today I found something I've been wishing for, considering trying to make or get someone to make for me: A wooden head for hat or wig making. I've seen ones to buy but they tend to cost more than I'd want to spend. Now I found one:

I paid 100 SEK for it! (I've seen them on the web for $150) I just need to glue the top back on since the former owner has sawn it off and hollowed it out a bit. I also want to remove the sad face....

The greatest thing is the head is actually in mu size!!! I've got a good size head and rarely can by hats because they're always to small. This block head is a size 60 - me happy!!

This hat I made to be worn sort of crashlanding on top of my Wulsthaube and to sport a lot of feathers. It was my first adventure into german 16th century hats other than the Wulsthaube.

This is how I made it:

First I made a mockup in a stiff cotton fabric similar to those Indian beadspreads. The first thing to get right was the top part: How big a square would I need. Then it was the hole for the head. After a few trial and errors I came up with a pattern that was likely to give me the look I wanted. This is what I came up with:

Instructions:

First cut two squares 33by 33 cm (add seam allowance) in two different colors. Mine are black and burgundy.
The black square will be the outer layer and in this I cut a hole to fit my head (17 cm diameter). Then I proceeded to make the slashing. This is what the black piece looked like after I hemmed the slashes:

Then put your two squares together, right sides facing and sew them together all the way round. Turn and press.
Fold each corner towards the middle so that they all meet and stitch them down.
The top’s done, now onto the brim.
With a little experimentation I made squares 16 by 8 cm. One black and one burgundy for each of the “flaps” for the brim. I needed 11 to go around the hole.
Sew two squares together, one of each color, along the long sides. Turn and press. When all are done pin them to the edge of the hole and secure them by sewing
Cut a long strip to cover the edge of the hole. Mine was ca 5 cm by 63 cm. line the edge of the hole with this. Add ties if needed and you’re done!

And of course lots of feathers:

Pattern:

The way I made these bits were pretty much identical to how I made Pattern A and Pattern E. Big pieces of paper or cardbord to get the right size for the look I was going for. The Hat is made in 8 parts instead of 4. the reason is that 4 gives me a square top and I wanted a more rounded outline, hence 8. Then I proceeded the same way as I did when making Pattern piece A.

On to making the hat:

Instructions:

Cut 8 pieces of D and 4 pieces of F, remember to add seam allowance!
Sew the four D pieces together along the sides. Fell the seams. This is the top part of the floppy hat. Now onto the brim:
You need some sort of stiffener to insert into the brim. A straw hat would be ideal. Reading about other peoples efforts here are some other options; Cardboard (don’t like water), Parchment (period and expensive), Plastic sheeting (non period but weather proof), placemats, starched fabric. A straw hat and cut away the top will also work. Depending on the stiffness of your fabric there are the possibility that vlieseline might work for you. You can also sew a piece of milliners wire into the edge to stiffen it. My options were limited at the time so as this was mostly intended as an experiment I landed on the option of two plastic placemats. I cut out the brim in two pieces – pattern F. I proceeded to cut out the fabric, 4 pieces with seam allowance added.
Put 2 pieces together with right sides facing each other. Sew along the ends and the outer edge. Trim the allowances and corners and turn. I put some decorative stitching close to the edge.
Insert the stiffener and secure it by putting a seam along the inner edge. If you don’t mind itchy wool on your forehead you may turn in the edges and sew it shut that way instead.
Make the second half of the brim in the same manner.

The brim beeing made, and I've got help...sort of...

Put the two halves together with an overlap. Try it on and adjust it to fit your head.
Sew the two halves together along the inner edge where they overlap and along the edges about 4 cm on both sides.
Pin the top of the hat to the brim, if the top is slightly large you can just make pleats evenly to adjust the fit. Sew the parts together.
I decided to put a few stitches from the inside of the hat securing it to the brim about 8 cm from the inner edge so it wouldn’t flop around in the wind, since my fabric isn’t that heavy.
When this is being written I still haven’t gotten around to lining the inner edge. This is still to be done with something soft, either silk or velvet. I’ll get a strip roughly the length around my head , ca 65 cm with added seam allowance which I’ll fold and tack down then securely sew into place. I will also be adding ties so I can secure it to my head. Since I often visit a certain windy island…

This is a type of headwear I've so far only seen worn by men, if anyone out there has proof for this beeing worn by women in period please share!

To make a pattern was a bit more tricky: this is what I came up with:

and of course, some other little bits that are square.

I had a pattern for a scullcap made from 6 pieces. I wanted 4 so I quickly made a mockup from the old pattern and cut it into 4 pieces. Traced one and made another mockup. It fit just right so then I added the strips at the bottom edge. Mine are 7.5 cm long. The Earflaps I also experemented a bit. It's great to have those boxes of toile fabrics (old sheets and bedspreads and leftovers that really cant be used for anything else). Trial and error is so much easier on the mind if the fabric's inexpensive. My earflaps just barely meet underneath the chin when tied together. My earflap turned out to be 17 cm long. The square pieces were just trial and error as I went a long.

So this is how I made it:

Cut two of B1-B2 pattern piece. Flip pattern piece B2 over for the second piece which will create a left side and a right side. Cut out the linings for the earflaps (B3) in a nice contrasting colour. Cut a strip of fabric 38 cm long and 8 cm wide and another 20 cm long and 12 cm wide. (B4 and B5)

Pin and sew the four pieces together. Alternating the pieces B1 and B2. Make sure that the Earflaps end up where you want them!

The earflaps: Pin the lining right sides facing each other. Sew as close to the edge as you can. Trim the edges and turn. Press the flaps flat. You now have something looking like this:

Take the longer of the two strips (B4) Start pinning the slashed edges to the strip. Make sure they are pinned as close together as you can without letting them overlap. Stitch them all together and back to the ironing board! Press and fold the strip so it looks like a brim. Sew the edges together on the wrong side ( the side that goes on the inside of the cap). Pin the ends into each earflap. Do the same with the neckslashes. As you’ll notice I’ve made the back strip wider. This is to make it fit better. When both front and back are pinned to the earflaps:
Put a stitch in along the inner edge at each slit. This makes the strips/slashes bulge nicely on the outside and the brim to stay put.
Try it on and adjust the fit by angling the back strip, depending on the shape of your head you may want to adjust the front strip as well. I had a steeper angle on the back and none on the front one. Use chalk to mark the edge. Cut away the excess fabric and fold in the seam allowance and sew it shut.
Put ties at the end of each earflap.
Done!

This is my first "Schlappe"

In trying it out I thought I needed to move the earflaps forwards wich I've since adjusted accordingly so the pattern you've got above is the new and improved one!

The Pillowcase Hat

This is the most basic of all the hats. Pattern's dead easy, just one big square, the only finicky stage is when you fit it aroud your head but otherwise i'ts just straight lines and not that many of them to make this type of hat:

Instructions:

Cut two pieces 35cm X 70cm. Put the right sides towards each other.
Sew along the edge with your usual seam allowance. Leave an opening so you can turn it inside out. Trim the corners and turn. You may want to iron it flat depending on the fabric. Fold it in half.
Here comes the trickiest part of the construction, and the hardest to describe in writing: You are now going to prepare the hat for the side seams. What you need to figure out is how high your brim is going to be. I folded mine so it’s 14cm high. Put a pin as a marker on all side edges. That will mark the bottom edge (the fold) of the hat. If you’d sew it together along the sides it’d be way to large and if you look closely at the pictures the brim looks likes it overlaps. So adjust the size of the hat by overlapping on both sides. I chose to let the front piece overlap on both sides. Pin it along the edge both on the inside and outside. Sew it together both on the inside and the outside with as invisible stitches as you can manage. Fold the brim into position and continue to stitch the brims together about 4-5 cm. This will help the brim to stay up and not flop down even without some nice pin to adorn the hat.
The hat is ready to add the bling!

I think it looks a lot like this one too:

If you’re working in heavy felted wool you can just make a cut midway on the brim and tie it together and get a brim in 4 parts or cut more as shown below:

Cut the pattern piece E in half and make it in 4 parts instead of 2 to get an overlapping effect
Put an interlining in a contrasting color and make slashes to make it more “landsknechty”. Do make the slashing before you sew all the pieces together!

There’s a rather odd looking variant that has a brim that doesn’t come all the way around: The front part is missing and to keep the brim standing up ties has been attached and tied on top of the head: odd looking but adding ties to drooping brims can be seen in a lot of images so if your fabric doesn’t have the thickness or stiffness, just use ties!

This is the hat that started it all! Me and Renika cooperated and made one each. Very good to have during classes to show that the same hat can look very different. To see Renikas hat check out her blogg: www.renika.se

The Brim: To make pattern piece E:

This is based on a semicircle, but to get the brim to stand up you make a circle lots bigger that the actual hat. Mine is based on a circle that the inner edge has a diameter of X and the outer x cm. The difference between the inner and outer circle decides the height of your brim. By making the circle way too large then cutting away the excess you’ll get a brim that will stand up but not be straight like a chimney. The larger the circle you make the closer to a flat brim you’ll get, and the opposite applies – the smaller the circle the more upright your brim will be. To determine how much of the semicircle to cut away for a two piece brim just measure the circumference of your basic hat made from pattern piece A witch should be approx. X cm and add ca 4 cm (the overlap). The circumference of your head divided in half +4 adding allowing for the extra created by the fabric of the hat. Cutting the excess away will give you pattern piece E:

The Green Hat: Use pattern piece A + E: Instructions:

Cut 4 pieces of A, remember to add seam allowance! Cut 4 pieces of pattern E
Sew the four A pieces together along the sides. Fell the seams. Fold the hem and sew it down.
Take two pieces of the brim and put the right sides facing. Sew along the side edges and the outer edge. Trim and turn. I put in a decorative stitch partly to decorate, and partly to keep it nice and flat. Make the other part of the brim.
Pin the brim to the hat. The pieces should overlap some. Fold the inside edge of the brim into the hat and sew it down. I also did the dot-stitch here to help secure it. Where the brim overlap you can sew a short line of stitches to hold them together and help the brim to stay up. If your fabric isnt stable enough you can use a stiffer fabric as interlining or do as they did: add ties/bows!
Add the bling!

To make the brim for this hat: Cut four pieces ca 18cm x 18cm Then use pattern piece A:

Instructions:

Cut 4 pieces of A, remember to add seam allowance! Take your 4 brim pieces.
Sew the four A pieces together along the sides. Fell the seams. Fold the hem and sew it down. You may want to shorten the bottm sides. To get the brim to look good I only had about 1 cm before the bulge started (after hemming).
Fold one of the brim pieces, a bit uneven, on one side of the fold you should have about 2c more fabric. This to make it easier to attach to the hat part. Sew along the sides. Trim and turn inside out. Repeat with the other 3. Pin the pieces to the bottom edge of the hat. Fold in the bottom edge and sew it to the inside.
If you do nothing more this is what it looks like:

· To make the brim stay up. Make 4 ties. I finger looped mine, but you can make them any way you want. Make little bows and sew them to the brim. Mine are attached about halfway up the “split” and have aiglets at the ends.Now it should look something like this:

There are images where the brim has even more splits, so you kan adapt this to your liking. And for the ties you can use plain string without aiglets or to be even more extravagant make them out of a wider silk ribbon!

A simple wool hat

One of the easiest and quickest hats to make!

Instructions: Use pattern piece A :

Cut 4 pieces, remember to add seam allowance!
Sew the four pieces together along the sides. Fell the seams.
Fold the hem and sew it down.
Done!

This is my version of it:

The mannequin's head is not the same size as mine....

The next post will be about making the Black hat with split brim and bows.

Making pattern piece A

Get a piece of paper roughly 60 cm square; Fold it twice (like a napkin). Now comes the tricky part. To make the desired shape you have to decide how poofy you want your hat. The width of the hat (i.e. the diameter) divided in half is measurement A. Measurement B is the bottom edge of the pattern piece. This you calculate from taking a measure of your head. I’m bigheaded so I’ve got 61 cm. To get the measurment for the base just divide by 4. To have some space for hemming witch makes the hat smaller I’ve got a measure of 16 cm, If I want to wear for example a kerchief underneath I need to increase to 16,5 or 17 cm. Measurement C is the length from top to bottom. I got mine by taking a measuring tape and putting it on top of my head, and standing in front of a mirror holding the tape measure so I could approximate the length of the pattern piece, to figure out the bulge bit. Se drawing:

Now it's a matter of connecting the dots. Look at the desired shape and draw yours to look similar. You can make a mockup of any fairly stiff fabric; I tend to use old sheets or those cheap Indian bedspreads. Too big is easier to fix than too small.

You’ll need extra space if wearing coif or kerchief – if possible wear it when testing your pattern.
When hemming the hat the hat will become smaller allow for that too. Attaching a brim will have the same effect.
Leave enough seam allowance to be able to make adjustments in size.
You may want to put in lining if the fabric is itchy, that also affects the size
The thing to remember is that any increase or decrease of the measurement B will be multiplied by four. That means that adding 1 cm width will take you from hat size 60 to 64! So if the desired change in size isn’t that big, we’re talking mm. That can usually be solved by moving the seam a few mm out or inwards.

Pattern piece A done! This is a basic shape that can work on its own, or you can add app 10-15 cm and cut out the front and get the scholars hat that my friend Renika has made for her husband.
Or there’s a bunch of brim options. Instructions for making these will follow in forthcoming posts!

Scans of my patterns done : ) Well, exept for the spaghettihats, but I will get to a scanner for those too access to a scanner. Now I just have to go over the instructions since I re-drew all the patterns to fit on an A4. When each set of instructions are done I'll post!

Summer projects in the works:
So far I've made two hats and are working on something very booooooring...Hemming veils. I definitely need more of the white stuff to wrap myself in. There are so many cool ways of disguising the fact that I've got a very modern hairdo.
I've got plenty of other projects to try to get done this summer. On top of the list is to finally get the patterns for my hats scanned and posted with instructions on how to make them. Then I've got some fab fabrics to make dresses out of. I need dresses to match those silly hats I just made:

Late 15th century swiss/german. The black and yellow's are a reversible version so I can choose wich color to dominate. I also need to make some more stockings, gollars, veils, mittens,hats etc.etc.......

Finally getting aroud to updating my blog...I'm a bad blogger.....

Has made loads of hats since july, and wenever I get around to it I'll be posting descriptions but for now - pics!

A Floppy Hat

The Pillowcase Hat

The Eeyore Cap

The little black one

The simplest one

The slashed one

Me and Renika has ben making hats - first a wulst, then one of those floppy brimmed hats. My finished one you can see in the picture. Needs more bling but I'm pleased with the result. And it's quite easy to make. Renika and I are on a roll and more hats are coming - as well as descriptions of how we made them. Renikas final result you can see on her blogg: www.renika.se/

När jag börjar bli nöjd med innehållet i min lilla beskrivning kommer jag att göra en översättning också - det är inte alltid så lätt med engelskan även om vi svenskar i allmänhet är rätt bra på den och vi medeltidsmuppar blir bra på den av rent tvång då väldans mycket info bara finns på engelska. Viss textil terminologi kan jag bara på engelska....nu ska jag göra klart sybeskrivningen och alla bilder, sen blir det en rejäl genomgång av vad jag skrivit, korrekturläsning och sen så kan jag ta tag i nästa projekt - fast jag kommer nog o tjuvstarta då det är syträff på kapitel på onsdag.

I’m trying to make a “how-to” that even a beginner can follow that can be used in classes or just to hand out to beginners so I’d appreciate feedback. I will replace and add images when I hacve acces to a scanner. I do not do drawings on the screen well…

I started out with a big piece of fabric. Choose a fabric that behaves similarly to the fabric you plan to use in the real stocking. I used wool that is so unpleasant to wear but in all other ways is as thin and stretchy as the wool I’m later using in my stockings. Thin wool is usually more stretchy on the bias than linen so you may have to make a different pattern for linen stockings if you’re making both.

The first thing we did was the sole. I stood on the fabric and my friend traced the foot with the pen slightly angled in under the foot. If you don’t angle the pen the pattern becomes larger and its harder to get that nice tight fit, plus that the seam will end up higher:

Figur 1

Adding image of the angled pen

Cut out the sole with a generous seam allowance – mine was around an inch. You should end up with something similar to this, just with more seam allowance:

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tecedekaxtone

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Tece de Kaxtone's blog

Recent Entries

inspiration!

Pleated front panels

I'm alive!!

Knock on wood?

A slashed hat

The Big Floppy Hat

The “Schlappe”

Forgot your hat? Make a new one!

Other versions that I havent tried ....yet....

The Green Hat with Split Brim: a joint venture!

The Black Hat with Split Brim and Bows

Now what? Making hats from Pattern A

Travelling pays off: First set of instructions

Progress!

Summer projects

Hats!!

The other mad hatter...

Översättning kommer...

How I made my stockings or Stocking-making for beginners

sole cutting

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July 2013

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