Skip to main content

CoSy 2021 How to Make a Hair Net

 Hello Beautiful Humans!

CoSy 2021 is finally here and I am so excited to get you started today with some renaissance costuming content. The earliest hairnets I have found reference to come to us from ancient Greece. The mesh work on these is much finer than the net I am going to show you to make today, as were many of the examples from the middle ages and renaissance. I am still in awe that we have surviving nets from these time periods for people to study! Some of my favorites are visible on the Museum of London's collections website. in the 1540s and 1550s Eleonra di Toldedo, the duchess of Tuscany is often depicted in paintings, carvings, and other media with her hair parted down the middle and arranged into a gold scuffia, which we would today call a snood or hairnet. My goal today is to make a similar scuffia for my own dresses from this period. They are a very versatile accessory which allows the wearer to keep their hair contained, follow the letter of the laws about being modest and covering your hair, and subtlety display your wealth. While Elenora's scuffia were made of gold, the accessory was popular across several social classes. Working class women also wore these nets out of a more simple silk net. The portrait of Elenora di Toledo is by Bronzino and currently is in the National Gallery in Prague. Portrait is in public domain. To make this net you will need some supplies. Links below are affiliate links: -A Netting shuttle or needle Net Shuttles on Amazon -Practice yarn or thread Silk Lace Yarn -Final Product Thread -2/3 YD of Metallic Trim (roughly 1/2 inch wide) -Stick or dowel to set your netting size -Embroidery frame Similar Scroll Frame on Amazon -Needle, thread, scissors For more historical information on the construction of these nets and their places in Medieval and Renaissance society you can check out these resources: Moda a Fireneze 1540-1580 by Toberta Orsi Landini and Bruna Niccoli. Pagliai Polistampa, 2005. Textiles and Clothing 1150-1450 by Elisabeth Crowfoot, Frances Pritchard, Kay Staniland. Boydell Press/ Museum of London, 2001. Cesare Vecellio's Habiti Antichi et Moderni: The Clothing of the Renaissance World. Translated by Margaret F. Rosenthal and Ann Rosalind Jones. Thames & Hudson, 2008.


For more helpful details on how to make netting for this and other projects check out some of these resources: Complete Guide to Needlework by Reader's Digest. Reader's Digest, 1979. Net Making Video: Net Video Please check out the Facebook and/or Instagram pages for more details on the event. The #costube creators are excited to once again provide you with a free virtual event full of classes, lives, Discord server, and more. See You at #CoSy2021 CoSy 2021 PlayList Thank you so much for watching my video and I hope you have a beautiful day! Bisou Bisou, Maridith
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pockets in the 16th Century?

So if you are new to my blog, Hello! I took July off to focus on work and realities of covid life. Thanks for hanging in there.  This week we are doing to cover 16th Soccocia and their role toward the origin of pockets. People need a place to carry and keep their small items as they walk around. In the middle ages you might have a pilgrim satchel or a belt pouch. Some women in the middle ages had the brilliant idea to stop wearing their money purses outside of their over gowns and instead would wear them between their kirtle/sottona layer and over gowns. This arrangement still gave you access to the purse, but made it harder for thieves to cut your purse strings and run.  Fast forward to the 16th century and we find the heirs to this practice in socaccia. We have some visual evidence of these in mid to late 16th century art out of Italy. This is a detail of Alessandro Allori's,  Woman at her toilet, ca 1575-78. Currently in Florence, Church of Santa Maria Novella, Gaddi Chapel.  J
1 comment
Read more

Two Tone Lucet Cording

  Hello Beautiful Humans! Today I have a brief tutorial for you on how I made the lucet lacings for my most recent renaissance dress. It is a craft that is hard to document in the 16th century, where I do most of my work, but I love how quickly this technique works up into fairly strong cording. This two tone technique is much stronger than a typical single strand lucet braid because of the extra cord running through the entire cord. I also love the possibilities for coordinating your laces to your outfits. My laces were made much longer than I needed them for this dress. Looking back I could have cut my lacing in half and been fine, but now I have all this extra if I should ever need it. Long laces also mean I can pre-lace myself into this dress with a spiral lace and then tighten it until I feel comfortable. For this particular style of lucet I used a hardwood lucet fork I purchased from an 18th century reenactor, a skein of DMC 6-strand embroidery floss, and a ball of size 10 cr
Post a Comment
Read more

Voided Velvet Sleeves from a Thrift Store Scarf

  Detachable sleeves are one of my favorite things to make for renaissance dresses, and always seem to be the last thing I think to make when I'm planning my outfits. These sleeves are made from thrift store fabric to mimic one possible way that "cut work sleeves" were made in the period. There are several theories, and my research has made me think that they all may have been in use at different points in time for different specific motifs. To make these sleeves I used a voided velvet scarf I found at my local thrift store and remnants of rayon velvet, silk shantung, and linen. Techniques I cover in the video include basting, hemming stitches, and how to easily sew with velvet. I completed the project using a mix of hand sewing and a modern sewing machine. I love wearing these Italian renaissance dresses at reenactment events or when I attend events for the Society of Creative Anachronism. Groups like this have helped me learn more about how period techniques and mate
Post a Comment
Read more