Padded roll, early to later 15th century
The roll was a decorative addition to a head-dress. It was pinned on top of a net, caul or templers, or was part of a made-up horned head-dress. It was not worn alone.
a. A heavily decorated roll, from the early 15th century, which emphasises the width of the head- dress.
b. A long roll sewn to the outside edges of a large horned head-dress (Pl 11).
To make the roll cut a strip of silk, 15-30 cm wide by the required length (at least 60 cm, and up to 2 m). Make it longer than you think you need - it can easily be shortened! Decorate with embroidery, bands of braid, beads or sequins. If the decoration is heavy you will need to sew up the roll from the right side, otherwise stitch the long edges together on the wrong side, turn it right way out and stuff it with polyester wadding or cotton wool before joining the ends. It needs to be firm enough to hold its shape, but flexible enough to fit round curves.
For use on a horned head-dress, allow enough length for all the curves. Attach the roll to the horns along the seam lines by oversewing.
Hennins and wired veil, second half of 15th century
The hennin - a courtly fashion
The 'flowerpot' style (truncated henin) - more widely worn, sometimes with a veil draped over it.
Both a & b were worn over a velvet fillet, usually with a loop (Fig 12), with the hair in a single bun on the crown of the head. The hennin was usually worn with a transparent veil: this was rectangular, wider than the height of the hennin and 2 m or more in length. It was draped across the cone, extending beyond the top and falling down on either side (Gowns, Fig 22). Occasionally the veil was raised on wires (d).
The 'flowerpot' style, and sometimes the hennin, was combined with a frontlet, a doubled band of black velvet draped over the base of the cone to frame the face. The frontlet is 5-15 cm wide and
80-100 cm long.
14a
b
b
continuedoverleaf
213
CF
20 cm
15c. The pattern is made up to form a cone, with the join at the back. The base of the cone, which must fit snugly round the head, equals the Head size. The hennin shown is 50 cm high. The 'flowerpot' style is left open on top and the pattern here is cut off 20-25 cm below the tip along the heavier broken line.
Cut the pattern in buckram, cover it with your chosen silk, line it and make it up (Methods, Fig 13). Bind the lower edge with velvet ribbon for a better grip (Methods, Fig 9).
d. Wired veil, 'banner' style. The veil here is 60 cm by 2 m but could be much longer, on a hennin 50 cm high. Pin the veil to the cap at CF and draw it
up over the two wires to fall on each side.
To make the frame use 2 mm electrical copper wire, florist's wire or jeweller's brass. Bend it to shape and stitch it to the cap at the peak.
15d
214
16a b
