Fourteenth Century Hood – Self-Drafted with Handmade Buttons and Buttonholes
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For a first attempt at a fourteenth century hood, this went together remarkably well. I used my Viking hood for the basic dimensions and then drafted the front opening turn-back and liripipe around that. It took a few tries to get the side gore the right size. The first one was much too small.
My main fabric is the same brown wool that I used for my wool Viking hood, and the lining is the weld-dyed linen from our Natural Dyes Workshop. I bag lined it, leaving an opening in the seam at the center back for turning. This is not a period technique, but I’m going for a period look rather than completely authentic construction. I also used my sewing machine…
I did go full authentic with handmade buttons and buttonholes. The buttons are 3 cm squares of wool. I sewed the corners to the center, then the new corners to the center, then again a third time. Then I went round pulling in the fabric as needed to make the button a nice round shape. With this method the button stuffs itself with the corners, and I like that it doesn’t waste fabric. The button holes were slightly nerve-wracking because you cut the slit and then sew around it with blanket stitch. Once you’ve cut the hole you’re committed! But it is not particularly difficult once you get the hang of it.
I plan to wear this at the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire in October.
