All ready for the Faire!!!

I just got the belt that one of my clients made for Christian, and it looks fabulous. The black was a good choice, and he even tooled a straight line that boarders the belt as a little bit of detail. I just finished his chaperone (hat) 2 nights ago, and he loved it!!! (He wouldn't even take it off!)

These items also went well with his poulaines - so almost everything is either red, black, or blue. I'm really liking the color combo.

I made the mistake of thinking the hat could be stuffed with scraps of fabric (which took an hour to cut into strips) but it became much too heavy. Guess that's why they used fluffed wool or "the hair of dead women" as one source claimed! It's meant to be light, not heavy as I had thought - so light that he can put the liripipe over his shoulder and have the chaperone hanging off in the back, just like they did back then when they didn't feel like wearing it.

It was really easy to make (although the instructions on length were wrong in The Medieval Tailor's Assistant) so I had to make 2 tubes, one like 5 inches or so longer than the first because it was too small. It was an easy fix though, and well worth the effort.

Now all he needs is a sword...yes, he's exited about that one. We didn't order one online since he likes to see them in person and handle them first, as quality is a factor in arms and armor. So most likely he will be buying one as well as a scabbard and frog at the faire this weekend. Especially since swords are his undoing, and he never had an excuse to really have one till now.

I also have been working on mom's headdress, which was made from a large square of extra linen from my chemise. It turned out quite nicely, and the fillet works with it pinned on in 3 places. I'll take pics of her final outfit tomorrow.

I also bought a belt at Macy's for my kirtle. Not historically accurate, but it's brown and designer and was on sale! (Can't go too wrong with that one!) I decided I really needed one with the fan and the purse. Pinning them on would just look silly, and if I wanted the fan often, it would be inconvenient as well. Plus, I heard that belts were way overpriced at the faire, so I doubt I could afford one with all the money we'd be spending on food and any small things that would catch our eyes, as well as priceless entertainment, as I always throw something into the hat.

My mom's neighbor found out about my dilemma with the wire on my hennin - should I leave it as is or cover it with something white? (e.g. tape or paint) I was at a loss, since I DEFINITELY did not want to use paint. So he gave me some plasticy stretchy white non-stick tape used for plumbing of all things (ok, I am not a handyman so I forgot its name!) and it worked! Now they can't say that I'm the Roach Queen! The tape makes the "antennae" look a lot less noticeable! Although, I still wonder what the hell they did back then to make the wire less noticeable, but since absolutely no hennins of any type from that period exist today, there is no way of knowing, since artists tended to leave that detail out of their paintings.

Now I'm definitely happy that I chose the silk organza - I was kinda worried lately that it was too see-through.

All I have to do tomorrow is a "dress rehearsal" for mom, take some pictures, and hem Christian's sleeves (the pics we took that night were right after his final fitting).

I'm not all that thrilled with Period Pattern's sleeve pattern for the gown - I must've cut at least a foot off them, and Christian is no pint-sized guy - he's 5'8" and about 180 pounds!