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The Quiver

 

I have for some years wanted to make a quiver. I finally got the excuse and the opportunity in December.

 

This one I made from brain tanned buckskin. I only had pieces left so I had to sew pieces together to make a piece large enough for a quiver.

After  sewing the pieces together the next job I did was to make a rawhide insert to fit in the base of the quiver so the arrows do not wear the buckskin so quickly. Rawhide is really versatile stuff. It is very tough and stiff until you wet it. When it is damp and pliable you can from it into a shape and hold it there until it dries and it will keep that shape until it gets wet again. I made a raw hide 'cup' that would fit neatly in the bottom of the quiver. Whilst this was drying it was then the long job of the beading.

 

For the beading I wanted to use colours inspired by the forest so this meant lots of greens. I wanted to avoid red as this in nature tends to be a colour of warning and so stands out too much. I used mostly size 13 Charlotte cut beads so it took longer to complete than it might have done. I also used some size 11 Charlotte and some plain size 12. I am really pleased that the beading still looks neat even though there is a range of sizes.

I have sewn it together using sinew and linen threads.

The feathers here are the off-cuts from making flights. These are Buzzard.

 

What did surprise me was how long it took to decorate the strap. This took so long because it was a very fiddly job.

I now finally have a quiver to take with me whilst practising my primitive archery whilst walking in the woods.
Shame the weather is so poor. It looks like I may have to wait some months before I get the chance to use it.

The Seventeenth Century Skirt Update

Carrying on from an earlier post...

The 'Jacobean' skirt was finished and here are some pictures of me wearing it in a complementary setting.

The skirt created was made to be worn in houses from 1630-1680 approximately.

Here in the Garden of one of the houses I demonstrate. I am wearing an underskirt that can not be seen here.

 

One of the aims of this fashion is to give women large hips. I do not need much help there! But this skirt certainly adds width. Lots of heavy cartridge pleating. This is a very heavy skirt and only really suitable for the cooler weather. 

 

I did finish the bottom of the skirt with a strip of madder dyed wool. When the hem wears out all I have to do is replace the decorative edging.

 

Just a note the waistcoat is not quite right for that day. The waist coat is more 1560 -1630.  The waist coat sleeves become more voluminous and it also evolves a flaring skirt like bottom to add the wide hip effect. Making the correct waistcoat is on the 'to do' list.. along with hundreds of other things...

And here tending to the fire.

And an underskirt. I am pulling nettles to make string.

The under skirt can be worn as a summer version of the heavy skirt. This one is a thinner wool and is unlined.

The Kitchen Maid by Hollar.

1640

Above can be seen at least two skirts. The outer skirt and her coif has been decorated with a little lace. A very popular accessory in this period. It seemed to quickly go out of fashion. I can only imagine this may have been due to its impractical and delicate properties. Here you can see she is wearing a fashionable waist coat for the lower sort.

The Milk Woman by Maes

1656



By the mid 1650s the lace was not so popular amongst the working class. The poorest of people could never afford any sort of lace. 

Jan Sebrechts 1650-1675

And here in the summer or when at work the ladies wear just the unlined underskirt.

The Ford Jan Sebrechts 1670

The Museum last year

Well, last year was a busy one at the museum. With very mixed experiences. It seems the recession has well and truly landed.

I did not have as much work from early autumn onwards. But, until then I was extraordinarily busy, doing many and varied tasks.

There was also the filming of The Tudor Monastery Farm. The more eagle eyed might catch a two second glimpse of me very occasionally.
Lion TV interpreted parts of the site as 1500. Just before Henry the Eighth came to the throne and we were still a deeply Catholic country. This is not strictly a period we cover at the museum but what they produced is very effective.

This is one picture my husband took during one of the filming sessions.

Clothing made by the volunteer needle workers group that gets used on a daily basis was used for the filming (except the monks costume above, that was bought by Lion TV).
Because this clothing is produced to cover a later Tudor period some alterations were made on a ad-hoc basis. Above this is the clothing we tend to wear for the 1540s. But, it was fun to see lots of people populating the place.

Some feather Craft

I am very inspired by the arts of the Amazon. Especially the feather crafts.

 

I wanted to make some things that look like they may have been gathered from an exotic trip. So I have used hemp string of my own manufacture. I have not used any modern findings or methods. I am also very interested in 'Bush Craft' and indigenous cultures. Also I like to try and imagine what my Palaeolithic ancestors may have made as an expression of their identity and culture.

 

Hair decoration inspired by the art of the indigenous Amazon people.

 

Above you can see body feathers of the Macaw. Each feather is individually attached to my own hemp string.

 

And the end is decorated with Amazon Parrot Tail feathers.

 

Dyeing the Stuart/Jacobean skirt

The Mordant Bath. 

 

I am lucky enough to have a large boiler that I use for these larger projects. Here is the fabric in the mordant. I used Alum and Cream of Tartar. The Cream of Tartar keeps the fabric soft during the process.

Mordanting is probably the most important part of the dyeing process. The fabric should be stirred regularly.

And the dye stuff.

Lovely and cheap.

I like to get the colour out of the dye stuff before adding the fabric.

Here you can start to see the dye stuff colouring the dye bath.

And some pictures of the fabric after dyeing.

 

 

 

 

 

Tudor Bodies Update...

The Bodies are now finished!

When I am brave enough I will get some pictures taken whilst I am wearing them!

They were quite comfortable or at least not as uncomfortable as I was expecting! But since putting them on after the festive season they are not so comfortable..... I wonder why.......

wine, chocolate etc etc....

I edged them in some linen binding tape. This makes them look very neat. It is getting harder and harder to find this tape.

I get mine from here.
http://www.empressmills.co.uk/acatalog/Bindings_Tapes.html
They do two different kinds of tape. A linen tape that is woven in a twill weave, which is the right one, and they do a book binding tape.

 

I wove the laces on my lucette and I bought some aglets from here
https://www.facebook.com/LucyTheTudor
She used to have a web site that I used. I hope this is the same woman!
I apologise if it is not....
or was it here...
http://www.classhistory.co.uk/Annie/bits.htm

All the eyelets are hand stitched and the entire thing is hand sewn in linen thread.
This I get from
http://www.stef-francis.co.uk/natural-yarns/35-3-linen
And also from a trader called Saxon Yarns who goes to the TORM
http://www.reenactorsmarket.co.uk/

The Hard rush I get from nature!
It is best picked shortly before you need to use it. This as I have mentioned can be found in wind swept damp fields that are grazed and also in ditches. It seem to readily self seed. I had a small amount growing in the garden.