At 23:22 20/12/2005, you wrote:
At 9:47 AM +1100 12/21/05, A & J Garden wrote:
I have a man's doublet that is too tight for buttons and am looking
for a period correct way of fastening down the front where the two
sides just meet. I have not seen any lace up in any paintings. Can
anyone help my poor tired brain with options?
Hooks and eyes? They're documentably period for front closures of
men's doublets, as evidenced by the well-known portrait of (IIRC)
Henry VIII's fool.
They do have to be carefully placed in order to make the edges butt
up against each other exactly, and don't hesitate to space them at 1
inch apart or even closer. Commercial hook and eye tape usually has
its hooks spaced a bit too far apart for this, unfortunately. Also,
you need to bone, or at least reinforce, the edges they will be
sewed to, in order to prevent buckling and gapping.
If the tightness is due to the wearer's having gained a few pounds,
it might be worthwhile to put a hidden lacing underneath, to pull
the wearer's girth in just a bit (if he'll put up with that, or
feels the weight gain is temporary). Then cover it with a plain
cloth placket and add the hooks and eyes to the outer edges.
I've sometimes heard it recommended that you alternate which side
the hooks go on (i.e. the first pair would be hook on the left, eye
on the right, and the next pair eye on the left, hook on the right).
But I don't know whether that actually makes a smoother closure or not.
When I worked in the theatre, alternate hooks and eyes, or rather
loops, were important as they do not "spring" open as sometimes same
side hooks and eyes/loops can. I know some people like and use hook
and loop tape, and I understand it has improved since I was using it,
but in the days when God was a lass the old fashioned hook and loop
tape would come apart with monotonous regularity.
What helps a tight join is to set the "nose" part of the hook back
from the edge, and only have a small part of the loop showing over
the edge. Also buttonhole stitching round the loop in a thread to
match the doublet helps it to grip, and to blend into the fabric.
Suzi
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