Definitely black for the veil of the hood. The much praised Tudor Costuming book has scale patterns for several versions of the French hood that will have to be sized up for your doll, probably, although the patterns should be fairly close if the bodice patterns in Hunnisett are the correct size for your doll.
I'm thinking of a 16th-early 17th century costume for a 12" tall girl doll, Agnes Dreary, from the Tonner Company, that hopefully will arrive within the month. I see lots of narrow wire and persnickedy pattern pieces in my future Even silk velvet will probably not drape properly for a French Hood, but I haven't tried draping it on the bias yet on a similar doll(same body, but different head). Black silk might be better I think on a doll as long as the silk is opaque and not sheer. Silk velvet could also pull back more than a lighter weight. You might want to tack and drape different black fabrics before committing to the final fabric(I made a porcelain doll about seven years ago and used a very incorrect black lace on this 25" lady as silk dupioni kept pulling the top of the hood back and down. I had wired the shape, had three layers of fabric(two layers of calico + top fabric)and flat backed carbochon "gems" and "pearls" fused to the gold braid that stood in for the metal worked frame of the real French Hoods. (Should have bought the whole reel of it at the time as it appeared more metal than braid on a doll, especially). I had to make up the whole pattern and it looked much better than the "Marie Stuart" hood pattern I'd bought for a similar sized doll, once done, but I wish now I'd had "Tudor Costuming" then. There used to be fabrics that could pass for Tudor and Rennaissance era fabrics in stores like JoAnns and Hancock Fabrics for people, but dolls below a certain size are almost impossible to shop for unless you are willing to embellish a base natural fiber fabric, like silk or wool, that are now very hard to find without spandex, nylon or a metallic that throws the authenticity off badly. Good luck on your project! Cindy Abel Thanks for the heads up on the Queen Maude doll you dressed--I might be able to still get a Nov issue from the only bookstore in Omaha that still carries it. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of LLOYD MITCHELL Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 2:27 PM To: H-Costume Subject: [h-cost] French hood for Elizabeth I I am continuing my retirement by creating historical costumes in minature for a standing line of willing, naked dolls. Queen Maude (of Norway circa1906-1938) can bee seen in Doll Craft/Costuming, issue for November 2007, along with Queen MarieAntoinette. Have also been having a wonderful time recreating for Maude from the new Poiret catalogue from the Met. (Also the "Wardrobe of Queen Maude of Norway") The latest project is trying to evoke the Holbein portrait of Elizabeth I,( Kestner Gibson Girl Repro). All goes well; have been leaning heavily on Hunnisett for the gown;(magically, the patterns of her books are just the size for the doll, so I only need to calculate skirt yardage.) But for the French hood...Would the veil on the back have been Black or would there have been another color suggested for a young girlof 13 yrs.? And, would this have been velvet as is suggested as the right fabric for the period? Next in line is Eleanor of Toledo. Got a marvelous fabric for the Branzino portrait on line last week. I will be using a lovely parian repro of the Grape Lady for that model. Her face and stance is so placid and partrician! Kathleen _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
