Gentles of the List,
although the subject isn't costume, since this is sewing-related and using
fabrics, I just though I'd pass along some hard-learned experience. For anyone
who has either made for themselves or been asked to make for others a medieval
period Banner or Standard, with the historically-correct "bordure compony" of
the House Colours of the Owner - don't be tempted to take the short-cut I did.
When I needed to do this, I looked-up the period manuscripts available - either
as illustrations in books on heraldry, or as digitised manuscripts online from
such sources as the Library of the College of Heralds.
I found the earliest images on the surviving Rolls of Arms showed the borders
either as coloured fringes, or as solid fabric.
I thought the fringed borders looked "cooler" than the solid-fabric borders; -
and bought myself the appropriate yardage of a made-up furniture fringe [white]
from the local Fabric Shop; and since the colours I needed were Argent and
Azure, - cut the length in half and dyed one length to the Azure I needed.
Several hours of cutting and sewing later, I had my 15ft-long Standard edged
with a fringed border of my House Coloured "compony" [alternating sections];
and it did, indeed look very "cool".
However, when I flew it for the first time, all those little loops and string
in the fringe caught on everything - with the result that every time the wind
dropped, my lovely new Standard hooked itself around the top of the mast, where
the fringe tangled itself in a series of small "Gordian Knots" around every
small things they could catch upon.
So, gentles all, - don't be tempted.
If YOU ever have to do this job, use dyed fabrics cut into strips - or
ready-made coloured ribbons - to form that "bordure compony". The
historically-correct alternbativge - the fringe - is, IMHO, - a pain in the
butt in practrical terms - you'll forever be trying to untabgle those little
knots.
I hope this little note will save someone, sometime, from making the same error
I have made.
In service to the historic dream,
Matthew Baker
--- On Sun, 28/12/08, Pierre & Sandy Pettinger <costu...@radiks.net> wrote:
From: Pierre & Sandy Pettinger <costu...@radiks.net>
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Costume- and sewing-related Christmas gifts
To: "Historical Costume" <h-cost...@indra.com>
Date: Sunday, 28 December, 2008, 5:44 AM
I also got PoF4, also three others (one of them has yet to be delivered - but I
got a printout of the B&N listing):
Gothic: Dark Glamour by Valerie Steele, et. al. from an FIT museum
exhibit, with lots of background text.
Brilliance! Masterpieces from the American Jewelry Design Council, by
Cindy Edelstein and Frank Stankus - It's an album of pieces from each
year's Design Project, where they ask jewelry designers to design a piece
around a given theme. Lots of really avant-garde stuff. (I asked for this one
as I have done a bit of jewelry making and would like to do more - maybe when I
retire...)
Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques, by Jill Salen (I first
heard about this on this list, and it sounded cool, as I need to make a few more
of these in the upcoming months...)
It was a bookish Christmas - I also got 4 fiction titles on my list. One more
costume-ish thing - a round box made with a wire frame covered with pale blue
crystal organza and a bow - styled like a hatbox but somewhat smaller.
Don't know yet what I'll use it for - the person who gave it to me said
it reminded her of my costumes...
Sandy
P.S. - Fran, the pendant sounds lovely!!
At 01:51 PM 12/27/2008, you wrote:
> What did everyone get?
>
> In my case not a whole lot. I asked my husband for several costume books,
but when he gets off schedule he does this distributed Christmas thing, where
stuff arrives any time before February. He did give me a copy of Cally
Oldershaw's _Gems of the World_ (a reasonably substantive guide for the
amateur), and a 135-carat madeira citrine pendant in a plain silver setting.
>
> Fran
> Lavolta Press
> New book on 1820s clothing!
> http://www.lavoltapress.com
> _______________________________________________
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> h-costume@mail.indra.com
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"Those Who Fail to Learn History
Are Doomed to Repeat It;
Those Who Fail To Learn History Correctly -
Why They Are Simply Doomed."
Achemdro'hm
"The Illusion of Historical Fact"
-- C. Y. 4971
Andromeda
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