I have wondered about this as well. In the Tudor Tailor (can't find my Janet Arnold book at the moment) it seems the fabric is shaped and sewn on to a band which goes around the neck. Whereas the first making of this would result in nice type curves, even the figure 8 types, how would the subsequent washing and ironing/pleating/molding occur? It would seem to me that it might be easier to just have the thing dry on a mold, like we suggest people put their lace on glass with the surface tension serving to make the piece flat and stiff when it dried. Otherwise, it might be easier to take the ruff apart, starch it, iron it and and resew it every time you laundered it. Of course, such things were more likely to be done then when labor was cheap. Perhaps Alice could tell me more about how this device she has works. I just can't picture how you would iron a millstone ruff. Was it a process like the modern curling iron, an appliance I have never had much luck with either? I have even read that the same ruff could be arranged in different ways, which I take to mean, figure 8 type curves, or more relaxed and casual looking curves, stiff or droopy. Devon In a message dated 4/12/2009 1:25:02 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Consistent, repetitive pleating is done with a hand or mechanical pleater. It probably turned with a crank which pressed the pleats into the fabric as it moved through. It would have been heated someway and the starched fabric would have been damp going through. The heat of the pleaters would dry the fabric and set the pleats. I have a small hand pleating device that is to be heated in the oven before use. A larger device might have a hollow center where glowing coals could be inserted Alice in Oregon ----- Original Message ---- Subject: [lace] Yellow Lace, Molds & Flax Is it my imagination that there would be molds to shape some of these ruffs, just as a milliner would have a hat form? Many of them have a strikingly repetitive pattern, though working by hand would be difficult and hard to make consistent along with thread thickness and density of work. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected] **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220572838x1201387489/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26 hmpgID%3D62%26bcd%3DAprilfooterNO62) - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
