Hey I played Sir Martin Frobisher myself for a few years at a Rennainsince
faire ( in California)! I also did have a costume based upon the painting
that you speak of, though I used wool for all the pieces. It is diifficult
to be precise about some of the fabric in that painting, at least when using
reproductions of it in books. I susppect it would be more obvious if the
actual painting is viewed.
The portrait shows what is I believe a silk or satin doublet in white.
This part is clear. The sleeves of the doublet are shaped in a sort of "leg
of mutton" style. Very full in the shoulders, thight in the forearms. They
appear to be cut longer than needed as well. The doublet closes with
several small buttons set close togetherand has a very narrow skirt at the
bottom.
What is a harder to determine is the fabric of the other garments. Over
the doublet he wears a jerkin and he wears a pair of venetians. These items
are both constructed of the same material and match. There seem to be two
opinions out there on what the fabric is. One would theory is that it is
leather, the other wool. If it is leather, it is a soft finished leather,
like proper deerskin as opposed to the modern stuuf easily available. A
plushness is cleary apparent in some copies of the painting. The jerkin
is laced up the front with points (a seperate tie at each place rather than
a long cord like a woman's pair of bodys or corset). The jerkin is finsihed
with rolled piccadills at the waist and a double set of similiar piccadils
at the top of the armscye. If you make the jerkin of wool, do yourslef a
favour and do not finish the edges of these piccadills. You will be dealing
with a lot of fabric in those seams as it is.
The outfit is finished with a THIN sword belt over the doublet (but under
the jerkin) beige shoes, ruffs at the neck and wrists and a cord around his
neck. Hanging from the cord is what I have aften heard described as a 16th
century bosuns whistle, but what looks to me far more like a ring hanging
from a cord. Bosun's pipes do exist in the period, and in most cases look
quite different from modern ones (not always though). I think that in this
case though the item has simply been misidentified.
There are a number of sources for fabrics online, and if you intend to
make this in wool you may need them. Wool selection tends to be a little
dicey at least at my local versions of the two stores you mentioned. I have
purchased some for reasonable prices from Hamilton Drygoods, who is online.
B. Black in Sons also have an online page. They provide most of the finer
wools you will find at places like Hancocks or Joannes. I am not certain if
they do retail business though. I know when I lived in California still we
needed a business license to buy from them. They are one of the things I
most miss about California! Great people to do business with, and they
would give you great deals when you were there in the shop. My friends
here where I now live at Burnley and Trowbridge have a great selection of
historic appropriate fabrics as well as some books that will help you weith
patterning for the period. There webpage wont help you with their fabric
though. You will have to either call them, or order their catalog WITH the
fabric swatches. I have found some good deals on Ebay as well, including
several yards of a biege that would work well for Frobisher.
Ron Carnegie
----- Original Message -----
From: "REBECCA BURCH" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <h-costume@mail.indra.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 11:44 AM
Subject: [h-cost] Hello-new member
Greetings,
I was so pleased to find this resource. I am in need
of guidance and after reading through some of the
archived messages, this sounds like the place to find
it.
My son will be playing Capt. Martin Frobisher at a
Renaissance Faire this summer and has asked me to make
his outfit. Up to this point he has been supplied
with Yeoman garb. I have loads of sewing experience,
but none in historical accuracy. Where would be the
best place to start? I also don't have the luxury of
time, since he needs to submit fabric swatches by the
end of February.
I have asked him to find contact information for the
person in charge of costume at the Faire, so I will
know just how deep the accuracy needs to go. I have
done theatre costuming, but I think this needs to be a
little more in-depth.
There is a portrait of this gentleman to use as a
guide. How do I tell what kind of fabric to look for?
My local fabric sources are limited to Joann's and
Wal-Mart. Are there good resources online?
Any guidance/assistance will be appreciated.
Rebecca Burch
Center Valley Farm
Duncan Falls, Ohio, USA
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