For my latest ruff, I folded the fabric in half, lengthwise, pleated it, and
sewed the raw edge by machine to hold the pleats. I then stitched the neck
band on, sewing the inside edge first, then hand tacking the outside edge so
it looks hand stitched. I tend not to use lace, as it would have been cost
prohibitive for my persona.
Then I starch the ruff, with corn starch in a heavy boiled solution. I form
the ruff with a 2L pop bottle and let it dry.
Some re enacting groups are very fussy when it comes to modern things.
Stuff like horsehair, fishingline and such will stand out like a sore thumb
in some situations...there is such a thing as too perfect.
I would suggest contacting the group to find out the situation they will be
in, looking too new may also be an issue.
Have fun!
Kelly
"Bravery is something you can experience on the spur of the moment, faced
with danger. To have courage, you must think about the dangers in advance,
then weigh the risks, and then do what you have to do, despite your fears"
Caius Merlyn Britannicus
You do the hem by hand. Or if you're putting lace on the edge, use a narrow
tiny zig zag that will not show unless someone has a magnifying glass. You
can
even overcast a plain edge with a narrow tiny zig zag and that will look
like a rolled hem.
As for horse hair....starch the ruff instead with fabric starch [in the
box
or bottle] or use wig lacquer. Or use some starch and zig zag over the
right
weight fishing line [you can do this when you do the hem] to keep it
buoyant.
I've never know a formal ruff that didn't need a little tacking or
something
to keep the 8's neat.
Of course in Italian Renn you often see a very informal box pleated ruffle
[not really a ruff] peaking up above the doublet collar edged in some
way....narrow lace or some needle work on the edge. A tiny black edge can
look quite
fetching... especially if it has some kind of delicate picot. There's no
reason this would not also be seen in an Elizabethan setting.
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
h-costume@mail.indra.com
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
