Buttoning hoods have recently become a staple in 14th Century living history, especially where more well-to-do representations are concerned. Looking at any work of 1300's art will show a plethora of styles and fashions of these hoods to choose from, which can often make the task of deciding on a specific pattern daunting. For this particular rendition, we opted to copy a style seen in one of the illustrations of the Speculum Humanae from 1360's Germany. In the work, the man wearing the hood has what appears to be a fitted hood of red and multi-color striped wool. Aside from the stripes, the minute features of his hood are lacking, however, given the style of fashion in which it drapes over his shoulders and neck, it is easy to speculate that this was one of the famed hoods which features buttons down the front and some form of ties or securing mechanisms under the arms.
For our reproduction, we went with a very fine red-striped herringbone wool which appears to pretty aptly copy that seen in the art. Due to its thinness, however, woad blue-dyed wool was also used as a lining - a technique which is still speculative within the reenactment community today, though necessary in this case for the hood to maintain stability and durability. It was sewn entirely using red linen thread and all seams were running back-stitched and then double-folded and whip-stitched for treatments. A matching striped liripipe tail was added to the back, as per the original work. An assortment of buttons was added down the front to secure the hood in a more fitted manner, and the side which bears the buttonholes also was reinforced using silk thread which was tablet-woven directly into the fabric's hemmed edge - a fashion seen on many extant buttoning garment edges, evidently to add durability to the garment and prevent ripping. Finally, finger-woven tubular braids were added to the four armpit corners so as to be tied under the arms and secure the hood in place. This technique is also conjectural, however, since no surviving examples, both in artwork nor extant garments, are present to base this on, we simply have to assume some form of narrow ware was used for this task. Overall, a hood of this style would be correct and representative for any middle or upper-class German male of means for the middle of the 14th Century. Due to the complexity and materials involved in its construction, it should be left out of any lower-class impressions, however. Below is the reconstructed garment, along with the original work upon which it was based.
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AboutThis page will focus on the lifestyles of those living in Medieval Europe from approximately the 11th Century through the 14th. Archives
April 2021
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