Red & Green Gnome Outfit

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An now for something a little different...some fantasy-esque silliness.

This project all started because of the stupidest (read: best, most glorious!) hat I'd ever seen.

Back in 2023, I found this felted wool hat on Esty from the Polish maker FeltYourself...

...and I absolutely had to have it.  

I mean look at it! How could I resist?

I didn't yet know what it was going to be, but I knew it had to be something.

Obviously, the hat is giving strong gnome-vibes. So I started by developing a colour palette based on some wool swatches from DorrMill, just to see what spoke to me.

I wanted the red hat to be the standout, so I mainly focused on complimentary shades of green, with a somewhat analogous burgundy as a transition shade.

From there, I drew a couple of quick sketches comprising of green dress, lighter green sleeves, and a burgundy capelet.

Unsurprisingly, the overall silhouette is still strongly rooted in the 16th century. 

I had recently finished my red and blue kirtles, and you know what they say: "To a woman with a hammer every problem looks like a kirtle."

Or something like that...

The only real difference is that I planned to significantly shorten the skirt to achieve that vague-Hobbit-y aesthetic.

As I continued to play with the idea of incorporating more accessories, I realized the design was starting to look a little familiar... 

It immediately put me in mind of 1976's "Gnomes", by Wil Huygen (illustrated by Rien Poortvliet), and the follow-up "Secrets of Gnomes" (1982), both of which I had as a child.

So I thought about leaning even more into the folk-costume element, and even picked up a vintage embroidered apron...

But then I worried that I was over-egging the pudding a bit, so instead I opted for more pared-back design, with just a satchel and tablet woven belt.

So with a rough design in place, I began to sources accessories and other supplies.

First the fabric: wool flannel from DorrMill.

I picked up and mottled red with green as well...I'm not sure what it will be yet, but it seemed to good a match to pass up.

Next: accessories:

I already had a key element of my sketch, which were a pair of knit fingerless gloves in cream and green (made for me by my college roommate, many many moons ago)

Next, shoes!

To compliment the pointy hat,  I opted for American Duchess' Hartfield Regency boots in brown (though I wish they still stocked the red versions!).

However, I worried that these boots wouldn't hold up to rougher outdoor-wear, so I also sourced a pair of vintage leather boots on Ebay.

Now, on to the satchel.

This was a bit trickier...

I definitely wanted a vintage leather bag; something with a bit of age and weathering. I also wanted it to be tooled, or have some sort of surface decoration.

I searched for vintage 70s bags on both Etsy and Ebay, and eventually came up with two good options.

Next, the belt.

I knew I wanted a tablet woven wool belt in shades of greens or reds, and found some truly lovely options (again on Etsy) by MazuBaltai.

I also picked up a similar band in shades of burgundy and rust to trim to capelet. 

(all the braids all 15mm wide)

Though not a part of my initial sketch, I did also find a pair of knit wool leg-warmers, which I thought added nicely to the cozy aesthetic.

And finally, a Sweet Gum Wood walking stick from KentuckyNaturally on Etsy.

Since this project was conceived around the accessories, the actual construction was almost the last thing to be completed.

I didn't document the process at all, since it follows the same method as my red and blue kirtles, so here is a quick rundown of the finished kit.

The kirtle is front closing with spiral lacing. The skirt lies flat through the front and is pleated in the back.

The skirt is heavily shaped, with pieced panels and has a wide 4" hem.

I had originally intended to add short sleeves to the kirtle (onto which I would pin the 3/4 length oversleeves).

But instead I decided on full length sleeves that would attach with a hook and eye (using the same sleeve pattern as my Aertsen inspired outfit)

I also decided to make extra sleeves in the same forrest-green wool as the kirtle, well as a pair with a faint houndstooth pattern (over-dyed in moss green); because why not?

And finally, the rust / burgundy capelet, trimmed with wool braid. It's lined in linen and closes with a single hook and eye at the collar.

And with that the Gnome outfit is complete!

But it has been basically sitting on the shelf for the last 3 years.

Because here's the thing...it's REALLY warm. 

The hat alone retains way too much heat to wear during Southern California summers.

So for the last few seasons it's been re-styled as a classic 16th-century kirtle...

...and has actually become my go-to Faire outfit for the last 3 years.

But last year we actually had a very cold, grey and rainy Faire-weekend, and the Gnome was finally able to make its debut!

It was a ridiculously fun to wear something a bit silly, and the outfit was perfect for a cold day in the rain.

There are however, a few things that I would like to change: the sleeves are a bit long, as is the capelet. I think I could easily lose an inch and a half of of each...though that would mean tearing out a lot of trim, so realistically it will probably never happen.

I had also pressed the front lappets of the hat because they had gotten a bit crushed in the post, but I think I'd like to get their curls back in for next time.

So that's it! The Gnome is done!

I had actually planned on waiting to post this until I was able to get my usual set of photos done against the backdrop and with a proper camera...but since it's been more than a year and I still haven't found the time to get through the backlog of other projects I need to photograph, I figured I might as well post what I have.

So look for more Gnome in the future! Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before I get to wear it again...

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Large Linen & Lace Ruff

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This ruff is another piece that was originally planned for my presentation at the Westcoast Elizabethan Clothing Symposium ("Wearing vs Styling: Accessorizing to Create a Period Look"), which focused on using accessories to build a richer, more period wardrobe. 

Specifically, it was meant to feature in Part 3 of my talk, which centered on re-styling the same black fitted gown for different decades (from 1540-1650). 

I needed a look to represent the 1610s and my inspiration was this portrait of Hester Crispe (circa 1610-20).

I chose this image primarily because I wanted an excuse to create a large lace ruff, since all the ruffs I had made up to that point had been plain linen. 

Looking at Hester more closely, the proportions of her ruff appear to be approximately 50% linen to 50% lace (with an additional row of narrower lace around the collar, on of top of the pleated linen).

It also appears that Hester's ruff is large, but not huge...ending about 2" from her shoulder (which on me would mean a 4 - 4.5" ruff).

However, I wanted something a bit bigger for the mid-1610s...

 Marcus Gheeraerts, 1613

Salomon Mesdach, 1619

Looking at the proportions of my previous ruffs, I decide to make this one 5” wide in total. This will include the outer lace.

Meaning, when finished, it will be a tad narrower than my widest ruff (pictured below) which is just over 5. 25".

Next, it's time to choose the lace. 

I prep 3 different combinations, all using the Tudor Tailor Schole-House insertion lace as a base:

The first option is probably the closest to my inspiration image, but ultimately I decide to go with the final combination.

The reasoning is practical rather than purely aesthetic: Since I'll be using the pattern of the lace to determine the size of my sets, the fact that repeat is the same on both will make my math a lot easier.

With all the design decisions made, it's time to start construction...

HOWEVER!

At this point the conference is only 2 months away.  Which means it will be impossible to finish this ruff in time. 

It takes me between 4-6 months to finish a ruff that size. Most of that is hemming the linen; but I'll also need to take two passes to sew two lace strips together, pleat it, and then sew it to a neckband.

The math just doesn't add up. 

And so...

And I have one!

Because it turns out that I actually have a ruff in the naughty pile (and it's been there for over 5 years).

Back in late 2018 or early 2019 I had attempted to make a double ruff:

I'm not sure how these are meant to be constructed, but I tried a version with two layers on linen sandwiched together. 

(top ruff)

It didn't work. 

The finished "ruffs" didn't lay nicely on top of each other (as seen in the portrait above), and instead splayed out and odd angles.

BUT...that does mean I have two layers of lovely hemmed linen! 

So the double ruff is taken apart and the two layers stitched end to end, giving me enough linen to to create my lace ruff.

As always, the edges were worked with a narrow rolled hem.

(I know rolled hems aren't really period, but I can do them quickly...which is the only way I can get through this much linen).

And the strips are joined with a 1/8" seam.

The hemmed linen is 3.5" wide and the lace will be just over 3" wide (when the two lace pieces are sewn together). This will give me a total working width of 6.5", which is a nice safe margin.

Which means it's finally time to start construction!

Because of the speed at which I was working, I didn't really document this process very thoroughly. 

(But it's basically the same as my first ruff).

First the insertion lace is stitched to the hemmed edge.

(Cat ear for scale)

Then the second lace is sewn on top of the first.

Originally, I had planned to prep 240" of linen (the same as my previous large ruff). 

However, because of the repeat of the lace each figure-eight loop will need 6 squares of lace. This means I will either have to round up or round down to get the edges to meet in the front.

For safety, I decide to round up to just under 250".

And so, jumping WAY ahead...the linen strip cut down so that the final width (including lace) is 5.5".

This represents a 5" ruff plus a 1/2" seam allowance for the neckband.

Then the ruff is pleated:

All I have to do now is sew it to a neckband and I'm done...with two weeks to spare! 

But something seems wrong.

I can't put my finger on it, but something about the ruff isn't quite working.

The sets are either curling around themselves or stacking up on top of each other, and the lace has a more compressed and narrow feel than I was happy with.

This is especially obvious at the fronts.

I have a sinking feeling that it's too full.

So I debated about whether or not I should cut the ruff down by about 24” (an honestly arbitrary number...I had a seam at that point, and it corresponded to the 6-square pattern established earlier).

But I'm worried that removing any extra length will make matters even worse. The lace is heavy enough that it's collapsing under its own weight, but it also might need a certain amount of volume (and subsequent “squish”) to keep it all standing upright.

I don't want to cut it back and then regret it...to say nothing of ruining a ton of work and expensive lace.

So I do nothing. 

Which means, ironically, this ruff is also going on the naughty pile...

It also means that even though I have most of the pieces for the Hester Cripse outfit (mostly) complete, I've missed the window for taking photos and it won't make it into my presentation.

But as it turns out, it was all for the best...

Because at the conference I attended a talk on ruff construction and learned about the benefits of tacking the sets together…something that I had always resisted since it locks the ruff into a certain shape, and I liked having the freedom to change the proportions. 

But after hearing that tacking the sets gave them more internal structure and “bounce” I gave it a try…and after a few test sets I was hooked!

(NOTE: The red area above represents the purposed section to cut, and the blue area represents the tacked and starched sets)

The lace formed beautiful, bouncy sets that no longer wanted to collapse!

So I cut roughly 24" out, bringing the final length to approximately 224".

Ironically, this is the exact amount that the Elizabethan Ruff Calculator suggests for a 5" ruff (with a 13.5" neck). Usually I like my ruffs a little fuller than what it calculates, but this time it was bang on.

All the sets are now tacked together and the ruff is sewn to a neckband.

Lastly, a medium scalloped lace (also from the Tudor Tailor) is sewn to the inside edge of the neckband and the ruff is complete!

However, the project isn't done yet...

Because the 24" I cut out of the ruff gave me just enough material for a matching set of cuffs.

I also decide to add the matching scalloped lace to the cuff. 

It isn't in the Hester Crispe portrait, but it is something you see on other early 17th century images (especially --though not exclusively-- in the Low Countries):

So the lace is added and the cuffs completed!

And with that, the lace ruff project is finally finished!

Usually, I wouldn't do such a full write-up for a type of garment I've made (and documented) previously.

But as costumers we tend to only highlight our successes, and I thought it was worth noting that this project stalled multiple times...and actually rose from the ashes of an older project that had failed altogether.

Aesthetically,  I'm really happy with the final result. But I've yet to "test drive" it, and so only time will tell if it was ultimately a success. 

Who knows? Maybe it will be remade into something else in five years, and the Circle of Life will continue...

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Resources & Materials

Fabric:

-White linen (2.8oz) from WM Booth Draper

Trim and Notions:

-Lace from The Tudor Tailor

Thread:

-White cotton thread (silk finish)