Tag: EEEEC Personalisation

EEEEC Ginevra di Serafino Visconti’s Hood

EEEEC: Ginevra di Serafino Visconti’s Silk

An entry for the category of personalisation.

“This was quite a long running project.  I had a hood for several years that I was avoiding wearing, because it fit oddly, and I’d just found the leftover fabric from making it while tidying up, so I decided to fix that.”This was quite a long running project.  I had a hood for several years that I was avoiding wearing, because it fit oddly, and I’d just found the leftover fabric from making it while tidying up, so I decided to fix that.

“I dismembered the hood, and played with pins and basting till I had an adjusted design that I liked.  I then cut the old hood pieces to the new shape, and from the found fabric cut front panels and also a detachable liripipe (detachable, because around the start of this project I read in an article that there were sumptuary laws about women having liripipes, and so detachable ones became a brief trend which struck me as delightfully silly – but the article in question is eluding me now, so I can’t provide a link) “I dismembered the hood, and played with pins and basting till I had an adjusted design that I liked.  I then cut the old hood pieces to the new shape, and from the found fabric cut front panels and also a detachable liripipe (detachable, because around the start of this project I read in an article that there were sumptuary laws about women having liripipes, and so detachable ones became a brief trend which struck me as delightfully silly – but the article in question is eluding me now, so I can’t provide a link) 

“I then used those pieces to cut a lining in a combination of silk and linen, using the silk where it would show, and look fancy, and not matter that it’s slippy, and the linen everywhere else to help the hood stay on my head.  

“I then sewed the outer back together and, because most of the time I want to wear a hood it’s because I’m outside watching a tourney, and because I am honoured to have Master Richard fight for me at those times, I appliqued fleur de lis in white velvet (donated by the wonderful Lady Margretta), outlined with DMC Perle cotton around the base of the hood.

“I then attached the lining, as seen below.  Testing has shown that the lining does work as intended – the linen does help with stability and the silk does look very pretty when it shows.

“I was going to add buttons, also with fleur de lys, to help the hood stay on in the wind, and make it thus a little warmer, but I ‘borrowed’ the buttons for another hood remodel and the replacement ones have not yet arrived.”I was going to add buttons, also with fleur de lys, to help the hood stay on in the wind, and make it thus a little warmer, but I ‘borrowed’ the buttons for another hood remodel and the replacement ones have not yet arrived.”

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EEEEC: Magdalena de Narbonne’s Heraldic Standards

EEEEC: Magdalena de Narbonne’s Heraldic Standards

These heraldic standards are entered in personalisation and described thus:

 “For use at Crown tourney and other formal occasions … A pair of heraldic standards completed in the typical sca style for myself and my Consort to utilise as heraldic display for introduction to the Crown at autumn Crown Tourney as58. We each have the lochac populace badge by the hoist, followed by personal heraldic elements down the rest of the length we each have three charges (Thorbjorn has his golden rampant polar bear from his badge, and I have the three argent bees from my arms), with bands of text containing our personal mottoes in between the charges. These banners fit the Southron Gard ‘Barons girth’ as well.”

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EEEEC: Isabel Maria’s heraldic camp chair

EEEEC: Isabel Maria’s heraldic camp chair

A chair, with personal heraldry, is shared under the categories of personalisation, preparation, transformation, inspiration, and imitation. (Or should that be approximation?) Isabel Maria describes the project:

“At Canterbury Faire 2023 it became clear my trusty chair was now rickety, having reaching the end of its usable life, and needed to be replaced. In preparation for this day I had purchased a new directors chair some time ago (on sale) and put it aside. Before Canterbury Faire 2024 I brought it out with the intention of transforming it into something that was clearly inspired by 16th century seating, and also recognisably mine, through the use of my personal heraldry

Inspiration

I started a simple embroidery of my arms at CF’23 as a fun time-filler activity. After I finished it I realised that I had really enjoyed the process, but that I did not like the proportions of the finished item. So, I made a pattern changing the angle of the chevron and reducing the height of the eagle and fleur de lys, and made a new one. The vague hope had always been to apply the finished item to my chair in some way.

There are several styles of chair that have the arms on the back, as can be seen on this pinterest board. Most are folding or “hip joint” style chairs, both of which are considerably more complicated and decorative that the chair I used, so any similarities need to come from the fabric and trim.

Materials and Construction

Many of the materials used in this project were items from stash (canvas, wools, fringe, thread) or purchased inexpensively (drill). Much of the construction is completed by machine to save time and keep the project moving. Fringe was sewn on in the placement seen most commonly on the hip joint chairs. The embroidery was basted in place on the back rest, as seen in several hip joint chairs, before being hand sewn to the burgundy drill.

Verdict and Next Steps

After considerable testing at Canterbury Faire 2024, I can declare this previously prepared chair comfortable, and easily recognisable. However it still seems a little, … plain. The next step is to make a fringed cushion, probably with my heraldry on it, to add more luxury and ‘bling’.

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