Rosalie's Medieval Woman - Pleated Fillet Tutorial

Sewing Tutorial:
Early 14th Century Pleated Fillet for use with Barbette

under construction

The fillet can be seen in medieval art in the early 14th century, usually pre-1350s. There are a number of variations, ranging from plain and unfrilled, frilly and pleated-looking. Their exact manufacture is unclear as there are no existing ones, so all we can do is make them with techniques which are known from materials which were used. It is always worn with a barbette and usually a hairnet.

This tutorial is only one potential method of making these to look like the images we see, and it's the way I've done it with the best results. I've made it without the canvas stiffening and also just be sewing the ruffle to the linen band, but this is the way I have made my very sturdy version. It's definitely more work, but the result was very pleasing to me. This method pleats the frill instead of ruffling it.

What you need:
All you need is thread, a needle, pins, scissors,ruler, pen or pencils, a long strip of linen the circumfrence of your head plus about 1.5cm overlap, a strip of canvas or aida cloth the circumfrence of your head plus 1cm. I made this one from silk.

	Step 1 You will need to decide how high you want your fillet to be. Images in manuscripts vary, so gather your supplies. If you're not sure, wide ruler can be a good guide. You'll also need a ruler, pins, pencil, scissors and a tape measure to measure your head with.
	Step 2 Cut
	Step 3 Do
	Step 4 When
	Step 5 Tighten
	Step 6 Do
	Step 7 Tighten
	Step 8 As
	Step 9 To
	Step 10 Stitch
	Step 11 You
	Step 10 If Happy sewing!

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