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Sewing Tutorial:
14th Century Silk Fillet With Bling

under construction


The fillet with decoration is the domain of the noble and upper class ladies. Often made of metalwork, but also of silk, these can be made with a tablet woven band or fabric. I've made a couple of silk ones with gemstones and flower decorations which are similar to the ones seen on statues in Europe and high medieval art.

Here I will show you how I made mine with flowers of real pearls and garnets.


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

  Step 1
You will need to decide how high you want your fillet to be.
 

Step 2
Cut your canvas.

I made mine a ruler width and 62 cm long so it goes around my head. I've allowed a little extra to fit a hairnet and hairpiece as well. 62cm was my TOTAL of all of those combined. I have a small head.

Mark it out with a pencil and then cut to size.

This is what you will be using as a base for the linen, and will provide a little bit of stiffness.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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