I’m stumped. I am not quite sure how to make my gold silk haube (what some call a goldhaube). I’ve been studying paintings, drawings, and woodcuts for close to a year (see my post on goldhaubes for more background). Here are my observations of the gold haube:
1. No visible gathers in any period depictions (i.e., not a simple, gathered caul)
2. Most likely not a netting over a silk cap — while some look like they could be netting, most do not. Netting would pull and push the fabric underneath it in a specific way. You can see that the goldhaube in Cranach’s painting of the Beheading of Salome has a slight fold on the side, and this would not occur if it was netting over fabric.
3. Most, but not all, of these hauben have a tight band. Those that do not are more likely to look like they are netting. (I realize some of these bands could be separate from the haube, but I think most are not.)
4. All of these hauben accommodate the “braid bulge” on the side of the head without obvious straining.
I thought perhaps a half oval, with the straight side around the head and the curved side gathered in the back might create the right look, but there just didn’t seem to be enough material to accommodate the braid bulge on the side. Also, when I tried this on myself I could see folds and gathers near the side neck that you just cannot see in the paintings. And, frustratingly, I can find no paintings, drawings, or engravings that show this style of haube from the back, so I cannot see how they did this. You can see a good number of the hauben images I’ve found at http://pinterest.com/genovevalubeck/german-hats-and-hairstyles/
I plan to make more muslins of different shapes and experiment with them. But if anyone out there knows — or has theories on — how these hauben were constructed to show no gathers/folds and yet have a tight band and accommodate the braids, please let me know! I have the special order orange/gold silk in, I have my vintage fresh water pearls ready, I have my slate frame ready to go — but I don’t have the right shape yet!
If you have any ideas, PLEASE reply to this post or e-mail me at genoveva.von.lubeck [at) gmail.com. Thanks!
Can you suggest a good source of fabric for a goldhaube? I am looking for something other than Duponi.
I am attempting to use red/gold silk taffeta. It has the right look so far (red weft threads, gold warp threads), but I won’t know for sure until I finish putting the pearls on it because they’ll weigh it down. Watch my blog for the results of that experiment! 🙂
Oh, and you said source — I got this particular silk I’m experimenting with from http://www.renaissancefabrics.net/product/silk/silk-taffeta-golden-sunset/. I should also note that I made a test goldhaube out of poly taffeta and it looked good, so this is not a total shot in the dark. 🙂