Followers

Thursday 28 April 2016

1790s Black and Gold Turban

Here is a project I managed to finish in a couple of days. It was very fun and relaxing, all except for how sore my hands are now from hand-sewing! In all, I'm pretty happy with my results despite the base being rather flimsy due to all the weight of the fabric. So much, that I wish turbans were in fashion today! I've been wearing it around the house and probably terrified the cleaner when I ran around the corner and bumped into her wearing it, haha!
It was very quick and fairly easy due to instructions and blog posts on the web - I used Frolicking Frocks' post as inspiration - so I'm very pleased. Initially, I thought it would have to be a project I put off until my open robe was done.







Firstly I cut a circle 14 inches in diameter as Natalie suggests, and gathered it to a piece of bias I made (from a thick ribbon ironed like a piece of bias binding), the size of the circumference of my head. This made a shower-cap type of hat style, which became the base for wrapping and draping the other fabrics over the top, and also leaves a circle of fabric at the top so that it looks more like a turban.
I twisted my black ribbon with the spotted taffeta quite tightly and coiled it around the base, pinning and (I have to admit) glue-gunning as I went. I tacked it in places and glued it in others, where there was too much fabric to baste down.
Then I wrapped a piece of corded trim around between the coils of the turban, slipped feathers between a gap in the turban, and stitched little pearls over the places where the tacking was visible.
Lastly, I stitched the other side of the bias by hand to the inside of the hat.





No comments:

Post a Comment