Catherine Parr Inspired French Hood

The French hood, French headdress, or Tudor headdress, as it is known, was very popular in Western Europe. Its origin, and therefore its name, is located in XV and XVI century.---------------------------

Anne Boleyn is credited with introducing the French hood to England. French headdresses were primarily worn by women of nobility and high society in Western Europe. The French headdress is characterized by its rounded, half-moon shape. It also reveals a bit of hair at the front of women. However, at the back, it has a veil that completely covers the hair, as women of that time could only show their hair to their husbands.

French headdresses were a distinctive symbol of 16th century women's fashion, they were a symbol of status and elegance.

Upon further investigation into the headdresses of the period, I discovered that French headdresses have several parts, which are identified as follows, according to information I found online.

The French hood was a very emblematic accessory during the Renaissance period and this is reflected in most of the artistic pieces, especially in Renaissance portrait paintings.

Parts of the Headdress

The French headdress is made up of several parts, placed in layers:

Cap

Crepine – the gathering or pleating seen under the paste.

Paste – the rigid piece, which can have several contrasting colors. When layered, it was placed over the cap and the crepine.

Veil – the back part, always black, which covers women's hair.

Billaments – the decoration on the edge of the paste, which was decorated with jewels, gold pieces, and pearls. The word "billament" means decoration in French.

Materials

1. Burgundy or dark red fabric
2. Champagne-colored fabric
3. Gold millaret - braided gold ribbon
4. White pearls
5. Flat-back rhinestones
6. Cold silicone
7. Hot glue gun
8. Thin wire
9. Adhesive interlining

In this history-making instructable, I wanted to recreate a French hood worn by Catherine Parr, Queen of England and Ireland and the last of King Henry VIII's six wives.

First, transfer the exact patterns with chalk to the interfacing, which already has glue. Cut the patterns around the entire edge.

Then, using an iron, place the cut interfacing patterns on top of the fabric in the colors you've chosen, and heat-glue the interfacing. This will make the fabric more firm.

Once you have heat-glued the interfacing, cut the fabric, leaving an extra 1.5 cm to make the tabs or seam.

Bend the wire, shaping it around the entire edge of the patterns. This will give the pieces strength. You can sew it or, if you prefer, glue it with cold silicone. I glued it this way, and it was very easy and firm.

Make some small tabs to shape them, and with cold silicone, glue them tab by tab until all the excess fabric is used up.

It's time to decorate the French hood and give it some shine, initially gather the ornaments that have been chosen and start making a design

I chose a gold strip with this design; it's subtle and delicate. I placed it on the bottom of the headpiece, and a braided strip for the top. After gluing them and making sure they were secure, I decorated them with white pearls and other sparkly gems I had.

I made this ornament by cutting the strip and removing two pieces. Then, I separated one of the lines with scissors and twisted the ornaments to form a sort of brooch or central ornament. I added a white pearl to the center.

Trace the pattern again, but now only on the fabric, and glue it to the other part of the pattern to give it a better finish.

I chose a strip of gold embellishments that would resemble the design of the jewelry worn at that time. I didn't want to place the entire strip without adding a design, so I cut it in pieces and created a design interspersed with white pearls, as seen in the images.

I wanted to recreate the headpiece I chose as inspiration. I started by placing four white pearls, then added a gold appliqué and continued with the pearl sequence to create a design in the paste, which is the rigid shape of the headpiece.

To make the crepine of the headpiece, I chose this gold ribbon and pleated it in parallel with a hand stitch.

After gluing the crepine, cut the same pattern without any additional heightening and glue it to the other side of the finished pattern so that everything is sealed.

I used Velcro so the headdress could be adjustable to different sizes. You can also sew it shut to close the mold. This is optional since Velcro wasn't used at that time.

Here you finally have a French headdress. I feel that French headdresses are very beautiful and very feminine; they highlight a woman's beauty. I can't imagine what it would be like to see a real one from that period with so much jewelry and what the women of that time must have looked like wearing them.

I hope you like it.