Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel
the Elder (1525-1569) created a number of scenes of peasants in
celebration. My Bruegel gown is based on the
Peasant
Dance (click on the image to see it in detail). Above
the shoulder of the man in the foreground, there is an image of a woman
with her arm raised, clearly showing her detached sleeves and pinned
black partlet. The headdress can be seen in greater detail on the
women in the foreground. I definitely needed to iron my gown and
apron before taking these pictures...
I have three separate kirtles in this
style, one in wool and two in
linen. The front-opening kirtle in this photo is yellow linen
with 1/4" half flat reeds for boning in the front of the gown.
The construction method of this gown is essentially described
here,
although my boning runs straight up and down across the entire
front. The sleeves are pinned in place at the point of the
shoulder; remember that sleeves of this period should have the seam
running down the back of the arm instead of down the underarm.
The kirtle is laced with a linen fingerloop braid in a
spiral
lacing pattern. This partlet is made of black linen and has a
hook at the point of the yoke in the back that hooks over the apron
strings (you are wearing an apron, right?). In the front it is
held in place with four brass straight pins running vertically.
Remember to bury the points of your straight pins so that you aren't a
hazard to your friends when they try to hug you!
The headdress is fairly simple.
It is not known how the Bruegel
peasant headdress is actually constructed, so your mileage may
vary. I have chosen to wear a
16th
century linen coif as the base for my headdress. The coif is
secured
around the hair, coiled in a bun. This provides a firm base
for the outer layer of the headdress. Without this base, the long
outer piece of the headdress tends to slip right off the head.
The outer layer is a long rectangle of hemmed linen, with both corners
on one short side cut to form a curve. The short side needs be
able to go over the crown of your head, covering both your ears, while
the length should reach to at least your shoulder blades as in the
pictures below. Once your coif is in place, lay the outer layer
with the curved ends
over the ears. The underlying coif should be completely
covered. Smooth the linen to the nape of your neck. Take a
single straight pin and pin the two sides together at the nape of the
neck.
 |
|
Now, pick up the middle of the linen that is draped down
the back of your head and neck. Lift this fold to the crown of
your head. Now you have two wings sticking out to the side of the
crown of your head. Take these two wings and fold them down and
to the center, like
the first step in making a paper airplane. Use one sturdy
straight pin to secure the downturned folds to the fabric at the crown
of your head.
 |
|
|
First
pin in place
|
Lifting
the tail to the crown of the head
|
Pinning
the wings down & to the center
|
|
|
|
|
Voila! A Bruegel headdress.
|
|
