Having made a Regency-era net dress, and having a small amount of silk left over, it seemed like a good idea to complete the outfit by making a turban with ostrich feathers.
It consists of a cap made from a circle of fabric gathered onto a band, with a strip of fabric wound around it and tacked in place to make it resemble a turban. And ostrich feathers. I found the optimal number of ostrich feathers was two. One wasn't quite enough, and three looked more showgirl than Regency.
Here's a full length shot with the rest of the outfit.
Technically this is an imitation turban, not a real one, because it's actually made by draping a rectangular silk panel around a cap. Some Regency-era turbans were made by winding a long piece of fabric around the head, more like a real turban, but there were also hats that imitated turbans and this project represents my best guess as to how such faux-turbans were constructed. It's not the most educated guess I've ever made, because sometimes you just want a hat, not a trip down the research rabbit hole, but it replicates the look of Regency turbans as seen in paintings and fashion illustrations.
HSM details
The challenge: Fabric manipulation. This is a Regency-era turban hat made by draping and pleating a long strip of cloth around a fabric cap.
Material: Around .4 of a meter of silk.
Pattern: N/A
Year: Late 1790s to early 1800s.
Notions: Two ostrich feathers.
How historically accurate is it? Probably no more than 50-60%. Turban hats like this did exist, but really I just made it up as I went along.
Hours to complete: 4-ish.
First worn: Last weekend.
Total cost: $28.
It consists of a cap made from a circle of fabric gathered onto a band, with a strip of fabric wound around it and tacked in place to make it resemble a turban. And ostrich feathers. I found the optimal number of ostrich feathers was two. One wasn't quite enough, and three looked more showgirl than Regency.
Here's a full length shot with the rest of the outfit.
Technically this is an imitation turban, not a real one, because it's actually made by draping a rectangular silk panel around a cap. Some Regency-era turbans were made by winding a long piece of fabric around the head, more like a real turban, but there were also hats that imitated turbans and this project represents my best guess as to how such faux-turbans were constructed. It's not the most educated guess I've ever made, because sometimes you just want a hat, not a trip down the research rabbit hole, but it replicates the look of Regency turbans as seen in paintings and fashion illustrations.
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| Here, for example, is a turban hat from around the end of the 1790s. |
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| And here is a portrait of Countess Franziska von Weissenwolff, also from around 1800. |
HSM details
The challenge: Fabric manipulation. This is a Regency-era turban hat made by draping and pleating a long strip of cloth around a fabric cap.
Material: Around .4 of a meter of silk.
Pattern: N/A
Year: Late 1790s to early 1800s.
Notions: Two ostrich feathers.
How historically accurate is it? Probably no more than 50-60%. Turban hats like this did exist, but really I just made it up as I went along.
Hours to complete: 4-ish.
First worn: Last weekend.
Total cost: $28.
