Leather helm crest: Part 6 Preparing gesso sottile

About a week ago, I started to saturate some plaster of Paris to make gesso sottile. This is the second layer of gesso that Cennino Cennini recommends for the outside of a helm crest. In an earlier post I explored the chemical composition of gesso. Gesso sottile is a super hydrated version of plain plaster of Paris. By soaking the plaster, you are allowing it to take on more H2O (water), giving it the desirable property of a slower drying time. This means we will be able to add the final sculpting touches with more care.

Since this is the first time I have used plaster in this way, to sculpt rather than to make moulded objects, it is all a learning experience. I have no idea how well the plaster will stick to the leather, or how well the second layer of plaster will stick to the first, or how the paint will need to be applied. It will also be the first time I have made pigment based medieval paints. There will have to be some test pieces very soon...

Cennini suggests leaving your plaster to soak for 30 days, changing the water to ensure it remains clean. Other sources say this method is inexact - but it is the best evidence I have, closest to my chosen time period, so I have tried this method first. We can always try something else.

To make gesso sottile, I fill a bucket with water and poured plaster in. It is always recommended that you add plaster to water, not water to plaster. When making a gravy or sauce, this produces lumps but for plaster it works well. I mixed it gently and continued to add plaster until it was not absorbed immediately. I covered the bucket with another tub to stop rain, cats, frogs and leaves getting in. Now, we wait.

Leather helm crest: Part 5 Cennini's sand

To attempt Cennini's leather forming method, I have filled the stitched leather structure with wet sand.

In the section marked 'CLXIX How to Model Crests or Helmets.[211]'
Cennini suggests that after drawing up your model design...
"And draw [p. 108] two of them, and sew them together; but leave it open enough on one side so that you can put sand into it; and press it with a little stick until it is all quite full. When you have done this, put it in the sun for several days. When it is quite dry, take the sand out of it ."

Steps
1  "draw two of them" - I have used more than 2 pattern pieces to form a 3D shape. It is possible that Cennini intends that only very simplistic forms are made from the leather with all protuberances, such as ears, chins, arms and legs, being formed from the gesso grosso layer. I chose to go with the second interpretation, which forms more of the final shape from multiple leather pieces, since this design would add a considerable weight of plaster/gesso for final shaping, otherwise. I guess this just means I have more alternatives to try on future crests.





2  "sew them together" - Done







3  "but leave it open enough on one side so that you can put sand into it" - If I were making a full animal to stand on top of a helm, Cennini's method would help make a  fully formed body shape. Since I am using a head as the base structure, it was possible to have a large opening at the base of the neck to fill with sand. I plan to form a leather cap on the crown of the helm, and stitch this to the lower edge of the neck. As I did not want this leather cap to deform from the wet sand or pushing with a stick, I chose to add it after the main structure is dry.

4  "you can put sand into it; and press it with a little stick until it is all quite full"  - Done. I could have used beach sand, but did not want to have to rinse the salt and impurities from it, and some beaches locally are protected by State and National Park. Further more, while recently living in a coastal town, I worked alongside and became good friends with some women who were Indigenous Australians - they have taught me that it is important to seek permission from the local custodians of the land before removing anything, including sand. Buying sand was a compromise because I could not gain permission to take from local beaches, and this at least gave me the possibility that the sand may have come from somewhere with permission. Yes, I am an optimist.

You can see the colour difference from the left image, with the dry leather, to the right image, which is now packed with wet sand. It took a bit of shaping to get the top to sit in an oval. Next time I would make a wooden disc to fit inside the top to hold the shape.


5
"put it in the sun for several days" - Done. I am not sure it will stay seated where I have put it to rest, so I may need to find a way to chock it up without putting pressure on the outside and changing the shape.

6
"When it is quite dry, take the sand out of it ." - Waiting, waiting...

Leather helm crest: Part 4 leather hardening

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/a/archers_bracer.aspx

This item is made from leather and has been hardened using water, in a technique known as cuir bouilli. I wonder if the wet sand suggested by Cennini can be made to create hardened leather in this way?

Clothing for 1420-1482: clothing hook and eyes - Where are they?

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/D/dressfasteners.htm

The page above is for a metal finds group in England. What I see on their page is 2 pairs of 17th century hooks and eyes that look very similar to both modern hooks and eyes and those I have seen from the 15th and 16th c. What I also see is a huge gap in their items - where are the 15th century finds?

Leather helm crest: Part 3 leather pattern

After making the clay badger model for the crest, I let it dry for a day. On the second day the leather was firm enough for me to use some wood carving tools to finish the detailing and clean up the model. It would have been possible to cover the wet clay in a plastic bag and keep it moist for up to a week, but it wasn't necessary this time.

Before cutting up leather to make the crest structure, I will make a pattern. I chose to use felt, as it has only slight give and is easy to stitch.

I began by cutting a few pieces into manageable sizes with overlaps of at least an inch. The overlaps were trimmed down as I joined the pieces, so the excess fabric did not affect the pattern's ability to wrap. You can see the threads I used to tie the basic pieces onto the body first. I started to stitch from the nose back, using fairly long stitches in a contrast colour thread.

  

The ears were freed by cutting a split in the head pieces. These holes will be unnecessary in the leather model, as I plan to attach the ears to the outside of the head using separate pieces. 

Once the rough cover was pulled together, I trimmed the seams further and went back to tighten up any loose or puckering areas. 

Once all of the pieces fitted reasonably well, it was time to open the pattern pieces out. I wanted the finished item to be around the same size as the clay model. Since the felt pattern was made over the clay model, it was bigger than needed, and since plaster / gesso would be layered over the finished leather structure, the pattern pieces needed to create a smaller item than the felt cover. This was achieved by cutting on the stitch seams and not adding a seam allowance back in. 

The black lines are placement markers to help put the pieces back together. I numbered the pieces and transferred the felt pattern onto heavy card. Each piece was labelled and is stored in a bag. To keep my patterns neat, I like to mark them with-

* The item name

* The owner's name

* The date of creation

* If there is a seam allowance (SA) or not. If so, how much on each side, as certain sides of a garment often get different SAs.

* Number of pieces

* Description of the pieces (CF= centre front etc)

* Any placement marks

* Indicate any folds ( v--------------v)

I was planning to sew the leather with butted joins, so no seam allowance would be needed. I was only looking to make a rough structure from leather, with all of the texture done in gesso grosso and all of the surface detail completed in gesso sotile.

 In order to create a slightly smaller leather item, not exactly the same size, the pieces were trimmed a few millimetres in from the pattern pieces on the leather. I have chosen to try a piece of leather that is 2 - 3mm thick (slightly more pliable than belt leather). The pattern was inked on, as it should be covered by the gesso. The leather was also chosen because it is marked, making it less useful for other projects. I am hoping the water hardening and plaster layers will firm it up. I considered doing some tests but since structural integrity cannot be simply scaled up, doing tests on smaller pieces would not be truly indicative of the finished strength, and full size tests would be very costly. I still hope to do some striking tests with the plaster layer, at a later date.

The holes were marked with a rotary tool and every second spot was pierced with an awl. I will stitch through these holes. Again, it is not necessary to make a perfectly neatly stitched item, as all stitching will be covered in plaster. On future items, I would love to refine the process and do fine work at every level. Spacing the stitches out serves another purpose - since the stitching is tensioned and retensioned as each new piece is attached, the looser, longer stitches are more suited to tacking. In fact, short, neat, overlapped seams or saddle stitching would make the assembly process harder. 

Starting with the larger pieces, I lined up some of the placement marks and began to sew. The curved needle is helping to secure pieces at the placement marks until I stitch up to that point. Because there are very few corners and straight lines, it is a bit tricky to know how far to curve and sew each piece to the next. For this reason, I had 3 - 4 needles on the go.

First, I joined the front and the pieces from one side. Then I attached the nose and worked back from there.

Once the body was attached right around (in a box), closed as much as possible of the head. At this point, I was working with a hand reaching either through the head or through the base for most stitches. I attached the ears separately and closed the head.

The ears were trimmed to look less like a teddy bear and the sewing was complete on the basic leather structure.The next step will be to stuff them with wet sand and wait until it all dries.

Leather helm crest: Part 2 clay model

In order to make a pattern for the leather base, I made a clay model of the crest to pattern from.

I made a stand to support the clay while working. The stand is next to my helm to compare heights. In this picture the stand is too tall.

The image on the left shows the height of the original stand - too large. I would like the crest to sit at the height shown in the second image, so the stand was trimmed.

I used paper and thread to create the basic form of the model. This reduces the amount of clay in the item. If I choose to fire the model it is important to have the walls of even thickness, without air pockets and with good air flow. A solid item of this size will not dry evenly, may crack during the drying process and is not likely to fire without issue. The model can be slid off the wooden stand and the paper pulled out.

The shoulder of this paper model is higher than the base so it can be trimmed to fit the shape of the helm crown.

The clay was worked to ensure an even texture and the removal of any air pockets. 

The clay was pinched off and formed around the base of the model. It was necessary to ensure the walls had an even and sufficient thickness.

The basic badger shape is roughed out.

 Here is the model, waiting to dry. In a day or so, I will use some finer tools to add more detail and clean up the eyes. In few more days it will be ready for me to use it to make a leather pattern.

Leather helm crest : Part 1 planning

In order to make a crest in the manner described by Cenninni, the basic steps are
*cut leather into pieces
*sew the leather into the basic shape of your crest
*shape and harden the leather by filling it with wet sand, drying and emptying out the sand
*cover the leather base with gesso grosso - thick plaster to shape the crest
*cover the simple gesso shape with gesso sottile, which is slower drying so allows finer detailing
*paint the crest
*bingo! You have a crest

In order to cut the leather into the correct pieces, I need to make a pattern. To make a pattern I have decided to make a clay model of the crest. The crest will be a badger, which is the main charge of the Moralez-Beaumont household.

I began by looking at as many images of badgers as possible, from all different angles. I prefer the badger to have its mouth open, but since I would also like to use the clay model to try making a latex/silicone mould, I have created a closed mouth. It will be easier to make a mould with fewer overhangs and I can add a leather lower jaw on the historical crest.

These rough line sketches show me which stripes are which colour, the rough ratios between the snout and the temple, and placement of the eyes. There was a fair bit of variance between each badger, much like the difference between dogs of the same breed. Each sketch was from a different animal but some features were constant - the ears were within the boundary of the black stripes, as were the eyes. Most badgers were giant puffballs of fur, making them a lot less defined than the shape we typically imagine or characterise in drawings. I chose to go for a more defined head, so it would be easily recognisable.

Clothing for 1420-1482: Part 3 Arming jack

This item of clothing is part of the outfit that will be worn with the armour and helm crest. This arming jack forms the layer directly under the torso and arm protection. 

The outer shell was made in 13 pieces - front bodice left and right, back bodice left and right, front peplum left and right, back peplum left and right, front collar left and right and back collar. The outer pieces were cut from lightly fulled grey wool. The torso and peplum were padded with two more layers of undyed wool.

These 3 layers were first held together with stay stitching, as shown in red on the left image.

The 3 layers were then quilted together using a straight stitch, as seen in grey, on the lower right corner of the left image.

 

 To mark the inner quilting, I made a pattern on card and removed the pieces as each was marked in chalk.







Once the outer quilting lines were finished, the edges were graded. This meant trimming the two padding layers back so as to remove the bulk were pieces would be stitched together. Without this step, there could be up to six layers of wool in a seam, which would have made an uncomfortable and visible lump. I was then able to sew the side and shoulder seams through the grey wool, only.

I used a combination of straight, stab and back stitch. Stab stitch was used were it was difficult to insert and recover the needle in a single motion, as it allowed me to have more control over much stitch would be visible from the outside. The back stitch was used to give more strength  in areas that were likely to be under additional strain, such as immediately below the armscye on the side seams and the outer edge of the shoulder seams. Straight stitch was used where ever possible, as it is much faster.

 

When the pieces were joined, the seams were felled. Some were laid to the side, for added strength (if a seam opens there is another row of stitching to hold the pieces together before a hasty repair). Others were opened and flat felled. The decision for which process would best suit each seam was based on how much strain the seam would be under as well as how the pieces naturally sat flattest.

 The seam allowances around the curved armscyes were clipped before flat felling. 

 The lining was made from undyed linen. 

This inner jack was based on the following styles.

 

Boccaccio's Decameron, 1430-40 French translation

This inner jack style is shown several times in this document. Common features include a narrow waist, curved armscyes with straight sleeves (not a wide grande aissette style, as shown in the image on the right), front closure and full length sleeves. The length in this case is to the bottom of the groin. Due to my high waist, although I made my arming jack in the same ratios of bodice : peplum length, this resulted in my jack finishing higher up the body than the one shown above.   

Also shown in Boccaccio's Decameron are these jacks. The brown one pictured on the top is clearly laced up the centre front, with the hose pointed to the lower edge. The blue jack is shown open, with pairs of eyelets stitched down the centre front. It also shows the peaked back collar. The green jack in the lower image shares the peaked back collar and narrow waist. These images show the same 13 panel arrangement I chose to use, though it could be argued that the collar in some images has two back panels. The peach coloured jack on the lower left image shows the hose attached several inches up from the lower hem. Looking back up to the top right Decameron image of the reclining man, we see that the centre front closure is not laced. There is also no lacing visible on the top left Decameron image. Wire hooks and eyes were known to be used as fastenings during this period. I have chosen to use hooks and eyes. I will add eyelets to lace the hose on at a later date. The reclining man has a red collar shown under his outer garment. This seems to be the most common way to see the jack in the Decameron.

http://www.kb.dk/permalink/2006/manus/218/eng/56+recto/?var=1

1430  There are straight horizontal on the upper thigh of each man, which could be additional articulations on the upper edge of the cuisses or could be representations of horizontal lines on the lower edge of a jack. 

Speaking again of eyelets as closures, there is a range of evidence for their use during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The following website has a great range of extant and textual resources on hooks and eyes.

http://www.historiclife.com/essays/jacks.htm

The extant jacks and the textual references to jacks in this webpage suggest that pure linen and fabric of a cotton/linen (fustian) blend would be appropriate. I used wool on the outside before I was aware of this information. At the time, I had reviewed a lot of images and the artists appeared to treat the jack fabrics in the same way as other items I knew to be made of wool, such as town robes and women's gowns. Further more, there were some French images showing what seem to be corrizana's with sleeves of matching fabric. As far as I know, the corrizana has no or short sleeves, so hypothesised that it may be possible that the sleeves were from the jack worn underneath, of a matching fabric. I will use cotton/linen, linen or a skin next time.

Interestingly, one of the extant jacks, which is heavily padded, has only 3 pairs of hooks and eyes - one at the neck, one on the chest and waist. I have included *a lot* of pairs up the centre front of my jack, rather like the use on a doublet or gown. Perhaps I will try just 3 pairs next time, though I suspect I will sew eyelets down the front of this jack at the same time I add the eyelets to attach the hose. 

Janet Arnold's 'Pattern's of Fashion' shows two more extant hooks and eyes (pp. 16, 24), though these are not on jacks and are from a later time.

http://lochac.sca.org/collegium/notes/FLorence%20stays%2008.pdf

The webpage refers to an Italian item with hooks and eyes.

http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/yourgarb/2008/Alaina.htm

The woman on this page says she has an extant hook and eye. I would love to see it.

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4672/12973/

France, 1440  This beautiful brigadine (which can't be a corrizana, I am told, because corrizana means 'little breastplate' which this does not have) is pretty much exactly what I want. I believe that any arming jack under it would be shorter than the maile shirt or would be visible at the hem. 

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4576/13807/

And finally, for your entertainment, here is a pourpoint, which I may consider wearing under (seems the logical way, and I have spoken to a re-enactor recently who wears hers like this) or over (because that may explain the different coloured sleeves seen on these items) my jack to point my leg harness to.