Fontange...sort of

[atherleisure]

I was so pleased the other day when I finished wiring my fontange and thought it was complete.



Nope. It wire is too heavy and pulls the whole thing down. I know it's supposed to tip forward quite a bit, but it's not supposed to lay flat on the top of my head so I need to figure out how to fix it.

The tutorial I followed didn't address this issue, and it used 16 gauge wire so my 19 gauge wire should be lighter weight than the tutorial! Either I need a hairstyle that is very solid in front of the headdress or I need to do something different. I think they're supposed to be made of wire so switching to reeds for stiffening sounds like the wrong answer. The only other alternative I can think of is to poke the wires out the bottom and bend them so that I can pin them under the cap.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I just skimmed it, but the tutorial seemed to indicate that the wire has a headband-like base, and the horsehair braid should be pinned to the hair. That seems it should be pretty secure, especially using modern bobbie pins. What did I miss?

Or maybe there IS no wire headband. That is... not sound construction. There's got to be some kind of base for this; you can't expect a wire fan to sit upright on a moving head with a flexible base. Either a headband/tiara like base, or maybe a circlet-type. Wire used to anchor headdresses is NOT a new thing (i.e. the ear-iron) so IMHO it's not a theatrical shortcut to get the look and function.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

It calls for a linen band at the base and attaching horsehair braid to that for pinning to the hair. I skipped the horsehair because I have no problem attaching things to my hair with straight pins, and those can go through the linen band. The only wire it calls for is slipped down between the pleats to hold the pleats straight. I don't see any mention of a wire headband.

I put three wires in it, one at each end and in the middle. The end ones can be pinned in place because they come down the side of the head a bit, but the center one is the real problem. You're probably right, and I need to make a wire headband and twist the wires around it then tack them to the pleats.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I wonder if her hair is thicker/textured? Mine is frizzy enough that I can see it being possible to pin and secure. But especially since you're planning to be outdoors (and in DFW you should assume it will be windy), I think some kind of angled wire supports would be helpful.

Have you asked or looked at Isis's page for any other tips? She might respond to a comment if she hasn't actually posted on making them. I'd be surprised if she hasn't at least seen them done, if not made one herself.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

I know she made one, but I couldn't find any details of the construction beyond a certain point. She never really posted about it other than mentioning it in a different post. She also made a shorter one than I did and may not have had the same issues. I thought I'd be reasonably extravagant since I have a silk dress! I might send her a note and see if she had any difficulty. I got the tutorial link from her in the first place.

I fully expect to end up removing this partway through the picnic, but I'm hoping it will work at least for awhile.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I figure it wouldn't hurt anything to ask! :)

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I know nothing about fontages. Some thoughts: maybe the wire is too long and it's throwing off the balance? It also seems like your fontage is rather narrow, so all the weight is in the middle of your head. So maybe more is needed at the sides to balance?

You've probably seen this, but in case you haven't, there's the doll's cap in the V&A collection with some good pics: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82546/dolls-cap-unknown/

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Looking at engravings from the 1690's, they are mostly quite tall and narrow. Compared to the engravings, mine may be too wide! There are paintings, though, that seem to show them about this width. The wire currently stops about 1" below the end, and I don't really thing shortening it will work because the starch can only do so much. While it's quite stiff with starch, it will succumb to gravity without the wire going fairly far up it.

I've seen the doll's cap, which is reputed to be the only known extant fontange. It sounds like it's built on a wire frame, and I guess I'll have to do a little more wiring to make mine work. You can see the wires on the back of it so maybe I need to go that route. I didn't really see them on the engravings I looked at so I don't know whether that's what they did or not. There's probably no way to know without years of research into every known depiction, and I absolutely do not care that much!

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

It's certainly a puzzle. I hope you're able to figure something out!