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examples of white fur, which leads one to believe that white fur may have been more expensive.
The very nature of the houpelande, with its excessively wide sleeves and very full skirt, required that it use many yards of material. The curved pieces left large chunks of unused fabric. Depending on the length of the houpelande, it may not have been possible to cut all of the pattern pieces as a whole unit. Various surviving examples of patterns and actual garments have shown that portions of some garments had to be pieced together from leftover material.6
Construction of This Houpelande
Linen, wool, or silk brocade is very difficult to find in this part of the country (Southeastern Arizona), so a maroon polyester blend brocade was used to create the houpelande. The color of the brocade is completely in keeping with colors used in the 16th century. The blue fabric used for the lining is a cotton/polyester blend with a somewhat rough weave. This weave resembles that of some wool fabrics that I have seen, and the weight is about the same as a medium-weight wool. The color of the lining is also appropriate for the representative time period.
There was not a sufficient amount of the lining fabric to use it for trim on the outside of the gown. One sleeve had to be completed with scraps leftover from cutting out other pieces of the houpelande. Real fur was considered as a trim, but rejected because of price issues. The final decision was to use strips of white fake fur to trim the hem, sleeve hems, and neck.
The size and shape of the pieces have made this a heavy garment. A cotton thread with a polyester core was used to stitch the houpelande. Every stitch in the houpelande was hand-sewn. A running stitch was used for most seams. It was desirable to have certain seams (sides, shoulder, and sleeves) lie flat but the fabric was uncooperative. This problem was remedied by sewing the seams flat with a running stitch. This also added strength to the seams.7 The shoulder seams were backstitched, for added strength. The seams where the sleeves attach to the body of the garment were backstitched twice around with double thread.
Conclusion
This houpelande fits in well with the style of men's gowns shown in Italian paintings between 1400 and 1450. The colors are consistent with the colors used during this time, and the construction methods are, as nearly as possible given budget constraints, the same as those used in the early 15th century are. It is my belief that this houpelande would have been as pleasing to someone in the Middle Ages as it is to my lord husband in these Current Middle Ages.
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