The worst part about these videos are people are watching these videos ,expecting them to be true and now will most likely believe these negative connotations about Elizabethan ruffs , thank you for correcting the inaccuracies in the video.
There’s one issue I can see with wearing a big white ruff while eating, and that’s getting food on it. I already have issues with sharing my food with my cleavage. Something white right under my chin would make me very nervous. But that’s just a me being super clumsy problem, and not the ruff’s fault. I am nervous about eating in any nice clothing, and I’m not above using a really big napkin/bib to protect my clothing, even in public. Bring on the bibs! Much better than taking my clothes off at the end of the day and finding enough crumbs to make fried fish in my cleavage. I’d blame it on the nerve damage I have to my arms and hands, and it does play a role…. But I’ve also got pictures of me as a child, and I had the same problem then, well before I became disabled. Enough of a problem that my parents nickname for me was (still is) “Grub”. So yeah, not sure that I could eat while wearing a ruff, but that’s just because of how messy an eater I am.
@@yorkshirepudding9860I'm going off old memories of an article read a decade ago but, largely, yes they used fingers more. Table forks (kitchen forks were common long before they were miniaturised for the table) weren't common in England until the 17th century, though the Italians and French were using them in the 16th C (what I most remember is a quote from an English source that boiled down to 'well of course the dirty French would be afraid to put their own fingers in their mouth, but we English don't need forks because we know how to wash our hands'). But also forks usually had 2 or sometimes 3 tines until the 18th century. They weren't for scooping, only stabbing, so less chance of dropping insecurely balanced items off a fork as anything that required scooping would use a spoon.
The timing of this video couldn't have been better. I'm in the process of making an elizabethan costume as accurately as I can. I was wondering about getting the ruff right.
I saw that Weird History episode before seeing this. I too was rather appalled about it's many inaccuracies. They should stick to ghost stories and disasters! Thank you for pointing out its many inaccuracies and then providing instructions for period accurate reproductions.
I hate that channel, all they do is spread inaccuracies and myths about history especially fashion history ( their episodes about corsets and now Elizabethan ruffs)🙍🤦
This was great! So cool to see how ruffs were made and how the iron shapes the ruffles. I wonder how uncomfortable the Elizabethans would think Spanx are?
As someone who has NO experience with historical dress (I just enjoy watching your vidoes) this one really intrigued me as a vet tech who makes E-collars (Elizabethton collar) everyday for animals postop to keep them from licking and chewing their incisions I assumed this were really combersome and awful to move in like we try for patients post op. Really interesting video thanks 😊
I audibly gasped when you removed that thread to make a straight channel! So smart!! I bet it wouldn't work on all types of fabric, but it's still really neat.
I never really liked ruffs but seeing you with beautifully made and starched ruff in action might convert me to the ruffs... the structure and flare of it is beautiful.
I remember the 'Corset' video and the video you did with Bernadette, Abby and others. So watching your take on the 'Ruffs were uncomfortable to wear' was absolutly the high light of my day! Thank you! Also the sewing you did was just *Aesthetic calm to the soul*
The ruffles displayed in that video are very small and really soft, and were not the general size or shape of the ruffles worn within the aristocracy during the whole period. Make it double or triple width, really stiff and heavy, because mostly enriched with perles and glass beads, metallic embroidery and precious stones, and supported by a humongous brass accessory called the "supportasse"; intricate construction, also ornated with stones and glass pendants, only briefly mentionned in this video, and you would realize how unpractical they were, while trying to eat, move around, dance, breathe... The requested distinction and rigid posture of the aristocrates and rich bourgeois was also induced by wearing these collerettes. They were a sign of wealth and power, made in the most luxurious and rare materials, that could only be afford by the richest of people. Also they were different in sizes, material and shapes in all the countries that adopted them. The remarks in "Weird History" are mostly accurate and the critics are not really fair. Moreover, "Weird History" is not an academic website made for historians or costume designers but intended for vulgarisation and initiate interest of historical subjects to regular people that would never open an history book and were mostly indifferent to that subject while in school. For that reason, I think they should be commanded instead of booed :) Try that for size i.pinimg.com/originals/78/9b/23/789b2376ba7ee8aed8dd06d47e78b0c8.jpg
and here you can better see the "supportasse" (lowest outer edge circle) with small pendants, most heavy intricate and bejewelled brass contraption which was made to help support the lace ruffle. i.pinimg.com/originals/78/9b/23/789b2376ba7ee8aed8dd06d47e78b0c8.jpg Still "practical and comfortable"?
You are doing God’s work, one poking stick at a time. Also, I have never heard of any fabric that dissolves in water. Ruffs weren’t made of cotton candy.
"Imagine being rich enough that you could buy fancy, expensive clothing that you only plan to wear once" wow,,, yeah,, because nobody does that nowadays,,, literally nobody ever goes to big, fancy events wearing big fancy outfits that they are literally never going to wear again ever
I can see them as a display of wealth in terms of having time, or affording someone else’s time to maintain them. How long does the starch hold up and keep it looking great? Can you wear them more than once if you wear them for a full day in the summer - provided you don’t get rained on? I believe, many people in England sent their laundry out to be done by washer women around that time. At least those who didn’t live in a manor with so much laundry as to have it done on-site. Did the laundress’ also do the starching and pressing of items like this? How do you transport a couple of these, fully pressed, back to their owner? Surely pressing them with a poker heated on the fire is a tedious task, with a high risk of scorching, and an experienced laundress doing these en-mass would be more efficient and time/cost effective, than a housewife doing a couple at home every week. Would it be a couple? More than a couple? … and I’m tempted again to harass my cat with one.
Your comment about the proficiency required in starching clothes, reminds me of a scene from a once popular German book series, 'Nesthäckchen' by Else Ury ('Nesthäkchen', is an old fashioned term for the youngest and often somewhat spoiled child of a family - I think, they even kept the title in the English translation, because there is no real equivalent). It covers the childhood, youth and then family life of the youngest daughter of a doctor's family in early 20th century Germany. When young Annemarie and her husband fall on hard times as a newly married couple, she tries to 'apprentice' at a laundry service, so she can learn to handle starching and ironing her clothes herself (after burning a hole in one of her husband's shirts). So yeah...there seems to have been a bit of an art to it, indeed. As well as the possibility of ruining expensive garments, if you did it incorrectly. No idea, why this stuck in my head...it must be 25 years, since I read those books. But I thought, you would enjoy this bit of historical trivia.
An enormous amount of work for a relatively small fashion accessory, but it looks nice with the right period clothing of course. They were in fashion in various styles for nearly half a century.
Oh you KNOW I’m gonna be using that mini-tutorial to make myself a ruff just for the hell of it!!! How long would one need to make the ruffley portion of the ruff?
once you finished forming the ruffles i understood why people used to wear the ruff collars.. they are so beautiful and delicate . they are magical. completely changed my view of them. thanks for sharing !!
How is any of this any different from trends that rich people wear, and that trickles down to working classes, now? I can’t stand things up in my face: blouses with big bows under my chin, or ruffles, or even blazers, jackets, or scarves. I’m 100% going to drop food in a ruff.
Majority of our folk dresses include ruffs (or some other type of lace collar) and even though they're smaller, less starched and less full (more embroidered though), lemme tell you they're by FAR not the most uncomfortable part of the dress. They're soft and keep your clothes clean (and look cool).
So glad I found your video and tutorial. My partner has requested a Jacobean ruff. I've been trying to read descriptions of how to make one but it is so helpful to have the visuals with your explanations - super clear! I completely adore your lace-edged ruff.
Fantastic video! Your overall finished look is amazing. Actually, I was surprised to learn how simple a ruff is constructed, I had it backwards in my mind; waves made first, then bent into a circle, lol! Thank you!
What an enlightening tutorial! I’ve just been writing a tutorial on ruffles and flounces for my students and seems like your beautiful work is an echo from long ago. Thank you
I watch your videos with great interest from some time now, and as ruffs are one of my favourite piece of historical clothing, it seems the right video to post this comment and to say : THANK YOU ! For people (like me) who have a immense passion for fashion history (and a soft spot for 16th and 17th century fashion) without being a professionnal, your videos are absolutely amazing, incredibly well done, packed with wonderful details and informations that you can have a very hard time to find elsewhere. So a big thank you again for all the work you put into this channel, and good continuation !
Ok I had JUST been thinking about this part of my reinactment dress and was so worried about what I was going to do... your video is a blessing of a resource to get me pointed in the right direction, you have no idea how much you've helped me, thank you so so much!!!!! Seriously, I would like yo repay you somehow... I don't have any spare money to support with patreon or anything, but I do handmake tatted lace, nålbindning and most any fibre art, along with some jewelry-making and some wood, silver and bone work (including bone needles) so if there is any custom historic piece you are needing/wanting I would love to either send you my design patterns or something else (I am in New Zealand so it might take a bit, sorry)
Brilliant 😁 That channel does such a disservice to, not only history, but to the ease of accessing information. The tutorial was so much fun! Thank you.
As a hairdresser, whenever I see a ruff in a painting, I always think of how the shape was created and maintained. I always thought "I know how I'd be maintaining that shape if I had to iron it!" I'm glad to see my hunch was right! Thanks for a fascinating video!
Wasn't Queen Elizabeth, despite the whole Gloriana thing, relatively economical in her clothing purchases? I remember something comparing her wardrobe expense records to those of her father.
Samantha, this is SO incredibly helpful! I cannot tell you how much this helped de-mystify the ruff for me. It seems so much more approachable now! My only question is about yardage: roughly how much does a ruff similar in size to the one you worked on here take to make?
I just found you but it looks like you don’t do videos anymore. Say this isn’t so! Above any other historical dress authorities on RUclips you are by far the best!!
I totally squealed out loud when I saw that Unsolved shirt lol (I have the plain old t-shirt version) On another note, I'd be down for an entire series of you and other Costubers critiquing completely uncited "historical fashion" videos.
Wonderful tutorial. You're feeding my impulse to make a small ruff to wear with everyday clothing. *Small Suggestion* - Make your own how-to tutorial videos. It will help your view-numbers. And everybody does everything slightly differently. The more the merrier... - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown
Thank you for this video! When I watched the original video, I remembered thinking that the ruffs didn't look like they'd inhibit eating. I assumed that the channel had some historical evidence.
This was an awesome video! Thank you so much for sharing this information. I don’t have the patience for all those tiny Stitches, but I’m glad somebody does!! 😂🎉
Thank you for another wonderful and informative video! I have no plans to make a ruff, but if that changes, your practical steps will be all I need! Some of the sewing and starching tips will be useful in my 19th century sewing projects, though. : )
Thank you! Yes, the techniques are very useful for 19th century garments! I use stroked gathers for my petticoats and undiluted Sta-Flo for starching corded and plain petticoats before ironing them.
I just don't understand why people think clothing was extremely fashionable even if nobody liked wearing it. I know that sometimes people love talking about their uncomfortable high heels, but most people aren't wearing shoes like that all the time, even the very wealthy.
When you do Ruffs with lace do you attach the lace to a piece of linen and do it like she explained? Because I'm a bit confused and i would love to make some ruffs myself
Your ruffs are so beautiful! This was really interesting and informative! I didn't know the technique for stitching the gathers in is the same one used for 18th century shirt gathers, and I felt like such a fool for only having learned it a few weeks ago, and wondering why my gathers always came out uneven when I'd been backstitching them on from the inside all these years. And gah, that other video! Terrible! Where do they get this stuff?? Edit: Out of morbid curiosity I clicked on their macaroni fashion video and now I'm having a terrible time too, yay :( I made it 3 minutes in and about half their images are 1690's-1710's and there's no mention so far of the Grand Tour and hhhghghhhh it's so bad. I paused when he said they "experimented with bright colours, which wasn't really a thing at the time" and my brain melted.
I'd really like to know who is behind those Weird History videos and if they do any research. I don't know much about historic fashion but Weird History's general vibe of "old timey people weren't like us" is absolutely annoying. People in historic times were people and they wanted to look good, be fashionable, and be comfortable just like people of today. Love your videos! I think your video about fashion of the early 1600s is my favorite. 💕
Exactly, there is an air of superiority and the urge to paint people of the past as idiots, careless, restrained and all sorts of bad things 😒. There is also another "history" channel called absolute history that has a playlist on Victorians and how literally everything they did was deadly/weird or just unpleasant...etc. And even the captions are so sensational: How the Victorians poisoned themselves (because of their bread) and obviously how they killed themselves because of corsets. Weirdly enough it's the first channel that pops up when you search "Victorian history".
Before I forget, there is a new elastic thread from Germany, called Saraflex, this thread you can wind on your sewing machine on slow or you will warp it.
Great and informative video, my question is that I have these large ruffs and I cant wear them because they flop down in the back and I haven't been able to find any sort of support so that the backrises up...Where on earth would I find the structure or "stays" to hold my ruff in place so that from the front it frames the face and now just a gorgeous creation in the front and then disappear behind my ears...???????????????????????????????
Just a "band string" passed through the eyelets and tied in front! You can see this a bit in my previous video about dressing in the early 17th century.
I think I read that ruffs began quite small and they had a utilitarian function: Outer garments were almost never washed. Only the inner most layer of clothing, the shift or chemise, was regularly washed. The first ruffs, then, were worn to protect the neckline of a garment from being soiled by the neck and chin. Later they became a fashion element, much as shifts were incorporated into the upper bodies. I would love it if anyone could verify or refute this bit of info!
I love your eyeglasses, weird history embellished a lot. your outfit there looks like a witch's costumes from the Salem witch trials I know profiling. Also the national dress of Wales.
I am very inspired to attempt making a ruff now... they are just so beautiful! I love wearing blouses with collars and turtleneck sweaters, and I can't imagine a ruff feeling much different. I love the little clip of you dancing in it at the end - the outfit looks great with your glasses too!
The long utensil thing is a pretty common thing to be told at school in the UK (I certainly was told that) which is probably how that myth gets passed around
Henri III of France was at the restaurant Tour d'Argent when he saw Dutch man eating his meal with a fork, it was novel and the king demanded one for himself..it was a rather long utensil with a two prongs,he loved it as it allowed him to eat his meal without getting food onto his ruff. this was the introduction of the fork into France...and yes, it did have a longer handle as opposed to the forks of our day and age... Queen Elizabeth of England's favorite lace ruffs were made from the silvery-white hair of her elderly country women.
Years ago, I read that one type of starch came to be preferred by Catholics and another by Protestants. One turned the white fabric yellowish and the other starch created a bluish cast, but, I forgot which faction favored which. Do you know anything about this/
I noticed that you didn't sew the lacey edges of the ruff to create regular shape ruffs and to make them stronger. Is there a reson for that? I know tht historical laces have been sewed on the outer edge to join the ruffs in a regular fashion.
I'm guilty for watching these videos and then watching the reaction videos and then laughing out loud. I want to make a ruff but since I have a rather long and fat neck, I'm gonna need it to be proportional to me by making it wider just to make my head seem puny
At what point did you realize that they were including the back collar as ruffs? (The snow white collar thing I'm not sure as to the name but they use the photos for it specifically a couple times)
Weirdly enough, the whole outfit together looks quite stylish and flattering. Not nearly as odd as in paintings. I could even see weird hats and collars/cuffs make a comeback in fashion. Now, wouldn't that be something?
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The worst part about these videos are people are watching these videos ,expecting them to be true and now will most likely believe these negative connotations about Elizabethan ruffs , thank you for correcting the inaccuracies in the video.
My all time favorite part of your reaction segment: “That’s not even a coherent English sentence” 😂😂 I died.
I love how the ruffs supposedly impaired movement while simultaneously turning to ash the second it gets a little humid outside
I do turn into a mushy puddle when it is warm and/or humid outside, but all my historical clothing stay their intended shape
Weird History: uploads yet another factually incorrect fashion history video
Dress historians: How many times must we teach you this lesson, old man?
Makes me question all of their videos... the information is *so* bad
Who? Oh, the folk who got blocked long ago.
There’s one issue I can see with wearing a big white ruff while eating, and that’s getting food on it. I already have issues with sharing my food with my cleavage. Something white right under my chin would make me very nervous.
But that’s just a me being super clumsy problem, and not the ruff’s fault. I am nervous about eating in any nice clothing, and I’m not above using a really big napkin/bib to protect my clothing, even in public. Bring on the bibs! Much better than taking my clothes off at the end of the day and finding enough crumbs to make fried fish in my cleavage. I’d blame it on the nerve damage I have to my arms and hands, and it does play a role…. But I’ve also got pictures of me as a child, and I had the same problem then, well before I became disabled. Enough of a problem that my parents nickname for me was (still is) “Grub”.
So yeah, not sure that I could eat while wearing a ruff, but that’s just because of how messy an eater I am.
Yeah I’m currently sitting in bed with pizza all down my pyjamas. 🤣
My boobs get hungry too.
I wear an apron when eating something messy at home. In those cases, I call it my "big girl bib." lol
I suppose they ate with their fingers more than we do, which would have made it easier and less messy than balancing things on a fork.
@@yorkshirepudding9860I'm going off old memories of an article read a decade ago but, largely, yes they used fingers more. Table forks (kitchen forks were common long before they were miniaturised for the table) weren't common in England until the 17th century, though the Italians and French were using them in the 16th C (what I most remember is a quote from an English source that boiled down to 'well of course the dirty French would be afraid to put their own fingers in their mouth, but we English don't need forks because we know how to wash our hands'). But also forks usually had 2 or sometimes 3 tines until the 18th century. They weren't for scooping, only stabbing, so less chance of dropping insecurely balanced items off a fork as anything that required scooping would use a spoon.
The timing of this video couldn't have been better. I'm in the process of making an elizabethan costume as accurately as I can. I was wondering about getting the ruff right.
I saw that Weird History episode before seeing this. I too was rather appalled about it's many inaccuracies. They should stick to ghost stories and disasters! Thank you for pointing out its many inaccuracies and then providing instructions for period accurate reproductions.
I hate that channel, all they do is spread inaccuracies and myths about history especially fashion history ( their episodes about corsets and now Elizabethan ruffs)🙍🤦
This was great! So cool to see how ruffs were made and how the iron shapes the ruffles. I wonder how uncomfortable the Elizabethans would think Spanx are?
I greatly prefer a corset to Spanx, any day!
@@RainyDayBricks as a fellow wearer of corsets/stays, I 100% agree with you!
Panty hose. UGH
They'd probably see leggings and be like UGH YOU'RE MUTILATING YOUR LEGS! HOW DO YOU BREATHE?
Lmbo! Yes 😂
As someone who has NO experience with historical dress (I just enjoy watching your vidoes) this one really intrigued me as a vet tech who makes E-collars (Elizabethton collar) everyday for animals postop to keep them from licking and chewing their incisions I assumed this were really combersome and awful to move in like we try for patients post op. Really interesting video thanks 😊
I audibly gasped when you removed that thread to make a straight channel! So smart!! I bet it wouldn't work on all types of fabric, but it's still really neat.
I never really liked ruffs but seeing you with beautifully made and starched ruff in action might convert me to the ruffs... the structure and flare of it is beautiful.
I remember the 'Corset' video and the video you did with Bernadette, Abby and others. So watching your take on the 'Ruffs were uncomfortable to wear' was absolutly the high light of my day! Thank you!
Also the sewing you did was just *Aesthetic calm to the soul*
Thank you so much! :)
The ruffles displayed in that video are very small and really soft, and were not the general size or shape of the ruffles worn within the aristocracy during the whole period. Make it double or triple width, really stiff and heavy, because mostly enriched with perles and glass beads, metallic embroidery and precious stones, and supported by a humongous brass accessory called the "supportasse"; intricate construction, also ornated with stones and glass pendants, only briefly mentionned in this video, and you would realize how unpractical they were, while trying to eat, move around, dance, breathe... The requested distinction and rigid posture of the aristocrates and rich bourgeois was also induced by wearing these collerettes. They were a sign of wealth and power, made in the most luxurious and rare materials, that could only be afford by the richest of people. Also they were different in sizes, material and shapes in all the countries that adopted them. The remarks in "Weird History" are mostly accurate and the critics are not really fair. Moreover, "Weird History" is not an academic website made for historians or costume designers but intended for vulgarisation and initiate interest of historical subjects to regular people that would never open an history book and were mostly indifferent to that subject while in school. For that reason, I think they should be commanded instead of booed :) Try that for size i.pinimg.com/originals/78/9b/23/789b2376ba7ee8aed8dd06d47e78b0c8.jpg
and here you can better see the "supportasse" (lowest outer edge circle) with small pendants, most heavy intricate and bejewelled brass contraption which was made to help support the lace ruffle. i.pinimg.com/originals/78/9b/23/789b2376ba7ee8aed8dd06d47e78b0c8.jpg Still "practical and comfortable"?
You're literally supporting a content farm that actively spreads false information, I'd rather see them get taken down than anything else. Boooooo
You are doing God’s work, one poking stick at a time. Also, I have never heard of any fabric that dissolves in water. Ruffs weren’t made of cotton candy.
I think the dissolving thing might be originally about how water would cause the starched fabric to essentially wilt.
"Imagine being rich enough that you could buy fancy, expensive clothing that you only plan to wear once" wow,,, yeah,, because nobody does that nowadays,,, literally nobody ever goes to big, fancy events wearing big fancy outfits that they are literally never going to wear again ever
All hail Samantha, Queen of Ruffs! This is so gorgeous. Someday I’ll get around to making my own!
Thank you so much!
I can see them as a display of wealth in terms of having time, or affording someone else’s time to maintain them.
How long does the starch hold up and keep it looking great? Can you wear them more than once if you wear them for a full day in the summer - provided you don’t get rained on?
I believe, many people in England sent their laundry out to be done by washer women around that time. At least those who didn’t live in a manor with so much laundry as to have it done on-site.
Did the laundress’ also do the starching and pressing of items like this? How do you transport a couple of these, fully pressed, back to their owner?
Surely pressing them with a poker heated on the fire is a tedious task, with a high risk of scorching, and an experienced laundress doing these en-mass would be more efficient and time/cost effective, than a housewife doing a couple at home every week.
Would it be a couple? More than a couple?
… and I’m tempted again to harass my cat with one.
Your comment about the proficiency required in starching clothes, reminds me of a scene from a once popular German book series, 'Nesthäckchen' by Else Ury ('Nesthäkchen', is an old fashioned term for the youngest and often somewhat spoiled child of a family - I think, they even kept the title in the English translation, because there is no real equivalent).
It covers the childhood, youth and then family life of the youngest daughter of a doctor's family in early 20th century Germany.
When young Annemarie and her husband fall on hard times as a newly married couple, she tries to 'apprentice' at a laundry service, so she can learn to handle starching and ironing her clothes herself (after burning a hole in one of her husband's shirts).
So yeah...there seems to have been a bit of an art to it, indeed. As well as the possibility of ruining expensive garments, if you did it incorrectly.
No idea, why this stuck in my head...it must be 25 years, since I read those books.
But I thought, you would enjoy this bit of historical trivia.
An enormous amount of work for a relatively small fashion accessory, but it looks nice with the right period clothing of course. They were in fashion in various styles for nearly half a century.
Oh you KNOW I’m gonna be using that mini-tutorial to make myself a ruff just for the hell of it!!! How long would one need to make the ruffley portion of the ruff?
once you finished forming the ruffles i understood why people used to wear the ruff collars.. they are so beautiful and delicate . they are magical. completely changed my view of them. thanks for sharing !!
How is any of this any different from trends that rich people wear, and that trickles down to working classes, now?
I can’t stand things up in my face: blouses with big bows under my chin, or ruffles, or even blazers, jackets, or scarves.
I’m 100% going to drop food in a ruff.
Fascinating! I just want a peek into the research methods of these people. But you've given us excellent, thorough and beautiful work as ever.
Majority of our folk dresses include ruffs (or some other type of lace collar) and even though they're smaller, less starched and less full (more embroidered though), lemme tell you they're by FAR not the most uncomfortable part of the dress. They're soft and keep your clothes clean (and look cool).
Loved this! Haha I was cutting out a little ruff inspired collar for a dress I’m working on while watching it. Ruffception!
So glad I found your video and tutorial. My partner has requested a Jacobean ruff. I've been trying to read descriptions of how to make one but it is so helpful to have the visuals with your explanations - super clear! I completely adore your lace-edged ruff.
What fun, amazing too that I accidentaly started that "history" video and crashed out pretty quickly. Well done!
I thoroughly enjoyed this! Your sewing process was fascinating and the ruff with the lace is very beautiful.
Fantastic video! Your overall finished look is amazing. Actually, I was surprised to learn how simple a ruff is constructed, I had it backwards in my mind; waves made first, then bent into a circle, lol! Thank you!
Thank you!
I don't know how I lived so long without this youtube channel
What an enlightening tutorial! I’ve just been writing a tutorial on ruffles and flounces for my students and seems like your beautiful work is an echo from long ago. Thank you
I watch your videos with great interest from some time now, and as ruffs are one of my favourite piece of historical clothing, it seems the right video to post this comment and to say : THANK YOU ! For people (like me) who have a immense passion for fashion history (and a soft spot for 16th and 17th century fashion) without being a professionnal, your videos are absolutely amazing, incredibly well done, packed with wonderful details and informations that you can have a very hard time to find elsewhere. So a big thank you again for all the work you put into this channel, and good continuation !
Thank you so much! :)
I love your creations ! They're always so (deceitfully) simple and classy ! Thanks for sharing your knowledge again ♥️
I really like your lacy ruff. It is pretty and looks fun to wear!
Ok I had JUST been thinking about this part of my reinactment dress and was so worried about what I was going to do... your video is a blessing of a resource to get me pointed in the right direction, you have no idea how much you've helped me, thank you so so much!!!!! Seriously, I would like yo repay you somehow... I don't have any spare money to support with patreon or anything, but I do handmake tatted lace, nålbindning and most any fibre art, along with some jewelry-making and some wood, silver and bone work (including bone needles) so if there is any custom historic piece you are needing/wanting I would love to either send you my design patterns or something else (I am in New Zealand so it might take a bit, sorry)
Brilliant 😁 That channel does such a disservice to, not only history, but to the ease of accessing information.
The tutorial was so much fun! Thank you.
As a hairdresser, whenever I see a ruff in a painting, I always think of how the shape was created and maintained. I always thought "I know how I'd be maintaining that shape if I had to iron it!" I'm glad to see my hunch was right! Thanks for a fascinating video!
Wasn't Queen Elizabeth, despite the whole Gloriana thing, relatively economical in her clothing purchases? I remember something comparing her wardrobe expense records to those of her father.
She certainly kept a frugal court.
so many of her gowns were gifts, and she had thousands of pieces...Henry VII wasn't frugal, that was his father Henry VII.
@@kevinjewell233 Correct Henry VIII had like 50 mansions/castles/hunting lodges across the nation.
Love this! May I ask where you got that fine linen you were using for the sewing tutorial portion of the video?
Samantha, this is SO incredibly helpful! I cannot tell you how much this helped de-mystify the ruff for me. It seems so much more approachable now! My only question is about yardage: roughly how much does a ruff similar in size to the one you worked on here take to make?
Woooow, as an amateur costume maker this is amazing and inspiring, thank you. Can’t wait to start making mine.
I just found you but it looks like you don’t do videos anymore. Say this isn’t so! Above any other historical dress authorities on RUclips you are by far the best!!
I just like watching anyone who is even more patient than me so something really finicky! Love dedication to craft
I totally squealed out loud when I saw that Unsolved shirt lol (I have the plain old t-shirt version)
On another note, I'd be down for an entire series of you and other Costubers critiquing completely uncited "historical fashion" videos.
Yessss another Unsolved fan! Are you a Boogara or a Shaniac? lol
@@TheCoutureCourtesan Shaniac lol Definitely Shaniac. :)
What a great, informative video! You did a wonderful job explaining the process of achieving that beautiful figure 8 shape!
This video got me back into sewing after a good 5 year break. Thank you!
Wow! How amazing is this video! I squired PoF 5 cause I could, but it’s kind of intimidating. You just completely illuminated it for me, thank you.
Your ruff game is 🔥🔥🔥
Wonderful tutorial. You're feeding my impulse to make a small ruff to wear with everyday clothing.
*Small Suggestion* - Make your own how-to tutorial videos. It will help your view-numbers. And everybody does everything slightly differently. The more the merrier...
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown
Question - can you use corn starch with your recipe?
Omg! You’re a genius! I have all of Janet Arnold’s books so I’ll use your method for the ruffles ❤
Thank you, it was very enjoyable & educational at the same time. I want to make one now.
your second outfit!!!!!!! omg obsessed
Thank you for this video! When I watched the original video, I remembered thinking that the ruffs didn't look like they'd inhibit eating. I assumed that the channel had some historical evidence.
This is a great video and I love your reaction to the ruff video! Noel is great and is such a helpful fount of information!
This was an awesome video! Thank you so much for sharing this information. I don’t have the patience for all those tiny Stitches, but I’m glad somebody does!! 😂🎉
This channel deserves more views
I love your videos and also your taste in modern fashion!!
That is AMAZING! I don’t have the patience for this, tiny work.
Thank you for another wonderful and informative video! I have no plans to make a ruff, but if that changes, your practical steps will be all I need! Some of the sewing and starching tips will be useful in my 19th century sewing projects, though. : )
Thank you! Yes, the techniques are very useful for 19th century garments! I use stroked gathers for my petticoats and undiluted Sta-Flo for starching corded and plain petticoats before ironing them.
I just don't understand why people think clothing was extremely fashionable even if nobody liked wearing it. I know that sometimes people love talking about their uncomfortable high heels, but most people aren't wearing shoes like that all the time, even the very wealthy.
Exactly!
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for doing what you do.
That's a neat trick, pulling the thread to create the channel and cutting guide.
When you do Ruffs with lace do you attach the lace to a piece of linen and do it like she explained? Because I'm a bit confused and i would love to make some ruffs myself
This is so beautiful! Im wondering if you will do a Regency era neck ruff video?
How delightful. Ruffs forevah!!!
i love that chair
May I know where did you source the lace trips at the end of the ruff collar? They are exactly what I am looking for? thank you!
Your ruffs are so beautiful! This was really interesting and informative!
I didn't know the technique for stitching the gathers in is the same one used for 18th century shirt gathers, and I felt like such a fool for only having learned it a few weeks ago, and wondering why my gathers always came out uneven when I'd been backstitching them on from the inside all these years.
And gah, that other video! Terrible! Where do they get this stuff??
Edit: Out of morbid curiosity I clicked on their macaroni fashion video and now I'm having a terrible time too, yay :( I made it 3 minutes in and about half their images are 1690's-1710's and there's no mention so far of the Grand Tour and hhhghghhhh it's so bad. I paused when he said they "experimented with bright colours, which wasn't really a thing at the time" and my brain melted.
Yes, all of those videos are pretty painful!
Thank you so much! Stroked gathers are such a beautiful technique.
I'd really like to know who is behind those Weird History videos and if they do any research. I don't know much about historic fashion but Weird History's general vibe of "old timey people weren't like us" is absolutely annoying. People in historic times were people and they wanted to look good, be fashionable, and be comfortable just like people of today. Love your videos! I think your video about fashion of the early 1600s is my favorite. 💕
Thank you so much! Yeah, it's very annoying... But I guess it gives me something to react to so I can share some *correct* info!
Exactly, there is an air of superiority and the urge to paint people of the past as idiots, careless, restrained and all sorts of bad things 😒.
There is also another "history" channel called absolute history that has a playlist on Victorians and how literally everything they did was deadly/weird or just unpleasant...etc. And even the captions are so sensational: How the Victorians poisoned themselves (because of their bread) and obviously how they killed themselves because of corsets. Weirdly enough it's the first channel that pops up when you search "Victorian history".
I am working on a ruff so this video came in very handy! (and right on time lol). Your ruff turned out amazing, I hope mine will too ❤
Before I forget, there is a new elastic thread from Germany, called Saraflex, this thread you can wind on your sewing machine on slow or you will warp it.
For some reason now I want to make ruffs for my dogs. I just think it'd be cute!
Excellent work, thank you!
I always wondered why ppl would wear those things. I just imagine them like itchy human dog cones lol now I learned something :)
Great and informative video, my question is that I have these large ruffs and I cant wear them because they flop down in the back and I haven't been able to find any sort of support so that the backrises up...Where on earth would I find the structure or "stays" to hold my ruff in place so that from the front it frames the face and now just a gorgeous creation in the front and then disappear behind my ears...???????????????????????????????
Wonderful Wikipedia reading from that video, great time. Thanks for all the info on these accessories~.
Love this video, well done!
You said the ruff ties in the front-any trickiness or special way that is done?
Just a "band string" passed through the eyelets and tied in front! You can see this a bit in my previous video about dressing in the early 17th century.
How did you close the ruff at the front? ribbon or some kind of cufflink situation? I'm really interested to know.
In another video she uses a pin
Great video and I love the thumbnail!
Thank you! :)
I think I read that ruffs began quite small and they had a utilitarian function: Outer garments were almost never washed. Only the inner most layer of clothing, the shift or chemise, was regularly washed. The first ruffs, then, were worn to protect the neckline of a garment from being soiled by the neck and chin. Later they became a fashion element, much as shifts were incorporated into the upper bodies. I would love it if anyone could verify or refute this bit of info!
I love your eyeglasses, weird history embellished a lot. your outfit there looks like a witch's costumes from the Salem witch trials I know profiling. Also the national dress of Wales.
:) :)
I am very inspired to attempt making a ruff now... they are just so beautiful! I love wearing blouses with collars and turtleneck sweaters, and I can't imagine a ruff feeling much different. I love the little clip of you dancing in it at the end - the outfit looks great with your glasses too!
The long utensil thing is a pretty common thing to be told at school in the UK (I certainly was told that) which is probably how that myth gets passed around
Oh that's so funny! A friend of mine looked into it and it seems to be a myth that originates in the early 18th century...
How long is the ruff compared to the neckband?
I want to try to make something based off the aesthetic of this but functionally a neck warmer for winter living in Alaska
Ooooh yeah!
Henri III of France was at the restaurant Tour d'Argent when he saw Dutch man eating his meal with a fork, it was novel and the king demanded one for himself..it was a rather long utensil with a two prongs,he loved it as it allowed him to eat his meal without getting food onto his ruff. this was the introduction of the fork into France...and yes, it did have a longer handle as opposed to the forks of our day and age...
Queen Elizabeth of England's favorite lace ruffs were made from the silvery-white hair of her elderly country women.
Years ago, I read that one type of starch came to be preferred by Catholics and another by Protestants. One turned the white fabric yellowish and the other starch created a bluish cast, but, I forgot which faction favored which. Do you know anything about this/
Oh yaay!! I'm so ready for this. 🍅🌻🌻
These videos are more like parodies... Next they're gonna say petticoats were uncomfortable and oppressive. 😂
I noticed that you didn't sew the lacey edges of the ruff to create regular shape ruffs and to make them stronger. Is there a reson for that? I know tht historical laces have been sewed on the outer edge to join the ruffs in a regular fashion.
I am so chagrined to see how I have been doing my ruffs the wrong way. Totally need to make a new ruff the right way now…..
Revelations! Using a curling iron was a good instinct. 🎉🎉🎉
This made me realize that I have never called a Victorian’s man’s starched collar “oppressive”. Interesting…
Or bill gates turtleneck
I'm guilty for watching these videos and then watching the reaction videos and then laughing out loud. I want to make a ruff but since I have a rather long and fat neck, I'm gonna need it to be proportional to me by making it wider just to make my head seem puny
Does that channel think people were weaving with spun sugar??
At what point did you realize that they were including the back collar as ruffs? (The snow white collar thing I'm not sure as to the name but they use the photos for it specifically a couple times)
Weirdly enough, the whole outfit together looks quite stylish and flattering.
Not nearly as odd as in paintings. I could even see weird hats and collars/cuffs make a comeback in fashion. Now, wouldn't that be something?
I agree!
I'm sure you could hoard some nibbles in a ruff. Who wouldn't want that?!
Adding extra comments for the algorithm 😊
Speaking of Elizabethan attire, I'd love a reaction to Season 2 of A Discovery of Witches!
You're not the first person to ask, so I'll consider it! I watched the first season but had to cancel my subscription before I could watch Season 2...
where do i buy ruffs
If you are looking for wheat starch, check your local chinese/asian market! it's very common and cheap.