Again, my new 2024 16th-century Saxon /Eastern German style gown (Cranach-style gown) has led me down a path of making another over-the-top accessory. I need to come up with a name for this dress. In paintings of this style by Cranach, the goldhaube is often an ornate element of the outfit. The goldhaube is a gold hood/cap that shows up in various shapes and adornments in the 16th century. They are discussed in Textiler Hausrat in paintings and later 16th. Century clothing lists. (Zander-Seidel, 1990) For a better breath of Cranach the Elder and workshop paintings, you can visit https://lucascranach.org/home.

I jumped right into making this goldhaube, and high jinx ensued. It did take several tries to get it just right in the end. This article will highlight how and what I did and some of the misadventures.

The Plan

I started by measuring my head circumference (21″) and the area the band would lay. I knew I’d want it to be looser so I can just set it on. I then drew a plan. I’ve made goldhauben before, however, they were not well throughout projects. These previous experiences gave me a pretty good idea of what and how I wanted to do it. I decided there would be 3 main components of the goldhaube, the oblong piece or hood (hood part of the hood), the front of the hood, and a band to go around the head.  

I planned to double-fold the band and then attach the hood to it, leaving a seam on the inside. The straight edge of the front piece is double-folded and hemmed. It would be the front edge along the forehead. The curved edge of the front piece then would be sewn into the existing band/hood seam along the sides and top. This leaves an inner seam to attach the front linen lining and the hood’s silk lining. I designed this myself; there are not any deconstructed or up-close extant examples to look at. Paintings and woodcuts do not generally show the back.

There is a woodcut by Beorg Erlinger (1519) that shows the back of a haube or wulsthaube, which is kinda useful… There is also a later example of an extant goldhaube that was part of the burial garb of Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. See Dr. Norton’s post on Instagram (below).

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A post shared by Dr Elizabeth Norton (@enortonhistory)

Genoveva von Lübeck (SCA) has developed a pattern (link) that is different from the version I presented here. It gathers in a channel and closes in the back, which is supported by extant 17th-century examples. Amie Sparrow (SCA) also made a video about constructing this style (link). That being said, I had no luck using this pattern myself. I didn’t like the back closure, and it ended up being too heavy for me (I get headaches). This is probably a problem for me; however, as a result, I have been thinking through my version. You might want to check that out for a more detailed step-by-step. If you plan to use my guidance, I suggest making a mock-up first.

I decided to machine embroider a repeated rhombus outline and a decorative element in the center of each using gold thread. I bought a ton of metallic gold twist braid trim from tiedtohistory.com a while back, which was burning a hole in my stash, and I planned to outline the rhombus edges. I also had some dangly freshwater pearls that looked a lot like spangles, which I knew I wanted to incorporate. Flinderhaube are hoods with gold spangles that were also popular during this time. I went with a silk taffeta from silkbaron.com, a gold with a blue shot, resulting in a greenish tone. I also used this fabric to make the brustflect of the dress. I know a little matchy-match. I had some black linen to line the front of the haube and some thin silk to line the hood.

Jumping Right In

I drew and cut the pattern pieces for the front and band from my drawing of the silk. I also cut the front piece from the black linen. I left the hood piece of silk larger than my planned finished dimensions to make it easier to hoop.

Machine Embroidering the Hood

Using my Hatch Embroidery software, I created a repeating rhombus pattern the size of my largest hoop (8″ x 15″), and the finished pattern measurements were 6.5″ x 10″. I then just found a built-in snowflake-looking black work motif and placed one in each diamond, leaving one edge along the top and side without them to create an overlap when I re-hoop and stitch out each quadrant. I tested the pattern out until I was happy with the way it was looking. I backed the silk with iron on light cut-away backing. I then stitched out each quadrant with gold metal thread.

Finishing the Hood Adornments

Once I finished the machine embroidery, I cut the shape of the hood to the plan. Then, I hand-sewed the braided metallic trim to the rhombus outline. Next, I stitched the pearls to the hood patterns using a heavy-duty thread. I stitched between each and tied off after each diamond. I machine-stitched around the diameter about 1/4 inch from the edge to make sure nothing frayed too much.

Assembling the Rest of the Haube

Next, I double-folded over the band, leaving the edge raw. I then attached the top of the hood to the band and basted it with an extra-long machine stitch. This left about a 3/8 “seam on the inside ( I do not have a good photo of this for the first go; there is one below taken during the re-work). I attached it smoothly along the top and gathered it equally into the sides and bottom back into the band.

At this point, I was running out of time. I was not happy with the poof on the sides of the hood; it was looking very round. However, I only had one more day to finish the haube before I planned to wear it. I went ahead and attached the front of the hood by hand (note the original front was about an inch smaller along the width of the forehead, so I ended up adding another inch to the pattern when finished). Then, I quickly hand-sewed the trim to the front. The haube was lovely and worked out great at the event. I was not happy with the sides; you can see in the photos that it was very round and was poofy on the sides. I wanted to make it look more like the paintings and decided to rework it.

Time to Re-work the Shape

The week after the event I decided to re-work the goldhaube. Luckily I had more of the silk fabric. I carefully seam ripped and cut the haube back into its pieces. I then carefully refolded and attached the edge of the hood to the band. I kept it smooth and didn’t start folding until I reached the bottom of the sides of the hood. The shape was looking much better this time. For this second version I did lengthen the front section a bit; I noticed that there was quite a lip left and I’d have to crease the band to account for the gape. I think this is due to the curve of the front piece where it attaches to the band and could be reduced if the rounded edge was less extreme. Since I didn’t mind creating a crease in the band I left it. Then to my horror, as I was checking the shape I realized all my pearls were not laying properly… I had pleated and attached it upside down!

One more try…

Third Time is a Charm?

I seam-ripped it, again flipped the hood over, and pleated the bottom again. I attached it to the band using my sewing machine. This time I also increased the size of the front section a little more, this way it would lay more forward on my head. Again, I knew I was going to have to crease the band along the top because of the way the band gaped a bit from the front piece. I also decided it was time to add the lining to the front piece. I added black linen to the front piece by hand along the front seam and machined and sewed it into the band seam with the front and hood. I then attached the gold braid trim along the front edge and around the band, about 1 inch apart.

At this point, I decided I needed to add some more pearls before finishing the lining. I decided to add pearl clusters of round 5mm freshwater pearls every 5/8 inches or so. I created the clusters by stringing 5 pearls into a circle and tying them off, then adding a 6th pearl to one of the threads. I then used those threads to attach to the haube band. Call me crazy, but I felt it needed a little more pearls. I added two strands of pearls in the inner border of the top front. I strung the pears on heavy thread and couched them down along the outline.

Now, it was time to finish it up. Over the top of the band seam that sandwiches the front, the band, and the hood, I added some 1″ seam tape with the raw edge facing into the hood. Then, I added the black silk lining to the hood portion. I cut a hood-shaped section out of the silk and pleated the bottom and the sides, leaving the top edge flat. I then whipped and stitched it into the seam tape with the raw edge hidden behind the tape, ultimately covering the inside of the hood and the seam. I left a slit open and the top and sewed these together to finish the lining.

The Finished Goldhaube

I’m very happy with the final goldhaube. There was a lot of learning going on with this project. However, I do think it was worth all the effort to ensure the right shape and look for my outfit. The shape and silhouette are very important to the finished look. I plan to make more in the future, and I will incorporate the lessons I have learned.

References

Zander-Seidel, J. (1990). Textiler Hausrat: Kleidung und Haustextilien in Nürnberg von 1500 – 1650. München: Dr. Kuntsvel. Print.

Genoveva von Lübeck (2015). 16th c. German Goldhaube Cap Division II: Costume: Accessories or Costume: Single Component http://germanrenaissance.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Goldhaube-Documentation.pdf