Medieval Liripipe Hood Modifications
A few years ago I had purchased a medieval chaperon hood with an extended liripipe. Made from 100% wool it was well constructed but didn't quite fit me comfortably or the way I would have preferred it to wear.
What is a Liripipe? A Liripipe was an early Middle Ages chaperon hood and cloak combination that included a long tail off the back of the hood. The length of the tail varied and there is some debate as to the purpose; simply a fashion statement or, as I am inclined to believe, a built in scarf depending upon the length of material. Seems logical and when the cloak across the upper torso needs to be snugged tighter in cold or wet conditions using the tail to wrap around one's neck is effective at keeping out the weather. Any period show or movie worth it's salt usually has characters in some type of hood and is usually one of the few things they get right in terms of historical accuracy.
One of the benefits of being between jobs is having time on my hands to do some house keeping before I get back out there in the real world. Wintery weather and the loss of power this morning meant I had the opportunity to grab the Liripipe and sewing box to finally attempt some modifications.
I had a couple issues; the cloak was not quite wide enough to fit my shoulders and the hood was very large even for my fat head while clad in a hat or helmet. To address the cloak I separated the panels by about three inches then sewed the exposed edges to create a series of inverted "V's" along the bottom hem. Not only is it historically accurate but allows the mantle to expand and better drape the width of my shoulders.
p
As for the hood I simply folded back the perimeter by about two inches and sewed it in place within the interior of the hood. It satisfactorily addressed the adundance of fabric hanging over my face while still allowing lots of room for caps, maile or padded coifs or helmets. A side benefit was it created a stiffer hem line that kept the hood in place more effectively.
Much better!
What is a Liripipe? A Liripipe was an early Middle Ages chaperon hood and cloak combination that included a long tail off the back of the hood. The length of the tail varied and there is some debate as to the purpose; simply a fashion statement or, as I am inclined to believe, a built in scarf depending upon the length of material. Seems logical and when the cloak across the upper torso needs to be snugged tighter in cold or wet conditions using the tail to wrap around one's neck is effective at keeping out the weather. Any period show or movie worth it's salt usually has characters in some type of hood and is usually one of the few things they get right in terms of historical accuracy.
One of the benefits of being between jobs is having time on my hands to do some house keeping before I get back out there in the real world. Wintery weather and the loss of power this morning meant I had the opportunity to grab the Liripipe and sewing box to finally attempt some modifications.
I had a couple issues; the cloak was not quite wide enough to fit my shoulders and the hood was very large even for my fat head while clad in a hat or helmet. To address the cloak I separated the panels by about three inches then sewed the exposed edges to create a series of inverted "V's" along the bottom hem. Not only is it historically accurate but allows the mantle to expand and better drape the width of my shoulders.
pAs for the hood I simply folded back the perimeter by about two inches and sewed it in place within the interior of the hood. It satisfactorily addressed the adundance of fabric hanging over my face while still allowing lots of room for caps, maile or padded coifs or helmets. A side benefit was it created a stiffer hem line that kept the hood in place more effectively.
Much better!
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