This embroidered headwear, with its Flinderlien (spangles) and extra layers, would have been worn by a very well off German Burgher woman in the early 16th century.
I started the embroidery for this 3 years ago with no deadline in mind, since I knew it would take some time. It was my ‘basket project’ when we travelled to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium in 2023. I’ve worked on it in spare moments ever since, and finally finished it in January this year.
I estimate the embroidery has taken about 120 hours – a lot of work, but also a lot of idle moments turned productive. Now it’s finished, it’s time to turn it into something I can wear!
Resarch and Design
There are many examples of embroidered linen headwear from this time in Germany, worn by middle class women. Some are simple, with an embroidered band at the front of the Haube (like my Holbein inspired version), while others are more complex, with several layers making up the whole. Textiler Hausrat (1990) notes that most women had both plain and decorated versions to wear, with bands of gold or embroidery.
The inspiration for this piece comes from Barthel Betham’s portrait, Frau mit Papagei, where it is paired with an embroidered underlayer, and a banded top layer. Many other depictions of middle class women show headwear with the same deep band of embroidery, some with an additional layer over the back, as in the Erhard Schön woodcut.
Source: Wikimedia
Other middle class examples show the a band of embroidery of varyng widths, worn with a fine, translucent Schleier (veil) over the top. These images by Holbein, Gertner and Beham are typical of the look.
Source: Wikimedia
Many of these embroidered bands have a strong geometric design, indicating counted work techniques. Staniland (1991) notes that counted thread work was especially popular in medieval and renaissance Germany and Switzerland.
In particular, Zopfstitch (long-armed cross stitch) is known from 12th to the 16th centuries and beyond, usually worked in silk on linen. This technique was also popular in Sweden during the middle ages and renaissance, where it is known as Tvistöm (Franzen, 1997).
I like this technique much more than regular cross-stitch – it is faster to work, gives a denser result, as well as being historically accurate (regular cross-stitch was known, but much less common).
My design is taken from fol.14v the 1529 edition of Schoensperger’s ‘Ein new getruckt model Büchli…‘ which is contemporary with Barthel Betham’s painting. I love the strong graphics, which should show up well, even under a fine veil.
I was particularly taken by the gold Flinderlien (spangles) along the edge of the embroidery in the Beeham painting. Other 16th century Germanic paintings show the same teardrop spangles along the edge of the Haube or Schleier, as can be seen in these examples.
Spangles are also found on German women’s hairnets, feathers and other headwear at the time – clearly a popular embellishment!
I considered making my own spangles, as my friend Ursula did for her Flinderhaube, but could not find a small enough teardrop punch. After much searching I found what I needed online at Ali Express!
Construction
The Haube
The first stage was to complete the embroidery, worked in black silk on 40 count linen, in long-armed cross-stitch. I started the work in May 2023 and completed it in January 2026 – about 120 hours in all, plus some unpicking and re-work when I miscounted!
The next step was to pattern out all the layers of the headwear. These are variations on things I’ve made before, but I want to make sure everything is exactly the right size for this configuration.
Over my usual Bundlein base, I made a mockup of the embroidered panel (marker pen on fabric) and tried it with a mockup striped Haube over the top. This did not really work, so I reverted to the idea of making the embroidery into a Haube.
I checked the embroidered panel against my usual Haube pattern – it’s too short on one side, so it needs piecing. I cut off some of the excess, sewed small hems on both pieces with waxed silk thread, then whipped them together with doubled thread. The seam will interfere with the gathers a bit, but should not be too visible.
With the piecing complete, I cut out the Haube, then basted a narrow hem at the front and felled this with waxed silk.
Then I marked and basted around the casing edge to ensure the right size. I turned the edge, basted, pressed and felled the casing all around. Finally I threaded a narrow tape through the casing, hemmed the ends, and sewed the tape to the casing at the centre to keep it in place. Haube done!
… or not.
When I tried it on it was too large – the gathers were not tight enough at the back. I’ve made this pattern several times, so obviously the heavier, looser weave makes a real difference! A few unexpected hours unpicking 1m of fine felling, then trimming and sewing again. This time it fit 🙂
Now for the spangles! These are 6x10mm, made of gold plated steel (the originals would have been of plain brass, or gold plated brass).
The Beeham painting shows the spangles stopping at the sides – it would be impractical to have them at the back. After a making a small test piece to check spacing and silk colour, I sewed the spangles on with dark gold silk, spacing them every 10 threads. They needed to be quite loose to hang well.
The Haube can be worn alone – the embroidery and spangles are a striking combination!
However, it is more common to see it worn in association with another layer – either a layer at the back of the headdress (such as the banded Schleier in the Beham portrait), or completely covered with a fine Schleier.
Banded Schleier (wrap)
Next, the layer over the Haube.
I’d started my mock-ups of this layer with a simple rectangle, but couldn’t match the wrap pattern in the Beeham painting – I had too much bulk and a messy back. I tried a modified Haube with less gathering, which looked neat at the back, but did not really match the image.
So I put it aside, looked at braid options and did some more thinking…
I reverted to to wrap idea and tried several variations of length and width – eventually I achieved something that matched the images, with the wrinkled layer on top and pinned corner at the side. The wrap in the painting looks soft – more like fine wool than linen. To match the painting, the braid is only applied at one end – about a third of the length.
I looked through my stash and found some very fine twill wool leftover from making another Schleier. I cut a piece 25cm x 120cm (the fabric width) and turned narrow hems on both long sides, basting and sewing with waxed silk.
I started to baste my braid to one end, then realised that I’d used some last year to make a nice belt, so I didn’t have enough! I tried the store, but they no longer stocked it. I couldn’t find anything else I liked as much, so I put out a call out online and someone had some in stash, which she kindly sent to me :).
I was keen to use this specific braid, not only because it was the right scale and I had enough in stash (or so I thought), but because although it is synthetic, it is really close to a contemporary weave pattern!
With enough braid on hand, I basted it and then sewed it on with gold silk in fine hemming stitch, which minimises the stitching in the back. I’m assuming the other end is plain, or the braid would be visible on the top wrapped section.
I tried it all on…
I wasn’t happy: it needed a lot of pins, and the folds necessary to get a neat back resulted in fold edges visible from the front. And I can’t actually put it on so it sits well, even with a mirror.
Nope. This is not going to work. Rats!! (or words to that effect).
The fine Schleier (veil)
While I was waiting to sort out the banded Schleier issue, I turned my attention to the fine Schleier (veil), made from silk organza, as an alternative look to the heavier wrap. I thought I might be able to used on of my existing fine veils, but I had nothing in the right proportions: this one is 75 x 90cm.
I’m good at hemming, but it is hard to get a perfect hem on something so fine, so I’ve used the selvedge to give me a nice line at the front. I’ve roll-hemmed the other edges with silk thread, working the first bit in the hand, then pinning to my ironing board (or knee) so I can sew under tension for a fast, even hem.
This worked well – it’s the right size to tie at the back, using the corners to tie neatly around the rest of the veil, and the selvedge looks really neat at the front.
Banded Schleier – plan B
I spent some time playing with lengths of fabric trying to find another solution which would give the right silhouette, match what I see in the painting, and be easy to put on and style.
Plan B is also a wrap, but with different proportions, and a different wrap pattern. This version makes use of the braid stripes at the back, which seems more likely. And I can put a test version on with minimum fuss.
I didn’t have any more of the fine wool, so I went through my linen stash. The best option was some soft fine-ish linen, which should wrap well. Not quite long enough, so I’ll have to piece it under one of the braid stripes. Ah well.
Several more meters of fine hemming later, I have a new version. I had to unpick the two long stripes from my first version to have enough braid to make a full top border. This version has a tie at the end and at one side – more secure than pinning in place.
To wear this, I tie it around the Haube, then pleat the back along the braid lines. Then I use the tie to secure the tail and tuck the short ends under. I fold and wrap the tail over the top and pin at the side.
With the banded Schleier added, it takes the look up a notch – still middle class, but very well off – a Patrician’s wife.
This project took longer than I expected, and had several frustrations, but I’m pleased the the end result and look forward to wearing my new Haube!