Starting the Mock-Up

I started the mock-up by rolling up some fiber-fill into a piece of linen that was about the right width to go around my head where I imagine I want my wulste to sit.

Completed Mock-up

This is what it looked like rolled up. This was pretty smooshy, but we were just going for rough dimensions at this point. This ended up about 25" long with a 6" circumference.

Mock-up Front

So here's the mock-up on from the front...

Mock-up Side

...from the side...

Mock-up Back

...and from the back. Gotta love the clothespin!

"Steuchlein" over Mock-up

As you can see, there was no stage where we could resist draping pieces of fabric over my head to start looking at silhouettes.

Wulste Pattern Draft

So based on the dimensions of the mock-up, which we strangely liked the look of first try, I drafted a pattern for the wulste. I didn't start the end tapering until 4" from the ends, to keep as much roundness as possible.

Turned Wulste

Here's the unstuffed wulste, turned, pressed and waiting for stuffing. This was cut on a 45 degree bias, by the way.

Stuffed Wulste

Here's the wulste stuffed and ready for shaping. The bias makes it want to twist, what an interesting effect!

Tora! Tora!

And the tauri aye gang t'gether...

Bent Wulste

We joined the points together with a 1" gap to hold it in place for the shaping stitches.

Stitching the Creases

Wherever a crease formed from the bending, we sewed it in place.

Completed Stitching

Look how much it holds its shape with just this little bit of stitching! We'll be going back and doing some more stitching, but this is where we started from for the rest of these pics. Eventually, this will be covered with "cabbage," felt pieces.

Wulste Front

So here's where we are so far from the front...

Wulste Back

...and from the back. While looking these pics over, I'm starting to wonder about a smaller wulste that just wraps or ties around the bun itself. That could give me the "cone head" silhouette from the side, I bet.

Wulste Security

Here's where we figured out that the wulste will stay in place against my hair if we only pin it to the nape of my neck. What a handy discovery!

Tied and Pinned

We added the tapes for ease in adjustment, and I bobby-pinned it at the nape to hold it in place.

Draping 1

So we started playing with more "steuchlein" draping while we bantered about where to go from here for the unterhaube. I want some kind of fitted coif look, shaped around the wulste.

Draping 2

The silhouettes look great. At this point in the discussion, we started talking about what else to do with my hair, so we don;t get this bulge at the back where the rest of my bun is sitting.

Draping 3

Hm, the start of the "loose veil" look?

Draping 4

SG pinned some of the pleats in place while we talked about how much pre-sewing we could get away with on the steuchlein.

Draping 5

Potential bundlein direction? All this draping was done with a standard size cloth diaper, pinned at the nape of neck just like my Flemish kerchief. This is going to give us some great clues for final veil dimesions, I think.

Over Taped Hair Back

So here's what the wulste looks like over my hair when it's taped, from the back...

Over Taped Hair Side

...and from the side. The bulge is gone!

Unterhaube Draping

So here's what the unterhaube layer will look like from the front. This is simply tied over the wulste, secured at the nape of the neck

Draped Unterhaube Side

Here's the unterhaube from the side...

Unterhaube Draping Back

...and from the back.

Extra Padding

Here we laid some extra padding into the crease before pinning on a veil. Really changes the shape!