Ruffs

This collar is made of particularly fine batiste or cambric. Because of its shape, this kind of collar was known as a millstone ruff. It was fashionable in Holland from the late 16th century to about 1625. Early millstone ruffs were starched with regular pleats. This example, however, is looser and less tidy. It is of a type that was popular with young, fashionable men around 1615 to 1635. This is the only surviving pleated ruff in the world.

This page contains the collected wisdom of a number of people concerning the construction, starching and care of ruffs, supportasses and underproppers of all kinds.

Portraits and descriptions of the evolution of the ruff in the 16th century.

A summary of accessorie s for outfits for Italian women in the early 16th century.

If you follow these directions , you'll create a 1570s-styl e stand-alon e linen ruff of moderate fullness and moderate depth. This is the ideal starter ruff, and by making it you should develop a skill set appropriat e for more elaborate endeavors. What you learn here will also prove useful in the constructi on of partlets with attached ruffles, as well as shirt and chemise collars with the same.

Starching, the method that was used during the 16th century (at least until the cartwheel ruff came in), gives a more accurate effect. It sits properly with a standing collar.

Perhaps no other accessory so exemplifie s the Elizabetha n era than the Ruff.

One of the most tedious aspects of making a ruff is figuring out just how much fabric will be required. This calculator will hopefully make it a bit easier for those ruff-makers out there.

Philip Stubbes started writing around 1581 producing small tracts in which he sharply denounced the manners, pastimes, fashions and culture in England. His major work, The Anatomie of Abuses, was first published in 1583.

P hilip Stubbes had a gift for keen observatio n. Although his comments should not be considered to reveal mainstream thought or opinions of the time, (even his contempora ries thought him extreme) his virulent attacks on the abuses in fashion and English society provide us with a detailed, colorful and picturesqu e glimpse into the England of Shakespear e's youth.