I've had a friend make one of these for his Renaissance costume - totally gave him that "bird that swallowed a dinner-plate" look. *laugh*

It's not easy to make either - took a LOT more fabric that one would think for such a small bit of frill.

The simplest way that I know of is to make a band about an inch wide (or what ever the depth you want for the ruff) Finish it with ties at each end to put the thing on. Next take a pen And mark every 1/4 in along the top of the band starting at the edge, and then do the same to the bottom edge but off set it by a 1/4 inch. Then take a strip of cloth oh my god longer than you think you'll ever need. (That probably wont be long enough but it's a good place to start.) Actually the easy way is to count the number of pen marks, Multiply by 2, then multiply that by the depth of the band. Finish both edges, and then stitch down some horse hair braid along one side. Then simply start at the edge of the top, and tack the strip of fabric to the band at every pen mark.

The good thing about this is that with the horse hair braid you can throw it in the wash and not have to worry about ironing eer one of those stupid pleats every time. Before attaching the strip to the band I like to add an edging of lace to it or some other kind of trim.

The bad news is I haven't yet found a quicker way to do this.

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Jaisan

costume.dm.net/ruffs/index.html
costume.dm.net/ruffmake.html
costume.dm.net/ruffcalc.html

www.vertetsable.com/demos_ruffs.htm

www.reddawn.net/costume/ruff.htm
phelan.ou.edu/anya/ruffmake1.html

(I haven't made one, but figured I ought to make at least a slight nod towards historical costuming ideas. :grin:)