Doublet

This splendid doublet of the late 1620s combines a variety of decorative techniques: stamping, paning and the application of decorative braid. The stamping of fabric employed a similar technique to that used in on leather in book binding. For this doublet, several metal stamps with floral motifs in different sizes were used. They were heated, placed on the satin and tapped with a special hammer to make a clear impression.

Paning involved making long vertical cuts in the fabric, or sewing it together in narrow strips and leaving areas unstitched. The raw edges of each opening were bound with ribbon. Paning was popular in the 1620s and 1630s and usually seen on the chest, back and sleeves of men’s doublets and sleeves of women’s bodices.

A narrow lace (braid) of woven silk gimp and ribbon applied to the edge of each pane and over the seams, adds further decoration to the doublet.