The Inventories:
https://suffolkrecordssociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-Ipswich-Probate-Inventories-1583-1631.pdf
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/brs54.pdf
Great paper on Beds and Bedding: https://www.academia.edu/44673485/Beds_and_Bedding_c_1350_1650
I also read a paper on the use and purpose of the bed but of course didn’t save it because it didn’t have much to do with the *making* of a bed. It had great info about sleep, birth, death, and romance in beds though, so I’d like to link it here if anyone happens to know what I’m talking about?
All the images I used should be here on this pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/morgandonner/beds/
★Follow me! ★
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MorganDonner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgandonner/
★★★ – Products Used in This Video – ★★★
*All Amazon links below are affiliate links.
Just a couple for this video, the curtain rings: https://amzn.to/3XZZiE2 and the hooks that go with them: https://amzn.to/3Zk7sbc
Amazon Affiliate Page for links to my various sewing supplies and camera equipment:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/morgandonner
About the beige curtains. You can sit down and do Crewelwork embroidery all over them to brighten them and personalize them. Very period appropriate and could let you add in other accent colors to pull into the room.
How does this bed compare to modern beds in terms of comfort/sturdiness?
Love how Mr Donner is just as crafty as you! I'd love to see more of this type of video from you – it's really educational and super interesting! I wouldn't ever make it myself (because wow!! thats a lot of work) but watching it was super eyeopening!
The extant beds or bed reconstructions I’ve seen in museums are often very short, so a semi-sitting sleeping position seams reasonable. If you don’t want your feet sticking out the end. Some might like that. I don’t know.
You know, the white curtains look a lot like a blank canvas to me…. Manuscript painted curtains?
Great video. As always!
Wouldn’t it have been faster if you just braided the underlying layer the length of the bed rather than making a long one and than cutting it anyway?
What a cool project! I was making starry-eyes throughout the whole video.
Looks amazing, ❤ it.
Fun fact: the tool used to tighten the strings of a bed like this was called a 'bug' because it looked like it had wings. It also had a chance to catch your thumb between the bed and tool and cause a welt, also called a 'bite'. This is where we get the phrase "Nigh night, sleep tight (tightening the ropes), hope the bed bugs don't bite" 😁
Morgan! I bet you could hook up with local sheep folks, that have wool that is too dirty to be fit for milling. And maybe they would give you some for stuffing into a matress, especially if you mentioned them. MANY Sheep folks are hooked into, or at least enthusiastic about, fibre arts and historical stuff. It's worth looking into! 🙂
Was this the same time period where beds were not full length, since they thought demons could enter if you slept fully flat?
Hey Morgan…Why not stencil the curtains? Might be a thing 🤔
Looks fab!
This was so much fun! And great to see Mr Donner as well 👏👏
Love it! You two are quite the team.
Loving watching this, it's very cool to see. But the pair of blankets – I do know why this is! One blanket does not go over the sheets, but instead goes under the bottom sheet. It adds insulation to the mattresses, helping to give more comfort in terms of warmth in the winter and cool in the summer. And to be a little indelicate for a moment, mattresses full of organic materials can get insect invasions. The blanket helps to provide a barrier to the insects that a woven flax sheet doesn't give…
Cannot wait to see this cabin to completion
The sitting up in bed thing is caused by sagging bed strings,hence the saying "night,night,sleep tight(ie not sagging) dont let the bedbugs bite". I think that is why they had birthing chairs,because in a saggy bed…you can imagine its not going to work very well!
With regards to there always being two blankets I wonder if it was for a similar reason as having two sheets. I don't have any evidence for this beyond my own family history/habits, but having grown up in a house without central heating (only fireplaces), in the winter we used to place a woollen blanket between the mattress and the bottom sheet to help with insulation. There's usually a lot of air spaces in a mattress so having a layer of insulation below as well as lots of blankets/rugs on top really helps you keep warm!