Victorian Cockade Fan

Hello darlings!

I got an interesting commission a little while back. Someone wanted a cockade fan in the style of Victorian mourning fans as a gift for a friend.

I started by looking at period examples. Cockade fans weren't something I associated with the Victorian period but I found plenty in museum collections and auction sites so they must have been widely used!

https://paradeantiques.co.uk/antiques/other/c1800-cockade-fan-from-ann-boleyn-rochford-house

https://uritextilecollection.omeka.net/items/show/603

https://iandrummondvintage.com/en-gb/products/victorian-cockade-fan-round-mourning-folding-fan-antique-black-circular-fan-gothic-19th-century?srsltid=AfmBOordl5uaRtsgMnnqA-R7w1xno0wMhTiWkoZdrUfadyFY0gARHZW1

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/price-result/antique-civil-war-era-victorian-cockade-mourning-hand-fan-cloth-folding-round/

I found a video on YouTube for how to make an Ankara hand fan that I used as a basis for this fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=WL&v=rNqRBfUv9oU

To begin, I did a mockup to test the size of fan. In the video, she makes quite a large fan and I wanted something more delicate that would suit Victorian tastes.

Luckily I already had this dowel rod in my stash that would work perfectly.

Once I was happy with the fan size I cut out the final fabric (a shiny taffeta), folded it in half and tucked about half an inch under on either edge. I sewed along that edge, which was going to be the outer edge of the fan. It wasn't as neat as the folded edge but if I had put it in the centre of the fan I would have been too bulky.

I folded it and ironed it ready to to be added to the dowel rods.

Before I cut down the dowel rods to the right size I tested some beads to add to the end to make it more of a decorative piece. The customer preferred the flat jewel (as did I) which was salvaged from a pair of earrings.

Then I cut down two dowel rods to size and painted them (they needed a couple of coats as I was only using acrylic).

Now it was time to attach the rods to the fabric!

I was worried that the fabric wouldn't adhere using only a glue gun, but it actually worked quite well.

The last step was adding a button to the centre of the fan. I wasn't sure if it needed it, but it did neaten up the final look of the fan.

The customer also wanted a little holding case which was easy to whip up, with the receivers initials stitched into it.

Voila! I'm so pleased with this fan even though it's out of my usual making wheelhouse. What do you think? Would you use it?

Until next time,

Aisha x