Animal Sources for Glove Leather
The animal hides best suited to make gloves both now and during the Middle Ages and Elizabethan times are doe (deer), lamb, goat (cabretta) and kid (baby goat) (Ellis, ).
Modern tanning techniques allow other animal hides to have the suppleness required for a good pair of gloves and emulate the glove leathers from medieval and Elizabethan times. Any leather that has a [1]'stretch ability' is a good resource for gloves. I have found some very supple modern pigskin that come in a variety of [2]colors that make wonderful costume accessories. Deer (doe and buck), a hunted animal, are an obvious source of hide both then and now (Ellis, 23). Tame animals like sheep and goats were raised specifically for gloves and were given special care so the skins were not damaged by natural elements like burrs or thorn bushes. It was the job of the shepherd to ensure this care (Smith,32). Once acquired, the hides were processed by ‘tawyers' (skin dressers) who were the first glove makers (Beck, 135). During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan times, the person who tanned the hide, a tawyer, also in many instances used the hide to made breeches and tunics in addition to gloves.
Skins from unborn calves were tanned in Limerick Ireland during the 16th century. The skins were so fine that some thought they were 'chicken skins' (Beck, 97). After these skins were tanned and made into gloves they were so fine they fit into gilded or polished walnut shells and became a fad throughout Europe until the 17th century. In the 16th Century Catherine de Medici gave gifts of gloves in polished walnut shells (Collins, 19). It was a real privilege to receive a pair. When the glove wore out, the shell was worn as jewelry (Collins).
[1] Stretch ability – this is necessary so the glove has the ability to fit the wearer’s hand if the glove pattern is designed to fit snug. If the pattern is to be made big and bulky, simulating the description of many early period gloves, stretch ability is not necessary.
[2] During medieval and Elizabethan times they used a wide variety of dyed leathers to acquire gloves in colors although most of the better gloves were buff or ‘in the white’. Many red colors were used in gloves to disguise wine stains. It was fashion etiquette to wear your gloves while drinking (Collins, 24).
Tanning
The tanning process was very lengthy. The hides direct from the animal, were salted. This preserved them until they reached the tawyer and were ready to be tanned. Once there, they were pasted with lime to remove the fur and fat modules. After the hair and fat were removed, the hides were washed in clean warm water. This is the beginning of many stages of scraping (called skiving) the hides to remove unwanted particles. The fur side of the hide is called the ‘grain’ side and the underside is called the ‘flesh’ side and both had to be cleaned. The large amount of water needed to wash after skiving is why most tanning places were located near a river (Cummings, 11). Grenoble France is located
After the hair and fat was removed, they were soaked in a vat of warm water prepared with pea meal, wheaten flour or a bran matter (Ellis, 37). This was called the ‘drenching’ stage. This bran matter fermented in the warm water and caused the hide to swell. The process of scraping the remaining unwanted materials is called ‘scudding’ (38). Again, between each treatment the hide is rinsed in a vat of warm water.
After the hides were cleaned of all unwanted materials, they were put through the next process called ‘dressing’ that actually tanned the hide. The formula used consisted of 5 parts flour, 2 parts salt, 4 parts Alum, and 1 part egg yolk (39). Many hides were put in one large wooden barrel, the barrel was put on its side, and the barrel would be rolled to distribute the solution evenly to all the hides. This was a one day process. The hides were removed and rinsed. They were then dried by laying them out on grass in the sun. The sun also helped bleach the hides. After the hides dried, they were considered in the ‘crust’ stage because they were stiff.
To soften the ‘crust’ stiffened hides they created the ‘staking’ process. In this process the hide was drawn back and forth over a rounded wooden edge after first letting them rest in wet sawdust. They repeated the staking process two or three times, until the hide was soft and supple. Staking was always done on the flesh side of the hide (43) so the grain side wasn’t scratched (most gloves were made from hides with the grain side exposed). This was the final stage of preparing the hide for the pattern. Some hides were sent for dyeing, but most were left ‘in the white’ (from sun bleaching) and therefore many of the gloves we see in museums that survived from the medieval time period appear a buff color. It is recorded that from beginning to end, it took approximately 9 months to prepare a hide for a pair of gloves (54).
The tanning process was very lengthy. The hides direct from the animal, were salted. This preserved them until they reached the tawyer and were ready to be tanned. Once there, they were pasted with lime to remove the fur and fat modules. After the hair and fat were removed, the hides were washed in clean warm water. This is the beginning of many stages of scraping (called skiving) the hides to remove unwanted particles. The fur side of the hide is called the ‘grain’ side and the underside is called the ‘flesh’ side and both had to be cleaned. The large amount of water needed to wash after skiving is why most tanning places were located near a river (Cummings, 11). Grenoble France is located
After the hair and fat was removed, they were soaked in a vat of warm water prepared with pea meal, wheaten flour or a bran matter (Ellis, 37). This was called the ‘drenching’ stage. This bran matter fermented in the warm water and caused the hide to swell. The process of scraping the remaining unwanted materials is called ‘scudding’ (38). Again, between each treatment the hide is rinsed in a vat of warm water.
After the hides were cleaned of all unwanted materials, they were put through the next process called ‘dressing’ that actually tanned the hide. The formula used consisted of 5 parts flour, 2 parts salt, 4 parts Alum, and 1 part egg yolk (39). Many hides were put in one large wooden barrel, the barrel was put on its side, and the barrel would be rolled to distribute the solution evenly to all the hides. This was a one day process. The hides were removed and rinsed. They were then dried by laying them out on grass in the sun. The sun also helped bleach the hides. After the hides dried, they were considered in the ‘crust’ stage because they were stiff.
To soften the ‘crust’ stiffened hides they created the ‘staking’ process. In this process the hide was drawn back and forth over a rounded wooden edge after first letting them rest in wet sawdust. They repeated the staking process two or three times, until the hide was soft and supple. Staking was always done on the flesh side of the hide (43) so the grain side wasn’t scratched (most gloves were made from hides with the grain side exposed). This was the final stage of preparing the hide for the pattern. Some hides were sent for dyeing, but most were left ‘in the white’ (from sun bleaching) and therefore many of the gloves we see in museums that survived from the medieval time period appear a buff color. It is recorded that from beginning to end, it took approximately 9 months to prepare a hide for a pair of gloves (54).