Making the Purple patterned, Italian Style Caul

It has been a while since I posted a how-to on making a caul, so I thought I would share my technique. The photos and description refer specifically to the purple patterned caul that I finished recently, but my technique is pretty much the same for all my cauls, with minor changes to allow for different styles and head/hair sizes.

For this caul, I started out with a circle of pre-washed and ironed fabric. I prefer natural fabrics because they tend to breathe better than synthetics and are not as hot or as much of a fire risk. In period, this type of headwear would most likely have been silk, linen or possibly a fine wool or cloth of gold or silver. Budget is an issue for me, so sale cotton is my go-to. I prefer fabrics with a bit of body so that the hat won't look too limp. I love the way cotton velveteen sits when made up in this style. This particular fabric is a quilting cotton that I picked up on sale last year. The printed gold pattern adds a bit of stiffness.

Cutting out a plain fabric with the same pattern

The size of the circle that you use as your pattern really depends on three things:
How pouffy you want your caul to be
How big your head is
How much hair you have.

This image gives you an idea of the size circle I prefer for my large head

I tend to prefer a pouffy caul because I can just plait my hair and shove it in there without worrying about elaborate hair -dos. It also allows for when my hair is long or short, thick or thin. I have quite a bit of variation in my hair depending on which medications I am on etc. so a bit of extra space works for me. I usually use a large wire ring that I think is designed to be a wreath base.

You also have an option to make your base fabric an ova shape rather than a rectangle. Doing an oval shape tends to result in a bit more fabric around the ear area which reminds me quite a lot of the cauls that sixteenth century German ladies are shown wearing.

Once you have decided on shape, cut out your pattern piece. You will also need to cut out a piece of fabric to make the band, if you are making it out of the same fabric. I usually make my band the same length as the measurement around the head vertically, with 0.5cm allowed for ease plus seam allowance. I make the piece double the width that I want plus seam allowance and just fold it in half, but you could make the inside/lining part out of a different fabric if you wanted to. (For instance, making the lining piece out of velveteen might help it grip the hair better.)

At this point, you will need to add any decorations such as beads, ribbons, etc. I added a gold bead in the centre of each main motif,
If you are not adding extra decoration, give it the fabric a press. I usually run a zigzag stitch around the edge on the machine also, just to give it a bit more strength.

Next, run nice, even stitches all the way around your circle panel to allow you to gather it up into the headband. I actually do my gathering stitches in two separate lots to make it easier to get the gathers 'just right'. I usually mark the centre of the circle perimeter at top and bottom and run my threads between those points. On this particular caul I decided to try something different and to not gather the section on the top of my head in front of where my jewelled billiments sit, to reduce the pouf level at that point. Don't make your stitches too big or your gathers will be correspondingly large and the hat will not sit nicely. I prefer smaller gathers.

You will also need to sew the headband part. If you have cut a single piece, you'll need to sew the ends together so it is a joined piece like a ring of fabric. Then fold it in half and fold the seam allowances under, pressing or finger-pressing as you go. (Some people make the band a little shorter than they need and pop a piece of elastic in between the ends of the band. This is (obviously) not historically accurate. I don't find it necessary as I use clips to keep the caul on. I have also seen the ends of the band hemmed individually and ties or ribbons attached to tie it onto the head.)

Once your headband is sewn, gently pull up the gathering stitches until the circle (or oval) of fabric is the same size as the band. This is the part where you start adjusting the gathers so they look nice and even. Just gently move the gathers around until they look even and the bulk of fabric is evenly distributed.

I pin my gathers into place and handsew them on the inside and the outside. You could do this by machine if you prefer, I just don't like seeing visible stitching.

Once the band is on, you could call the hat finished. I thought it was lacking something at this stage though, and so experimented with different types of trim and ribbon. I chose this thin metallic ribbon and hand sewed it on to finish off the band.

 

The last thing that I do is add a metal hair comb at the centre front, sewn into the band. Some of my cauls have a wig clip sewn in at around the ear point. If you decide to do this, experiment to find out where it sits comfortably. On others I have made a little buttonole loop behind the ear to slip a bobby pin/kirby grip through to help it hold in place. You may not need this, but I have very slippery, fly -away hair, so this works for me. (I love a netted caul, but by the end of the day I have bits sticking out all over the place, despite how much product I use.) This is also why I make my bands quite wide. I have used bias binding for bands to more accurately match the portraiture, but the bigger bands work better with my difficult hair.

There is quite a lot of variation in the size of cauls depending upon the decade, as these portraits suggest:

 Titian's La Shiavona (Portrait of a Lady) 1510 held by National Portrait Gallery UK. Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Schiavona

Bellini's Portrait of a Naked Woman In Front Of Her Mirror c. 1515,  Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Young_Woman_in_Front_of_a_Mirror#/media/File:Giovanni_Bellini_-_Giovane_donna_nuda_allo_specchio.jpg

Portrait of a Woman by Vincenzo Catena c. 1520
Image from: https://www.italianways.com/the-venetian-portrait-painter-vincenzo-catena/















I've been tempted to make a caul that sits further back on my head like these, but I'm not sure how comfortable I would find it. I like having the bulk sit higher up on my head and not feel like it is pulling my head back.

Portrait of a Venetian Woman c. 1505 by Albrecht Durer
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer_089b.jpg