Bonnet and Coif

 Some pictures of the new bonnet with one of my embroidered coifs. (My actual head is a lot bigger than this foam hat form, so the bonnet and coif sit better.)

Tudor Brimless Bonnet and Sleeves

 I have been feeling more motivated and enthused to create lately. With the SCA in many parts of Australia starting to get back to normal, there is a lot to be done. Last month I plodded along doing little jobs and this month I am starting to get some things finished.

Here is a set of Tudor/Elizabethan sleeves and bonnet that I made from a mystery wool blend that I got from an op shop. It is the first  time that I have made unlined sleeves. If I was planning on making unlined sleeves, I would probably enclose the seam that runs down the back of the arm. In this case, the wool is reasonably thick and I was concerned that an enclosed seam would be too bulky. Instead I whipped the seam edges down after the seam was sewn. The hems are all hand sewn. 

Before sewing the sleeve, I cut slashes with a very sharp pair of embroidery scissors. I marked the slashes out with a Frixion marker on one sleeve, cut them, and then turned the sleeve over to use as a template for cutting the second sleeve. I put a couple of stitches top and bottom on a few of the slashes near the top of the sleeve where I thought the pressure of being pinned to the bodice armscye might put too much strain and cause the split to shred or pull through. I might have to end up going around each slash with stitching to stop them fraying; only time will tell. 

I very much liked using pins to put the sleeves on rather than faffing around with eyelets (making eyelets is a job I dislike). I used florist pins for lack of a better resource, and I would like to find some more suitable and period appropriate pins.

The brimless bonnet (or 'barret') was made from the leftover wool. I have a decorative cooking mould that looked to be around the right size for my head. I traced around it onto sandwich paper and added 1.5 cm seam allowance. I cut out two pieces from  that pattern and sewed them together on the machine. Then I carefully clipped the curves. 

I made a guess as to the size hole I would need for my head and cut that out carefully after marking it evenly with  chalk. (It needed a bit more after the first try on, so I marked another line slightly outside the cut line and took a little more off.) Another try on revealed that it looked pretty right, so I turned the hem of the 'hole' under and sewed it by hand. Then I turned the bonnet right side out and ran a blunt knitting needle along the inside of the seam a few times to make it sit nicely.

This is an extremely easy hat to make, and it looks great over a coif. I love fast projects and I like the look of this style of hat.

Here are some examples of similar types of bonnets in sixteenth century portraiture:

'Mary, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset', c1532-1533

Mary FitzRoy, Duchess of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1557), formerly Lady Mary Howard, was the only daughter-in-law of King Henry VIII of England, being the wife of his only acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset. The drawing is part of the Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Castle. From The Drawings of Holbein at Windsor Castle by K. T. Parker. [The Phaidon Press Ltd, Oxford & London, 1945]. Artist Hans Holbein the Younger. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images). Image and background information from: https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/mary-duchess-of-richmond-and-somerset-c1532-1533-mary-news-photo/624177878

Portrait Of A Woman In A White Coif by Hans Holbein  (1497/1498–1543) c 1532-34. Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woman_in_a_White_Coif.jpg

A portrait of Catherine Parr (1512–1548), sixth and last wife of Henry VIII of England by an unknown artist. In this portrait of Catherine Parr, it looks like she might be wearing a brimless bonnet over her coif. My bonnet is un-decorated, to go with a more middle-class ensemble, but this portrait shows potential decoration ideas for future bonnets. Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Parr#/media/File:Catherine_Parr_from_NPG.jpg

Portrait of an Englishwoman c. 1532 by Hans Holbein the Younger. Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hansholbeintheyounger12.jpg

A Tudor Style Brimless Bonnet

Here's one I didn't get around to posting back in May.

I had a Tudor themed event coming up and found that my French hood has warped due to the buckram being affected by humidity. I did make an attempt at replacing it, but I didn't have enough time to do a decent job so I decided to make a brimless bonnet to wear over a wired coif.

I got this lovely brown wool remnant from an SCA buy/barter/sell day, and it seemed the perfect size. This project was very much a ''fly by the seat of your pants' project! I had made flat caps before, but never a bonnet with no brim.

The project was inspired by these Holbein portraits-

Portrait of Amelia of Cleves by Hans Holbein
Image from http://www.thetudorswiki.com/page/Hans+Holbein+Paintings+&+Sketches

Portrait of a Court Official's Wife - 1534- by Hans Holbein
Image from https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/97/e2/3197e20e723823ba058a6f6683f05f5c.jpg

I traced out a circle shape that seemed to be the right size. Then a second one with a smaller hole cut in the centre for my head. Because I was guessing re sizing, I cut smaller rather than larger.

I machine sewed the two pieces together with wrong sides out. I tried it on, and it fit ok, so I did a small hand sewn hem around the head hole edge. I notched my seams to prevent bulk on the rim edge.

When I tried the bonnet on over my coif, I found it just a smidge snug and I worried that it might slide off over the course of an event. So I unpicked the hem, trimmed off about 1.5 cm and re-hemmed it. Much better!

The part that touches the head. The hem added a lot of stability and gave a surprising amount of support.

I was really happy with how this quick project turned out. I would make another one, but only in wool. The wool gave enough stability that I didn't need to add wire or buckram. Wool is really lovely to work with, but quite difficult to come by where I live. I'd also like to try making a Tudor bonnet with a brim and a Lettice cap. I guess I'll have to make a new French hood too.