Some time ago I made an Elizabethan Whitework coif as a contribution to the Queen's Gift Basket.
Some extant examples of coifs from Patterns of Fashion 4 are below:
Below are some of the plates from Patterns of Fashion 4 that inspired this piece. They are a hood and a coif embroidered predominantly in chain stitch.
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| These are the designs that mine was adapted from. I left out the cutwork because coifs are so good for a 'bad hair day' and having cutwork reduces their usefulness in this area! |
I toyed with the idea of adding eyelet or buttonhole stitch grapes, but decided to leave it plain. This way, the coif suits people who don't like the over-the-top, more-is-more Elizabethan design ideal.
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| The embroidery finished and lawn lining sewn in |
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| Flowers and leaves embroidered with silk in chain stitch on a linen ground |
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| The coif waiting to have the knotted gather put on top |
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| Close-up of the knotted gather that adds a 'pouf' to allow for a bun |
How this piece sits varies greatly with the head of the wearer. On me, it looks like a cross between a coif and a linen hood. As it is a gift piece, that doesn't matter. But it did inspire me to change the pattern I use for making my own coifs. The next one will have the gathering tube further back at the back of the neck. Hopefully this change will mean that I can wear the new style behind my Elizabethan padded hair-do.
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| The hand-sewn central seam |
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| Commercially produced lace was hand sewn into place and a line of decorative running stitch added |
Thankyou to Heather once again for the beautifully worked lucet cords.
Please see my previous coif posts for information on the background of coifs and how they were worn.
