Elizabethan BonnetTutorial and illustrations by Simona della Luna, 17 Dec 2012

This tutorial makes a quick and stylish version of the hat everyone has seen. If you'd like a sturdier, more authentic version of this hat, The Tudor Tailor (by Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcolm-Davies) has an excellent chapter on hats and headdresses. You can re-use the brim pattern you develop with this tutorial if you decide to make the Elizabethan bonnet in that book. To figure out how much material you'll need, draft up your pattern pieces first. The basic version of this hat requires 1 crown piece in the top fabric (the part of the hat that will show when worn), and 1 in lining fabric. The crown is gathered down into a band, which can be a purchased double-fold bias tape or a bias or straight-grain tape made of the top fabric. The brim is made of 2 pieces of top fabric and 1 of stiffener. You'll also need sewing thread, and poster board to test the brim pattern. This version of this hat uses no millinery wire, though some other versions do. Materials and instructions for the feather ornament are listed in the section at the end of this tutorial.

Measurements

1. Measure the Head Circumference just below the hairline on the forehead, just above the tops of the ears, and around the back. 2. Measure the length and width of the head. This works best with a helper. Hold a ruler up to the side of the person's head and measure the length from front to back along the same line you just used to measure the circumference. You may want to use your hands as if they were calipers to get an accurate measurement. Then find the width by holding the ruler to the back of the person's head and repeating the caliper impersonation. The Front-to-Back measurement will probably be slightly longer than the Side-to-Side measurement.

3. Decide how wide you want the brim. 3" is a good starting point. Note that this tutorial makes a flat brim that sticks straight out, rather than a shaped brim that curves up.

Pattern Drafting - The Brim

1. Lay out your pattern-making paper. My preferred arrangement is transparent trace paper (sold in rolls at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores) laid on top of my cutting mat, which has a grid printed on it. Use a piece of paper about the size of a placemat, and try to center your drawing so you don't run out of room toward the edge. If you do find that you've run out of room, just tape more paper in place. You can make a clean copy of the pattern for future use. I often do my initial drawing with pencil and then go back over it with micro-point Sharpie when I like the pattern shape, but use whatever you're

comfortable with.2. Draw a horizontal line the length of the Front-to-Back measurement.3. Centered on that line, draw a vertical line the length of the Side-to-Side measurement.4. Draw a rounded oval enclosing the ends of all the lines. Check to be sure that the oval's circumference is the same as the Head Circumference (Measurements: step 1), and make adjustments as needed. This oval is the inside stitch line of the brim.5. Draw another, larger oval around the first oval. This larger oval should be offset by however large you want the brim. I usually use 3".6. Make a poster board mockup of your brim. Try it on for fit, and check to see what it looks like. Make adjustments as needed, and copy these adjustments over to the pattern. Smooth out any curves

that seem jagged, and be sure that the inside circumference remains at least as big as the Head Circumference.7. Once you're happy with the shape, fold the pattern in half vertically along the Front-to-Back line. Check to see if the left and right sides of the pattern are identical. If they aren't (which is likely), decide which side you like better, or compromise between the two sides. Re-draw the brim so it's identical on both sides. You should end up with a smooth, symmetrical doughnut.8. Add seam allowances. I usually sew with 1/2" seam allowances, but use 5/8" (like commercial patterns) or something else if you prefer. Use a seam gauge or a ruler, and measure out from the pattern lines you drew in the preceding steps. Add the seam allowance all the way around the pattern piece, on both sides of the brim.9. Cut out and label the finished pattern piece. I always mark mine with the name of the item, the name of the pattern piece, how many to cut, what seam allowance you marked, the person it's being made for, and the date. An example might read "Elizabethan Doublet, Sleeve, cut 2 fabric 2 lining, 1/2" seams, Rachel, November 2012."

Pattern Drafting - The Crown

You may make the crown the same as the outer circumference of the brim, or you may make it as a circle a couple of inches wider than the long axis of the brim oval. In these instructions, the crown is made with an oval the same size and shape as the outside edge of the brim. For other crown options, see the Alternate Construction section at the end of this tutorial.

Construction

1. Cut both brim pieces and the crown out of the top fabric (the fabric that will show on the completed hat). Cut the crown lining out of cotton or linen lining fabric. Cut the brim stiffener out of extra heavy duty non-woven felt interfacing. If you

can't find stiff enough interfacing, you may need to double it up and fuse it together. Cut and press bias tape for the band if you are making it yourself.2. Stack the fabric brim pieces right sides together. Sew all the way around, leaving no opening.3. Cut out the "doughnut holes" of the brim pieces, cutting through both layers of fabric. Cut out the "doughnut hole" from the stiffener, and cut off all seam allowances from the brim stiffener.4. Turn the brim right side out and press. Slip the brim stiffener inside - this may take some convincing. Trim the stiffener a tiny bit if needed.5. Turn the brim's raw seam allowance to the inside and hand-stitch it closed. The brim is complete.6. Stack the crown top fabric and lining right sides together. Sew them together, leaving a small opening. Turn right sides out and hand-stitch the opening closed. Press the crown piece flat.7. Pleat or gather the edge of the crown piece down to the same measurement as the inside circumference of the finished brim. Bind the edge of the crown piece with the bias tape, folding any raw edges under.8. If you will want a feather ornament, attach a small (~1" long) tube of the same fabric to the outside of the binding on the side where you would like to wear the feather. Be sure to fold under and secure all raw edges. The clip for the ornament will slip into the open end of the tube to attach. Construction of the feather ornament is described below. The crown is complete.9. Using tiny stitches and color-matched thread, hand sew the crown and the brim together. The hat is complete.

Alternate Construction

If you would like a crown with more room, you have two options. Option A: Make the pattern piece for the crown a larger circle and pleat it down more to fit it to the brim.Option B: Instead of making the band, make the crown with an additional pattern piece.

Step 1. Cut the crown and lining as directed above, but also cut an additional crown and lining piece with an outside dimension like the main crown oval, and an inside cutout like the brim. Step 2. With right sides together, sew the outside edges of the top fabric crown pieces together. Sew the crown lining pieces together. Step 3. With rights sides together, put the top fabric crown inside the lining crown. Sew them together along the inner oval,

leaving a small opening for turning. Turn the crown right side out, press, and sew the small opening closed.Step 4. Make the brim according to the basic hat instructions above. Stitch the crown to the brim with tiny hand stitches.

Feather Ornament

Nothing looks quite as nice as a feather in your cap. The construction here isn't period-authentic, but it's easy, practical to use, and looks good. You'll need a large feather(s), a metal single-prong curl clip (available at beauty supply stores by the boxful), acrylic craft felt, hot glue, the ovals of fabric you cut out of the inside of the brim, thread, and (optional) 4-6 small (~3mm or so) pearl beads.

1. De-bug the feathers, whether you bought them at the store or found them in the yard. Put them in a zip-lock freezer bag and freeze them for about a week. Thaw them with good air flow to prevent mildew. This can be repeated yearly to

help keep the feather ornament in good repair. 2. Groom the feathers if needed. Most purchased ostrich feathers look better if they're trimmed and shaped (Google "How to trim ostrich feathers"), and many found feathers can look a little straggly around the edges. Trim them up with a very sharp pair of scissors.3. Using color-matched thread, make a gathering stitch around the edge of the cloth oval. Draw the edges tightly to the center and tie off the thread, creating a disk. 4. From the other cloth oval or some other bit of scrap, make a small circle or rectangle with finished edges. This will be glued in place to cover the raw edges of the gathered oval, so make it just large enough to cover the center of the oval. Add the pearl beads if you want.5. Cut 2 ovals of craft felt. One should be somewhat smaller than the large gathered oval, and the other should be somewhat smaller than that.6. Hot glue the small pearl-covered oval in place over the raw fabric at the center of the large gathered oval.7. Open the curl clip, and slide the smaller felt oval in. Hot glue the larger felt oval in place over it on the side of the clip with the flat handle. Don't use too much glue or you may stick your clip closed. Let all the pieces sit for a minute for the glue to set up.8. Stack together the felted clip, the groomed feather, and the gathered oval. The base of the feather will be sandwiched between the felted side of the clip and the flat side of the gathered oval. The handle of the clip should be on the same side that the feather sticks out of. Hot glue all three layers together.9. Clip it to your hat. Post pictures of how fabulous you are! Remove the feather ornament for storage or transport. 12 x 12 plastic scrap booking storage boxes make sturdy hatboxes, as long as your brim fits inside.

Permissions

The author of this tutorial and its illustrations is Star Maddox, known in the SCA as Simona della Luna. Contact her at Simona.della.Luna@gmail.com. You are free to share this work - to copy, distribute, and transmit it, and to remix or adapt it for your own purposes (including teaching a class with the tutorial or part of it), under

the following conditions. You must credit the author, and you may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you would like to use this work for commercial purposes, you must write the author and obtain permission first. If you have comments or questions regarding this tutorial, please email the author. If you use this tutorial, I'd appreciate a note letting me know how it went for you. I especially like seeing photos of the things people create.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) License. Read more about this Creative Commons license here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/