Regency on a Shoestring: Caps

Caps, they are something more of us should just be wearing, all of the time. Not only do they keep the sun off the top of our heads, they keep our hair clean and tidy too. I have even taken to wearing a triangle of cloth on my head on the regular day to day life, since wearing my hair up doesn't always mean my hats will fit my noggin'. I hate having my head sunburned.

Unless you are dressing in evening wear, where your hair will also be dressed to suit the fabulous ballgown you are wearing, your head should be covered.

Look at these two lovely ladies wearing caps, the Oyster Girl on the left is even wearing her cap underneath her hat. This keeps her hair from sticking to the interior of her hat and pulling, but also allows the hat something else to purchase on. If you have also done your hair nicely, the cap is nailed to your head, and then the hat can be nailed to both cap and hair nicely with some long pins.

I have found recently, that there is no possible way I can make caps for folks that are within a price range people are willing to pay. My latest cap literally took as long to make as my gown did. So many little hems and tiny seams. They should be something that every lady makes for herself though, since the sewing is simple, if repetitive.

Cutting: measure your head from ear to ear, over the top. Then from where you want the caul to sit, towards the back of your head...don't forget to add enough space for your hair if you use extra bits at all...I do, as I have baby fine hair. I actually stuff the back of my head with C-clip hair rollers to give it enough volumn. Cut a rectangle this size, and round off the top two longways corners. There, you have a caul.
Now, the front of the cap is usually a lappet style in this period, that's what I think the Oyster Girl is wearing above, since the frill comes under her chin. This is cut by making the front long side the length of the measure of around your face, chin to top of head, and back to chin. The parallel, back line of this section is usually from earlobe to earlobe, over the top of my head. Sometimes this has a section that curves around to the back of the nape.

Let's look at some caps...

Museum of Fine Art, Boston*

Museum of Fine Art, Boston*

Met Museum, New York*

Museum of Fine Art, Boston*

 All these caps are seemingly fancy-pants caps. A lot of people think they are for upper class folks, but if you look at the shapes, and not the fancy lace, you can make a similar style of cap, but for a more lower-class persona. What is available to you in your local fabric store? Can you obtain small amounts of batiste or mull, fine shirting fabrics? Use these for your caps, and save the lace for the upper class personas. Most laces available from your local Fabricland and Fabricville stores are not appropriate for this period, it being heavy crochet lace, and not this fine netting style of lace.

Museum of Fine Art, Boston*

 Look at the simplicity of this cap though, cut in one piece, just a large rectangle that has been cut into and  gathered into the back neck, edged in a very small lace. This is likely a simple batiste.

Museum of Fine Art, Boston*

 And here we have another very simplistic cap in fine cotton mull, without any lace at all!

Sewing caps: You need to know how to make tiny hems, since almost every piece of the cap will be hemmed before you put the pieces together. I do a little whipped rolled hem, by folding the edge over as slightly as I can one time, then picking up a couple of threads where the cut edge meets the body, and then a couple of threads right on the fold, making little 7s with my thread. After about 8 or 10 stitches, I pull up the thread to roll the hem. For any felled seams, I use a simple running stitch to sew the first leg of the seam, and then after folding the fell over, a pick stitch. Using tiny sewing needles and silk thread, I am able to achieve tiny stitches. Get used to using small needles and a thimble, and your sewing will improve. I have stronger strength glasses just for hand sewing.

My last note is about reenacting clothing. Far too often I have seen women making their caps from heavier linen or worse, poly cotton blend broadcloth. I just have not found any extant pieces from this period in a heavy linen...and let's face it, poly cotton may be cheap, but it is not at all historically accurate. The amount of material required for a cap is so small, everyone in this hobby/profession can afford to purchase enough to make a cap. All you really need is less than a half metre, and really, you are likely to be able to cut a couple of caps from a half metre. If you want a stiffened cap (which is the excuse some have given for using poly/cotton), boiling in starch will give you the best results. And it's period!

My caps are one of those items of clothing that hardly ever get laundered...I want the heritage of a few days of wear, so really only launder them when they are pretty darned nasty. This takes a long time to occur though, since I starch my caps and the starch repels the dirt like nobody's business.

*working on accession numbers for these caps...Pinterest can be your friend for quick searches, but a lot of people pin without information. I am working to rectify the situation on my own Pinterest boards.
https://www.pinterest.ca/esteladufrayse/regency/
https://www.pinterest.ca/esteladufrayse/regency-footwear/
https://www.pinterest.ca/esteladufrayse/1820-30-ross-farm/