The heart-shaped cap most famously worn by Mary Queen of Scots goes by many names and its construction has been up for debate. The style was not just worn by this queen — it was common among upper-class women of the late 16th century in England and France. While modern costumers may know it as an “attifet,” Elizabethans knew it as simply as a wired cap or wired coif, and this form of headgear is closely related to the common linen coif worn by all classes of women since the Middle Ages. This Elizabethan cap is related to Flemish/Dutch/Netherlands wired caps of the late 16th and early 17th centuries as well.
During the SCA West Kingdom June Arts & Sciences Tourney XLVII on June 15-17 and at Costume College 2012 from August 3-5, I will offer a one to two-hour, hands-on workshop where students will learn to sew an Elizabethan wired cap for themselves. I will provide a pattern, instructions, millinery wire, and starch, plus copious historical documentation and references.
Students must bring:
- 1/2 yard of lightweight white linen (I like the 3.5-oz linen from Fabric-Store.com & the 3.8-oz linen from Dharma Trading Co.), make sure to prewash & iron your fabric!
- 1 & 1/3 yards of white cotton cord or plain white ribbon, no wider than 1/8″ or 4mm
- Scissors for cutting fabric
- Hand-sewing needle
- White thread
- Straight pins
- Optional: 1 yard of white lace trim, this can be added later
Note: At the SCA event, I will provide the fabric & cord/ribbon, since the event is outdoors & we won’t be able to iron/starch.
The cap will be entirely hand-sewn, so students must have at least intermediate sewing skills — hand-sewing a running stitch and a whip stitch will be required. This will be a limited-attendance class with a small fee ($8 at the SCA event, $4 at Costume College).
At the SCA event, students may be able to join the class on the day of the event (more info will be posted online), but for Costume College, advance sign-ups are required and are done through Costume College itself. For membership and more info, please go to the Costume College website.
Take a look at these images of wired caps for ideas of what this workshop can make.
I love the Elizabethan wired hats that you made! I’ve been looking for instructions or patterns on how to make one, but I’m having a heck of a time finding them. Even in Janet Arnold’s books (or at least the ones I have), I can’t find this style of bonnet. If you have tips to share, I would very much appreciate them. I’m rather new at hat making and am still uncertain at what I’m doing.
I started with a simple coif pattern — you can scale up from Janet Arnold or use something like this: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/coifmake.html
Even just wiring the open edge of this coif will give you the basic effect & is imo quite probably what was done at the time. For the larger, more dramatic shape, you’ll need to alter the pattern, which I’ve done in a variety of ways. It’s a lot of trial & error, so use cheap cotton till you get the shape how you like it.
I never paid too much attention to these hats even though I collect Elizabethan portraits. This past week I bought a portrait of a lady wearing a hat very similar to the one above worn by the woman painted by Isaac Oliver. I believe it is called a “crowned” hat however after looking through many portraits from this era I could not find other portrais of woman wearing the same hat. I wonder if anyone might have an answer.
Thank you,
George Way
Staten Island
Sorry for not replying earlier! In the portrait by Issac Oliver, the woman is wearing two items on her head: a white linen wired cap edged with lace & then a tall black crowned hat, probably made of felted wool. The black hat is similar in construction to a modern fedora or top hat in that the wool is formed over a wood block using steam. The caps that I make are worn under those hats both for fashion & also to protect the tall hats from any hair oils. Hope this helps 🙂
Absolutely fascinating – I am making an historical doll and the subject is Mary Queen of Scots and your article has helped me a great deal with the Attifet she liked to wear – still not sure though. But thasnk you so much.