Linen Cap and Smock

I made this linen cap and smock to go with my yellow wool kirtle.

The cap was based on the pattern in The Tudor Tailor.

I have a lot of hair, and I usually find that hats and caps either refuse to fit over it, or they end up comically large because I overdo the adjustment. To make this cap fit, here's what I did.

First I pinned my hair up in the style I'd be wearing. Two braids coiled into a wide, flat-ish bun.

I measured around my head where I wanted the band to sit. I cut the band and brim based on this measurement and sewed them together. I hemmed each piece individually and then whipped them together.

When the band and brim were all done, I tried them on for size. Looking good!

I positioned the band where I liked it, not too far forward. My hairline is very high and I didn't want to look totally bald from the front, which can happen if I don't let a little of my front hair show!

Fits around the hair! At this point I measured from the edges of the band over my hair, from side to side and then from top to bottom.

I cut a circle of linen about 4" larger than those measurements and wrapped it over my hair, then slid the band over it, tucking all the edges in.

Edges of caul/bag portion tucked in to check the fit!

I pinned it in place, took it off, then trimmed the excess fabric off the bag/circle, making sure to leave sufficient hem allowance, about 3/8".

I used a whipped gather stitch (I really feel like this should be called an overcast gather stitch since that is what you are actually doing) to finish and gather the edge of the bag. I joined it to the finished edge of the band with a whip stitch.

All done!

The hand sewing techniques are probably more 18th century than 16th century, but I thought they made for a lovely, delicate finish. And I'm not such a stickler that I care much. It's a cap, it's white, it's linen, it's the right(ish) shape, and it's hand sewn! Good enough for me!

All together this cap took me about a day to make. I really enjoyed hand sewing it and I love the way it looks. So cute! And all my hair fits inside!

The smock is the same hanky linen, cut from The Tudor Tailor's diagram. (I swear I read another book once!) I did it mostly by machine but used hand sewing in some of the parts that showed, namely, the cuffs and the neckline area.

Most of the following pictures were taken after I had worn it and washed it and shoved it, crumpled up, in a drawer a few times. And didn't iron it.

The smock is about 44" from shoulder to hem and falls to about the top of my calf. This is the perfect length for me: good coverage, but not so long that it wraps around my legs as I walk.

The neck is high with a band and a small ruffle. I have a feeling that historically, for the lower class look I was imitating, the neck would probably have been lower, a plain scoop, but I really like the neck/shoulder coverage of the high neck so I don't get so much sun exposure at Fest. I could've done a low scoop + a partlet, but this was simpler. 

All the main seams are flat-felled by machine. I love how tidy the flat-felling makes the underarm gusset!

The front slit is hand-hemmed. The very bottom is covered with buttonhole stitch and there is a buttonholed bar to strengthen the bottom of the opening.

The neckband was applied by hand in a manner shown in Janet Arnold's book. The band is cut as one piece and folded in half the long way. Both long raw edges of the band have their seam allowances folded in. The outside of the band is pinned over the neckline's raw edge and secured with a backstitch from the right side. The inside edge is folded over the seam allowances and secured with a fell stitch.

A photo of an original from Patterns of Fashion 4 showing this technique.

Janet Arnold's sketch of same (or similar).

Here is mine.

You can kinda see my little stitches! Everything you can see in this shot is sewn by hand. Backstitch on the outside (left) and fell stitch on the inside (right).

The neckline ruffle was hand-hemmed and then whip gathered to the folded edge of the finished neckband.

The cuffs were done almost the same way, but I fell-stitched both sides instead of backstitching the outside one. (I don't remember why!) The cuffs are left plain and I confess I never got around to sewing a button and loop to them. Maybe next time I wear it!