St. Birgitta Cap

(photo courtesy of Angel Ortiz/Lavina Attewode)

This is my version of the extant cap know as a St. Birgitta cap/coif/huve (depending on your preference for terminology). Some excellent resources on the subject can be found the Maniacal Medievalist and Medieval Silkwork, however I followed the pattern created by The Sinister Spinster. While the extant garment has lovely inset embroidery connecting the two halves of the cap together, half of my purpose in creating this as headgear was to ensure my hair part would not get sunburned, so I decided to eliminate that aspect from my first cap. I am planning on making another sometime before next Pennsic and might make that the nicely embroidered piece to wear when I am pinning a veil on top.

I am incredibly happy with this project. I have now been wearing it for almost a year and it has held up exceptionally well, including through all of Pennsic. Sure enough it kept my hair happy and clean, was incredibly comfortable, made a wonderful base for my veil and gorget, and miraculously never slipped off my head. I was quite skeptical initially that my hair could be held up solidly simply by the top loop sitting on the back of the head, but the linen provides enough friction against itself to keep it all together. While I still love my turban for cooling me down on Pennsic hot days (soak it in ice water before I go up top and the rope wicks onto your head all day - perfect for hot weather), this really is a lovely (and more period) look and I am completely won over by it.

I also adore how it functions as a base for my veils, as I no longer require a circlet to hold my veil on and my veils flutter very beautifully in the back. It doesn't slip down my head or need constant readjustment either. I highly recommend this for people looking for good headgear.

Construction:

I used some medium weight linen I had in my stash, though a lighter weight linen would be more accurate. I cut out the two head pieces and hand sewed them together using a running stitch and a single fold hem as seen in Textiles and Clothing 1150-1450 by Elizabeth Crowfoot et. al on many accessories and garments. The back of the cap was pleated and then stitched onto the linen band which bound the edges and also provides the method for securing the hat to the head. While in the original piece the band was embroidered, as this was my first try with the pattern I decided I would wait and see how it came together before I tried adding ornamentation to it. Once the band is sewn on I measured it on my head and then finished the ends in a loop to fit my head. The entire process took less than two evenings, even being entirely hand sewn. I plan on making another plain one so that I can wash and dry them at Pennsic easier, and also a period recreation which will include the embroidery and the lace.