A Canada Cap for Winter
A stash-busting 18th-century hat for winter.
COSTUMING
Fall 2022.
Last winter I created an 18th-century wool cloak based on the pattern from Costume Close-Up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790 by Linda Baumgarten. This particular project took around 10 yards of fabric to create as I wanted to make it as long as possible. With the wool that was left I wanted to either create a pair of matching gloves or a hat of some kind.
In my effort to make as much of my historical wardrobe based off of Canadian examples, I came across the Canada Cap Pattern by Timbrell Cockburn Cunha. An Ontario-based business, Timbrell Cockburn Cunha creates 18th-century reproductions of texts, games, cards, accessories, patterns, leatherwork and more. Probably the most well-known artistic depiction of a Canada Cap comes from a mid-18th-century drawing by Friedrich von Germann.
The cap itself is made from a wool outer layer and a fur inner layer. Historical Costumers tend to have varying opinions on the use of fur in costuming. Personally, I prefer using real fur if the project calls for it as long as it was ethically sourced or if I can use a vintage piece. For this project, I ordered some rabbit pelts from an Indigenous-Owned company, Beaded Dreams. The only other fur piece that I own in my wardrobe, a Mink muff, was antiqued last winter.
Check out the video below to see how I made it!