It's a Hood! It's a Chaperon!
Update 5/31/2023: I’ve started adding an archive of my patterns to the site. This hood pattern is the first one - view it here!
It's not a baseball cap. Much to his dismay, my husband can't wear his beloved baseball cap at events (or can he?), so I made him a hood that can be rolled up into a snazzy chaperon.
It can be worn with the dagged edge flipped over his head.
Or worn with the dagged edge hanging down.
I took my inspiration from images such as these:
Detail from the The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum no. T.204-1957. c. 1425-30.
Detail from La Prinse et mort du roy Richart, The British Library, Harley 1319, f 2. c. 1401-05.
I used my classic hood pattern in a fulled wool twill and silk thread. I also dagged the edge in an oak leaf pattern similar to an example from Textiles and Clothing, 1150-1450 to add interest when worn flipped over his head. To get the desired proportions, I ended up making the leaf template much larger than the original extant find.
Left: Scale template drawn from Fig 177, pg 194, Textiles and Clothing, 1150-1450.
Right: My final template.
The circumference of the hood around the face is baggy since my husband doesn't like tight clothing so when rolling the brim of the hat, I fold over part of the fabric before rolling to make the opening small enough to fit on his head comfortably. I then wind the tail of the hood around his head and tuck the end in to hold the hat in place similar to this valet from The Hunting Book of Gaston Phebus:
In the future I think I'll make the tail of the hood longer (it's about 32 inches). With the bulk of the wool, it only goes around his head once and there is just enough left to tuck in. It makes the hat stable enough, but I think it would be too loose if he wanted to wear it with the tail hanging down, similar to Jan van Eyck's Portrait of a Man:
Jan can Eyck. Portrait of a Man, 1432. National Gallery, London
My thought is that making the circumference around the face smaller would allow the brim to be rolled tighter.
Have you made a hood and rolled the brim tight enough to be a chaperon? Do you wear your's in a different style? I'd love to hear about it!
I realized that headgear has been featured heavily on the blog lately. I guess hats are 'wear' it's at for me right now (I know you laughed... or chuckled... maybe...I'll be here all week, folks!). But if hats and hoods aren't your thing, have no fear, I have some cool (non-hat) projects in the works to share soon!
