Cap-sizing!

I the previous post, I showed you one of the two be-lappeted caps I’ve made. The other cap was a lot simpler and a lot less structures, but perhaps a more classical “lappet cap”.

I began by cutting a very simple cap shape from silk organza, I folded the seam allowances in around the entire thing, and basted them down.

I then made a small eyelet hole in the center of the straight back.

To shape it to my head, my cap needs a drawstring at the back, so I stitched a piece of narrow silk ribbon to each side of the straight back edge, and poked the ribbon loop through the eyelet hole.

I then folded the basted seam allowance up over the drawstring ribbon, and stitched it in place, being very careful not to catch the actual ribbon.

I also folded down the seam allowances along the rounded edge and stitched in place too.

The cap in itself is done! But I wanted to have a pleated lace ruffle along the edge, so I used what I had left of the lace from the lappets, and pleated that to the cap, making a center front box pleat, and pinning the pleats as I went.

I stitched them down using a small whip stitch, folded them out and pulled them a little to pop the stitches and make the cap lay flat-ish.

Oh! I almost forgot the main character in this little project! The lappets!

I made them first, but a while back, which is why I didn’t think to mention them before. In my mind they have always excisted…

Genuine 18th Century Brussels lace is hard to come by these days, but a nice, not too obviously machine made lace does the trick! I cut two pieces, folded them in half, and pinned them together, being careful to match the pattern on the lace.

I made some gathering stitches at the fold, and by gathering them up, the lappets get a nice, rounded bottom edge. I stitched the two sides together using tiny whip stitches, and by making sure to stitch through every little gather at the bottom end.