How to Make a Prairie Bonnet

Bonnets and other soft-constructed hats were prevalent in the Victorian era.

Bonnets were fashionable in the Victorian era, according to "Nineteenth-Century Costume and Fashion." In the 1850s, wire constructed bonnets---such as the "spoon," "coal scuttle" and "cottage" bonnets---were worn in cosmopolitan cities, and in the provincial towns and the countryside the less constructed prairie bonnet was prevalent. The prairie bonnet, sometimes referred as the Colonial bonnet, has a simple design: The flat front brim is attached to a gathered cap that covers the majority of the wearer's hair. The soft fabric hat is kept in place by a ribbon or fabric strip, which is tied around the neck.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• 3 pieces of cotton fabric, 14 inches square
• 1 dinner plate, 10 1/2 inches
• Straight pins
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Ribbon, 2 inches thick by 2 yards long

Instructions

1. Measure the bonnet wearer's head circumference with a tape measure; measure around the back of the head, behind the ears and right across the front hairline. Add 4 inches to this measurement. Then, measure the front of the head from ear to ear; this will be the measurement for the brim.

2. Pin two pieces of cotton fabric (large enough to accommodate both measurements you took in Step 1) together, with the patterned sides facing each other. Pinning the fabric pieces will help secure them during the drawing and cutting phases.

3. Draw the crescent-shaped brim of the bonnet onto the two pinned pieces of fabric in chalk, using the dinner plate as a guide. Using the brim measurement you took, draw the brim's inner edge first by tracing a concave arch at the fabric's edge. Then, draw a parallel curve 12 inches away from that line. On another single piece of fabric, draw a circle on the fabric the size of the head circumference measurement you took, again using the plate as a guide. This will be the body of the hat, which is a rounded, gathered cap. Thus, you should draw a perfect circle.

4. Cut about 1/2 inch away from the chalk lines, to allow room to sew. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut through both layers of brim fabric. Then cut out the circle you drew, again cutting 1/2 inch outside of the outline.

5. Sew only the outer edge of the brim with the sewing machine. Then, unpin the two fabrics and flip the brim inside out. At this point the patterned side of the fabric should be on the outside and the brim's seam should be inside. Set aside. Using a loose stitch, sew around the circumference of the cap, on its chalked seam line.

6. Gather the cap by pulling on the loose thread until the cap fits the wearer's head. Make sure that the finished side of the fabric is on the outside of the cap and that the gathers are distributed evenly. Knot the excess thread, close to the cap, to keep the gathers in place; they will be secured permanently when you attach the ribbon trim in a later step. Then, sew the brim to the cap, making sure the brim's edge is on the inside of the cap.This way, after sewing, brim will lay straight out.

7. Finish the cap by sewing the ribbon around the hat with the sewing machine, covering the seam where the brim meets the cap. This will help secure the gathering stitches and the hat's circumference or size. Since the ribbon is thick, two parallel lines might be necessary along the ribbon's edge to secure it in place.

References

• "Nineteenth-Century Costume and Fashion"; Herbert Norris, Oswald Curtis; 1998
• "Patterns for Costume Accessories"; Arnold S. Levine, Robin L. McGee; 2006
• "The American West"; Anne McEvoy; 2009