Late Victorian Small Bonnet

 

This is an Evening version of the Small Bonnet I just finished. It is transparent with just netting and brown couched braid over the wire frame. I omitted the small circle of wire. I might never have done this but I did see a vintage one that was also transparent.
Vintage Hat on a wireframe

This lovely Vintage Bonnet owned by Diana Riley was built on a wireframe base very much like my pattern. It was covered with silk and has silk bows around the edge and over most of the surface. The two purple silk flowers might have originally been made to fade to white centers or perhaps have faded to white. The black fabric on the hat does not show any signs of fading. There is a white turkey flat decoration where the feathers where trimmed with pinking shears. Also one dark prune colored silk rose bud. What gives this hat most of it's charm are the ~10 trimmed Ostrich drab shafts that have two each black beads and a small silk flower glued to the outlying tip (shown in close up in the pictures on the left).

 

I would like to thank Diana for bringing it to class so I could get photographs of this charming hat.

This bonnet is a straw bonnet without wire frame. It is made with two different of straw plaits, The major part is made from a light natural colored Seven End Plait with two rows of a darker natural colored Van Dyke Plait. It is decorated with ribbon work and six ostrich stems

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This bonnet has a wire frame skeleton and is covered with silk fabric. It is edged with silk pansy and has a lace ruffle and top knot. The ties are silk velvet ribbon and it has a tapestry double bow in the back. by Lynn McMasters

 

 

This bonnet is a vintage white straw bonnet with a navy elastic chin strap covered with silk gardenias . It is very similar in shape and size as my pattern but it does not have a wire frame or the inverted "V" cut out in back but other than that the base hat is almost identical. It has a long bow from wide Navy Blue grosgrain ribbon. The bow is not gathered in the middle but spans 6" across the back one third of the hat.The maker/seller is Carson Pirie Scott & Co, Chicago and the hat is 22 1/2. The plait is fine between 3/4 and 1" wide scallop. There are 9 rows that have been machine stitched. The decorations are sewn on by hand with large stitches you can see in the photo.

 

Pictures below with an "a" are from this source “ Shoes, Hats,and Fashion Accessories a Pictorical Archive 1850-1940” by Grafton, Dover Books; ISBN: 0-486-40103-0

Pictures below with a "b" are from this source "Victorian Fashion & Costuming From Harper's Bazar 1867-1898 by Stella Blum, Dover BooksISBN 0-486-22990-4

Photos by Me.
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Comments:lynnmcm@lynnmcmasters.com
Last Revision: 16 May 2008

Copyright Lynn McMasters, © 2007
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