Elizabethan Bonnet

What do you do when you have half a metre of black velvet? You make a hat (of course)! I began this project with the initial idea to make a gable hood but it quickly became apparent that I wouldn't have enough fabric. While searching through my books for inspiration I found the patterns for the men's velvet bonnet in The Tudor Tailor and the bonnet worn by Don Garcia De Medici in Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion no. 3. These hats were very fashionable across Europe during the latter half of the 16th century and can be seen in many portraits.

The bonnet worn by Don Garcia De Medici for his burial,
a pattern for the hat appears in J. Arnold's Patterns of Fashion no.3
The once black velvet has faded to brown 

Project: Polonaise- Part 9, The Hat

I'm going to start off by saying that the hat was probably the least historically accurate part of this entire project. Having said that I do still really like it (and it helps to cover up the wig).

Historically most 18th century caps would be muslin or linen that was stiffened with starch. However this would mean that the hat would require almost constant reshaping practically every time it was worn. In order to avoid this I decided to support the hat with a crown of buckram.

The hat from the fashion plate I was re-creating