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