Before you begin to make a cap, it is necessary to study what color is most becoming, and what style the party is in the habit of wearing. Not one person out of fifty can wear any new fashion that comes up. Every one that wears caps or headdresses has a peculiar style of her own, which must in some measure be copied, but made as near the prevailing fashion as possible. For instance, I have known some ladies always wear their cap plain on the forehead, let what would be the fashion; others, on the contrary, must have it full all around. A becoming cap is a great improvement, and an unbecoming one very ugly. Most ladies know what suits them best. It is a very bad plan to try to persuade them into keeping or buying a cap they do not like. It is quite a chance if ever they get reconciled to it. Do not use heavy lace for a cap. Every sort of lace or blond that comes near the face must be as light as possible. Caps are frequently made of wide or narrow blonde or lace; but always put the lightest or most pointed near the face. An uneven edge in blonde or lace is more becoming that a hard even border. In putting on a cap border, gather it, or let the pleats be single. Double pleats are heavy and ugly. I mean by the double pleat the common ordinary way of pleating; this is too heavy for a cap. When you are pleating a border, leave the cotton so that you can move the pleating according to the fullness you require it in rounding the corner of your cap. It requires more fullness than either behind or round the top of the face.
The head-piece of a cap round the front will measure seventeen inches long. Most persons will take it this length; some require it one inch longer. Supposing your cap length to be seventeen inches long, put four inches on each side of the face as wide border, and let the nine inches that are left be quite narrow for the forehead, or else put this part plain, according to taste. Before you begin to make a cap, either un-pick an old one for the pattern of the head-piece, or else have a pattern provided. If you have a good pattern head-piece, you may change the look of your cap ten times by the trimmings. Take one of your little silk neckerchiefs, and cut a piece of net like the half; and now trim this half neckerchief all round with white or black blonde, and put this on your cap for a trimming. You may vary the look of your cap very much by putting the point of your half square on the forehead; and on another cap let the point come behind the ends that fall on the ears. It requires a pleat or two put in them to make it set well. You can put a bow on the outside of the ends, or under them near the face.
If you will take a little pains, you can easily make a very nice bow. You have nothing to do but to tie a piece of ribbon, just the same as if you were tying your bonnet strings; and then add a loop or two more. Ask someone to lend you her finger, and then tie a bow on it. You will soon find no difficulty. It will require that you should with your fingers pull the bow nicely into shape; but it will certainly not require so much time to do it as I have seen some young persons spend in pulling the strings of their bonnets in the right place, or making the bow set nicely. All the bows made by our best milliners are made in the way I describe. It will make no difference if your ribbon is narrow or wide. I have already told you what sort of lace to use.
In choosing your flowers or ribbon, all must be light--no heavy bows near the face. Small flowers are more becoming than large ones; but in making a dress cap you could place a rose or a flower that size on the ear, outside the border, and this will not interfere with the front of the cap. Narrow black velvet is pretty on a cap mixed with flowers or ribbon. Many caps are now made with black or white blonde mixed. The ornaments on the crown would be black, and the blonde near the face white.
Created by Hope Greenberg. Last updated: 11 March 1997. Go to Mrs. Damas' Hints for Dressmakers: Complete List of Topics.
Created by Hope Greenberg. Last updated: 11 March 1997. Go to Mrs. Damas' Hints for Dressmakers: Complete List of Topics.