1860's Day Caps
This headdress was made from an image in an historic fashion book. It's built on a very small buckram and wire frame that was covered with Taffeta.
Here's the image that inspired the headdress. It's from Harper's magazine and dated 1869.
The frame was decorated with spotted net in rusty brown, matching rusty brown lace, plus pink beaded lace, and a very tiny gimp braid in gold, black and pink.
The "bonnet strings" are made of two different laces combined with a decorative spotted net bow that sits on the chest. The strings are not meant to be tied.
Side-view of the headdress showing the different materials.
The headdress has brown ribbon ties that are meant to tie below a bun worn low at the nape of the neck.
Detailed view of the gimp, and brown and pink beaded laces.
Detailed view of the spotted net bow.
The inside of the headdress has been fitted with a wire hair comb to keep it properly in place.
You can see the taffeta-covered understructure in this photo.
This 1860's day cap is made on a base of vintage cotton bobbinet salvaged from an old wedding gown.
The back of the cap features two layers of embroidered lace.
The side-back view shows the figures on the upper layer of lace.
The front features a lace frill.
Side-front view showing the lace trimmed join of the front ruffle.
Detailed view of the various laces used in this cap.
A drawstring ties under the caps at the back to enclose the hair, while also allowing the cap to be opened flat for laundering and pressing.
Also included are small loops of metal for securing bobby-pins to keep the cap in place.
A hidden wire comb is stitched in to the centre front to keep it firmly in place.
Another detailed view of the lace.
Made from a nylon Point D'Esprit net, this day cap was created in 2015.
The cap is edged with cotton crochet lace that has been strung with a green satin ribbon.
Back view of the Point D'Esprit cap. A drawstring makes the size adjustable.
The centre front top is finished with a bow of green satin ribbon.
This silk organza cap was made for the character of Anne in the TV series “Hell On Wheels’ 2014.
The cap is small and sits on the back of the head.
Pale blue silk ribbon trims the back.
A small crocheted lace ornament covers the stitching at the centre of the crown.
Inside you can see the horsehair tabs and comb for attaching the cap to the hair.
Black lace hair net in an1864 style made for “Hell On Wheels” TV series in 2014.
The lace is very soft and gathered under the hairstyle with a drawstring. A comb holds the front in place.
A band of antique ruffled paillettes decorates the front of the hairline.
Fanchon trimmed with lace motifs and sheer organza insertion, elastic at the back snugs up to the hairline at the neck.
A small wire comb at the crown plus two metal loops at the sides help to hold the cap to the hair.
White day cap with lace trimmed lappets has delicate lace trim around the front. This style was worn from about 1862-64.
Cream linen cap made for “Hell On Wheels” 2013.
Trimmed with hand made lace.
Hand-hemmed circular ruffle, picot edged ribbon.
This ivory day cap is from 1860-1863 and is trimmed with narrow cotton lace.
The shape is meant to echo the sweep of the skirt to the back of the figure.
Square cotton lace motifs and small ivory satin ribbon bows trim the top layer.
This tiny cap was made from an antique crochet doily. Elastic was threaded along the edges.
Detail of the lace doily that was used to make this cap.
Ivory lace Day Cap made for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014.
Ivory and beige gimp trims the front of this day cap.
This style was worn in the first half of the decade and creates a rather elegant line.
A very soft lace was used for this cap.
A drawstring brings the bottom of the cap close under the hair style.
This net for the hair was based on one published in Peterson's Magazine in 1857.
A fine elastic thread was run around the edge, and bobby pins easily keep this cap in place.
The Mob-Cap style day cap is made of beige georgette and trimmed with beige cotton crochet lace.
This style of cap would have been worn indoors, at home, during daylight hours. It was popular from the late 1850's to the early 1860's.
The cap covers only the back of the head.
Fine elastic in a casing, plus a hidden wire comb are used to keep it in place.
This delicate lawn fanchon day cap was fashioned after one pictured in Godey's Lady's Book in 1864.
This is the drawing from Godey's Ladies Book of 1864 that inspired this cap.
The cap fastens under the hairstyle in the back and has a hidden wire comb in the front.
The lappets are finished with a machine made satin stitch with a scalloped edge. The fine lace has been applied by hand.
Detail of the lace.
This day cap is reminiscent of one published in Peterson's Magazine in 1861. It was recommended for "tall, willowy " ladies!
Completely stitched by hand, a wire comb is hidden in the front and ties hold it down in the back.
The body of the cap is made with a self-stripe cotton lawn. The frill is graduated in size, becoming longer towards the back.
Detail of the back of the cap showing the ties under the hairstyle.
This very tiny Mob-Cap is based on one published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1858, where it was referred to as a Morning Cap.
The edge is trimmed with a circular ruffle.
A lace jabot has been re-purposed to decorate the back.
The crown is trimmed with narrow lace. Detail of lace jabot used as streamers.
This ivory georgette cap is based on one published in Godey's Ladies Book and Magazine in 1863.
The frill is shorter in front and longer at the back of the head.
Lace streamers trail from the back. An elastic in a casing and a wire comb are used to keep it in place.
The outer edges are also finished with a narrow lace.
Detail of lace trim and streamers.
This lace cap is a style described as a "Home Cap" in Peterson's Magazine in 1857.
The lace has been stitched to a foundation of linen. A wire comb is hidden at the front.
The circular frill of the lace softens the hairline.
This so-called Dinner Cap was made from a commercially available lace piece and simply trimmed with ribbon and velvet.
The velvet ribbon around the perimeter adds enough body to the lace to keep it in a slightly domed shape.
A wire comb was hidden under the ivory silk ribbon at the front of this cap.
Made from an illustration in Godey's Lady's Book in 1864, this white cotton cap is made from a pin-tucked fabric.
A wire comb in the front and a drawstring at the back hold this cap in place.
Detail of lace and pin-tucked trim, as well as fagoting trim.
The band across the top extends into lappets at the sides.
A lace trimmed frill rises at the front to frame the face.
This is the diagram from Godey's Ladies Book of 1864 that was the inspiration for the previous cap.
Here are some example of 1860's Day Caps made for various movies and TV shows. Day caps were extremely popular in the 1850's and at the start of the 1860's. They were worn at home by ladies of every social station. They were also frequently worn out-of-doors, under a bonnet. As the decade went on they lost some of their cachet, although older ladies continued to wear them and night or sleeping versions were worn well into the early 1900's. While these ones have already been sold, you can order something similar for your production. Or you can specify something unique that meets your needs. Depending on the size of the order Easel can offer a quick turn-around time of just a few days, not including shipping.
Click on any photo to see a close-up view.