1840s Accessories: Cap, Bonnet, and Mantle < with my hands

I wanted to go out in my 1840s dress, so I needed some warm 1840s accessories. I also needed a nice indoor cap to cover my head. For the outside, I made a nice little bonnet and a green velvet mantle. This was a good way to use some fabrics that I have had in my stash for ages.

I didn’t use any pattern for the cap or the mantle. I looked at some period items online and found some Victorian sewing pattern diagrams that gave me some ideas. Finally, these garments are very simple and their design leaves room for experimentation. For the bonnet, I used a pattern from the book Victorian Dressmaker Companion: Hats, Caps, and Bonnets by Izabella Pitcher and co that I got to borrow from my friend V.

Here is my video on the making of these garments, enjoy!

Together with my daughter, Heini-Maria, and one other costumer who wished not to show herself on video, we went to Glims Farmstead Museum here in Espoo. The museum was decorated with old-timey Christmas decorations and we had fun taking photos and filming there. My daughter wore a costume that was probably much closer to the garments our peasant ancestors in the countryside would have worn with her wool skirt and scarf. My dress and 1840s accessories might perhaps have been worn by a cousin living in a bigger town.

Besides the accessories I made, I donned a small silk scarf and gloves, and fingerless mitts that I knitted some years ago. The only parts of me that felt the cold were my arms between the mitts and the mantle. Perhaps a small jacket or longer arm warmers would better suit the Finnish winter.