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Dublin Style Cap-Closed Back

Wool cap, tabby woven, linen ties 26 cm long x 19 cm wide Commercial green dye Small caps of fairly uniform dimensions and style have been found in the 10th and 11th century archological layers. These caps are made from a single piece of cloth, on average 48 cm long and 17 cm wide, folded in half, hemmed and often, but not always, sewn up the back. Ties are added, though few have survived. Front hems are usually rolled or, if a selvedge edge, could have a decorative cord whip-stitched on. Bottom hems were usually turned up twice. A stitched line runs from the back to the top, shaping the hat to the head, with the peak formed being left external. Many of the wool caps show signs of having been woven to size, though sewn hems on some make it difficult to tell for certain. The silk caps often have one selvedge edge and one cut edge, likely due to imported cloth being made to conform to the size of caps made from wool woven for the purpose. The caps may have been worn with a headband, or possibly with a veil, though no contemporary veils have been found. The cap pictured above is made with tabby woven wool, commercially dyed, with linen ties. The back is sewn closed. The fabric was chosen because it conforms closely to the technical details of the wool used in the extant pieces, and the colour is plausible to achieve with a mix of woad and weld dyes. Few ties have survived on these caps; though there are definite wear signs indicating their presence. One Dublin cap, made of silk, had a tie made from a selvedge edge taken from the cap itself. One of the Coppergate caps from Jorvik, also made of silk, has linen ties. I chose to make these ties linen as well, as it makes a sturdier ties, less likely to stretch or wear through. Bibliography Ewing, Thor. Viking Clothing. Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud. 2006.

Heckett, Elizabeth. Some silk and wool head-coverings from Viking Dublin: uses and origins-an enquiry Textiles in Northern Archaeology-NESAT III: Textile Symposium in York 6-9 May 1987 ed. Penelope Walton & John-Peter Wild. Archetype Publications, London. 1990. Walton, Penelope. Textile Production at Coppergate, York: Anglo-Saxon or Viking? Textiles in Northern Archaeology-NESAT III: Textile Symposium in York 6-9 May 1987 ed. Penelope Walton & John-Peter Wild. Archetype Publications, London. 1990.

Brgia Vadesbana
(Brighid Anraith)
e-mail: redmagpie@hotmail.com

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