Shaped Cloth Bonnet, Sunbonnet, 19th Century Cloth, Prairie, Wagon Train

One of the most common styles of cloth bonnets worn!
In Calico Chronicle, by Betty Mills, she talks about the sunbonnet….  “Owning a fancy bonnet was important, but owning a sunbonnet was a necessity.   Some were both fancy and functional.  Designed for outdoor wear, the sunbonnet boasted a ridged brim, often with a ruffle around the front and sides and a cape like portion, called a bavolet, or curtain, to protect the neck.”
  Women who often could not afford, or did not have access to the shaped wool and straw bonnets and hats, made these bonnets and added fancy trimmings and ribbon to dress them up “for good”. Done in BLACK this makes a great mourning bonnet if you are portraying a lower income family. These bonnets have a very stiff brim.  The back of the bonnet is gathered using ties and casing at the neckline.  The look of the bonnet is completed with the attachment of a bavolet, to the lower edge of the bonnet.  For women with short hair, bonnets are wonderful choices to wear to conceal ones lack of hair.
Other features of this bonnet include:
1. The tie and casing at the back aids in fitting the bonnet to most head sizes.
2.  Stiffening in the brim prevents bonnet from flopping in your face, even when it gets wet. Our brim can be quilted or corded.
3.  The curtain or bavolet can vary from 4 to 14 ½” with the longer back used for a working bonnet. We offer a short 6” bavolet and a long 14” as these are the most popular lengths.
4.  By your choice of fabrics and colors, you can dress up or down you bonnet making this item truly versatile. BLACK is available for mourning bonnet.

Please keep in mind the long bavolet covers the shoulders. The pictures include with this listing show bonnets made from tone-on-tone white patterned cotton. If you are looking for a white bonnet this fabric is a great choice as the pattern in the fabric helps hide any wrinkles in the bonnet. We also offer an assortment on solid and print calicos. All are made from 100% cotton. Please state your fabric choice and color preference in the box provided at time of order. If you choose a calico, I will send you a picture of the choices available.

This bonnet is made using our TSA-553 Shaped Cloth Bonnet Pattern and is ONE SIZE FITS ALL. If you want to make your own bonnet, we offer the pattern in both a hard copy and a digital version.