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4. Straw hats

Straw hats were worn by workers as protection from the sun. They appear to have been madę of plaited straw stitched into shape, a technique still used today. A plain broad-brimmed shape is suitable.

5. Coif and pattern

a.    The coif was close-fitting, and madę in linen with a seam over the crown and strings under the chin (Hose, Fig 1). In the 13th century it was widely worn, often under a hat or hood. It gradually tell out of use and by the 15th century is seen mainly on babies and toddlers, and on Professional and older men.

b.    Pattern shown on a rectangle of fabric, folded in half. The coif is madę in two halves with a seam from front to back, and unlined.

Scalę up the pattern and fit it on the wearer or start with a toile. For a toile start with a rectangle of light fabric, about 30 x 60 cm. Fold it in half crossways and place the fold over the head. Outline the curved seam linę with pins, from forehead to napę, fitting it closely to the head. Mark the corner position just below the ears and trim the face and . neck edges to shape.

From the toile make a paper pattern, as shown. Cut this twice from white or unbleached linen. Make up with run-and-fell seams and double hems. You can bind round the face and neck edges with narrow strips of the same linen, extending the binding strip to form the chin strings, or hem all round and sew the strings onto the corners (Methods, Figs 2, 6, 9).

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