A 16th century coif cap by The Tudor Tailor

A 16th century coif cap

Knitting
December 2020
DK (11 wpi) ?
7 stitches and 10 rows = 1 inch
US 2½ - 3.0 mm
150 - 200 yards (137 - 183 m)
Average adult man’s head (with suggestions for other sizes)
English

This knitted and lightly fulled cap is featured in the book The Typical Tudor: reconstructing 16th century everyday dress (now available on Etsy). It is based on detailed examination of extant originals and pictorial references, as follows:

A coif cap (1550-1600) Archaeological collection, Dordrechts Museum, Netherlands, inventory number 0201.028.001;

Coif caps (16th century) Victoria & Albert Museum, London, inventory numbers 1569-1901, T.617.1913 & 1573-1901;

A coif cap (16th century) Museum of London, inventory number A6339; and

Unknown artist (1590) School charter, Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, Bristol

The instructions were developed by Sally Pointer based on research by Jane Malcolm-Davies for The Tudor Tailor and are part of the ‘Knitting in Early Modern Europe’ project, which was grant funded but the European Commission as a postdoctoral Marie Skłodowska Curie Research Fellowship awarded to Jane Malcolm-Davies (grant agreement 656748).