March 2008
I made this cap to coordinate with Aaron’s smoking jacket. The jacket was his grandfather’s, who picked it up overseas between the late 1940s and early 1950s. I was happy to find a way to work it into Aaron’s costume wardrobe so he can wear it occasionally. Its a very beautiful jacket and fits him perfectly.
The smoking cap took a weekend to make. It’s cotton velveteen with a cotton lining, no interfacing, and some gold silk piping to match the jacket. The tassel is DMC cotton floss. The hat has an oval shape, patterned using a template for hat size, at Lynn McMaster’s site. But Victorian versions seem to be mostly circles.
This tiny picture of Aaron it is the best I currently have. Ironically, out of all the many things I’ve sewn for him this simple cap is one of his favorites. So it seems to deserve a page of its own. I’d still like to make some black wool pants to complete the ensemble. For now he wears it with black cotton twill LM California Pants.
