Fur Caps are always worn during the Feast of Duane

Well Happy Feast of Duane everyone! I’m hoping all of you have been cleaning your rifle guns and sewing new gear and repairing the old stuff for the next great holiday Late season Muzzleloader hunting season! Ive been busy sewing up tears in my gear and making sure everything is a go for the opening day. I was heading out the door for a quick hunting trip with Levi but the railroad gods decided to put a stop to that. So now I am putting off sewing a pair of new mittens and shaving down a ramrod to write this.

One item I’ve been messing with for quite some time is a fur cap. Ive found several references over the years and seen them pop up in images to the point I know they are common.  Its funny in a lot of circles such a totally European garment is ignored because of the fact wearing one might make you look a little too rendezvous to a modern mindset.  Ive spent hours talking to the Bertolino about this very subject.  If you want to see an angry Italian just post a progressive event guidelines and watch him go. Its like watching Sharks feeding.

                Its appropriate as this is the Night of the Bertolino in the Feast of Duane. So lets go into a weird cap that would look appropriate on the head of the living embodiment of Yukon Cornelius.  Looking for original fur caps I’ve found some awesome originals but not what many would call a “Canadian cap”.  Since the construction of the workman’s cap has come into question, I thought I’d look more into this. Digging for images on the cap I thought I’d start with the source for all things American Furry and strange, Benjamin Franklin. His sporting of a fur Marten skin cap became a symbol of America.

                Looking at images made of franklin at the time you can see the wool of his cap just sticking out above the fur. Since there was no evidence of a front slit, I assumed it was not made like the surviving Jefferson or Jefferies fur caps but rather “turban” fashion. This style was also shown being worn by Hogarth and tucked into images by Hogarth. The thing that stood out to me on these images is that no seams were present like the way we have traditionally done the Canadian caps (you know the triangles sewn together) but it seemed to have more in common with the night cap (gathered at the top)

                So I simply made a wool broadcloth “night cap” and sewed a lining inside the way 18th century hats were done and attached beaver fur to the outside. If I was to do this again, I would have the fold of the cloth reach higher on the outside and attach the fur at the top as well as the bottom and possibly put a line of interfacing in it as well.

 This attempt is simply an educated guess and just how some of these caps may have been constructed. Im by no means saying all fur caps were made the same.  I’m still on the hunt for original Fur caps  in museum collections as the number of times these pop up in images is crazy and with the amount of pelts being shipped to Europe during the little ice age some more construction info has to be out there.

               

was just sent this image Germany 18th century

    This one is way more comfortable then one I had made years ago using the triangle method and the lining and lack of multiple seams gives it more “give” to adjust it while Ime wearing it. I’m still trying to get more info on the construction of the Jefferson/Jefferies hat as wearing a bobcat skin cap is just the level of ridiculous I’m personaly Ok with.

The source of the Fur for this was simply an old  beaverFur cloak I picked up at an antique store that was pretty damaged so I didn’t feel bad cutting it apart. I plan on using some of the fur to line a pair of mittens and perhaps make a Fur Muff.  One thing that. Itll come in handy with talks with the public in showing them a beaver felt hat versus a beaver fur cap. Like I alluded to tons of pelts were being shipped to Europe for the garments industry and showing the public just what fur was used for really helps nail down the global impact of the fur trade. Its also important in my modern trapper mindset to educate people of the use of sustainable items like real Fur over the use of petroleum based Faux fur (that’s as modern political as you’ll see me get on here). Yes Kids Faux fur is bad for the environment and is just terrible.

                So I hope your Feast of Duane is going good and you are ready for the real season of reenacting…The Winter!