Cap
Object name
Date made
Mid 18th century
Place made
Description
Mid 18th-century whitework baby's cap with cord quilting and pulled thread work.
Content description
Circa mid 18th-century whitework baby's cap with cord quilting and pulled thread work fillings. The cap, which is made of bleached linen, features a cord quilted design of flowers and leaves, with a central flower positioned at the cap's crown. The stitcher created parallel lines of back stitches in white thread and then pulled a very narrow cord through each channel, resulting in a slightly three-dimensional design. This was made possible due to the cap having two layers of bleached linen. While the top layer is finely woven, the bottom layer is of a looser weave, allowing a stitcher to insert the cord in between the two layers using a blunt needle.
Some of the cap's petals are made of pulled thread embroidery using single faggot stitches, creating textural variation. Some of the leaves are dotted with small eyelets, while other eyelets sit at the centres of tiny satin stitched flowers. This cap was made in a period when whitework baby linens, many of which involved cord quilting or hollie point, were very popular.
Some of the cap's petals are made of pulled thread embroidery using single faggot stitches, creating textural variation. Some of the leaves are dotted with small eyelets, while other eyelets sit at the centres of tiny satin stitched flowers. This cap was made in a period when whitework baby linens, many of which involved cord quilting or hollie point, were very popular.
Dimensions
width: 17cm
height: 7cm
depth: 11cm
height: 7cm
depth: 11cm
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Catalogue number
COL.12
Other numbers
RSN 317
© Royal School of Needlework