Bycocket, I Think She's Got It!

Ever since I joined the SCA, I've wanted a bycocket. I especially wanted one when I found out what they were called. It's just too much fun to say!

The original pattern found on Honor before Victory

I remember seeing someone wearing it so nicely with a simple veil and a cotehardie many years ago at an event. The combination itself was enough to have me intrigued. It would be some time before I made the attempt, but always had the vision in my head.

The opportune moment came at this year's Market Day at Birka when Queen Anna issued an "Accessories" challenge for the fashion show. House Strangewayes also had a personal challenge of "Tips and Toes". This was my "excuse" to try something I always wanted to, and finally had the courage to do so.

I ended up going with a pattern found on "Honor before Victory" - another SCAdian blog showcasing a GORGEOUS bycocket made for an elevation. The pattern itself seemed simple enough so it was the one I decided to go with. I didn't use the split loop seem method as suggested in my reference, but I used the basic pattern included with it.

I decided on linen and silk in contrasting colors for my first attempt. Most of the bycockets I had seen were primarily made with wool felt, and sturdier cloth - so I used canvas as an interlining to give it more support.

The tip of linen layer needed to be trimmed later on.

I started by measuring around my head, to make sure it fit, and measuring the "height" the crest of the hat would be. Make sure you measure the width of your head, so your hat closes at the top (I have a pretty big noggin, so this is important).

Once I had those measurements I followed the diagram I had found, and tested out the fit. It was perfect. After that step was taken care of I cut out the layers of silk and linen. I ended up making the linen layer longer than the silk, since this would form the rim of the hat. I wanted to give it a little more space to make sure it'd be long enough to sew up the brim of the hat without issue.

The completed bycocket! (sans feathers)

I did initially serge the pieces together, and used a machine to construct the two pieces individually. The rest of the hat was completed by hand. Because the silk had a diamond pattern to it, I decided to use a small blanket stitch down the center of the hat, and an invisible stitch along the brim. The total amount of time I would say it took would be about 4-6 hours total.

I would definitely recommend trying your hand at one of these if you've ever wanted one. This ended up being much easier than I had originally anticipated. You don't necessarily have to do the finishing by hand, but I preferred doing that to go with the outfit overall. I think I'll try to make another one eventually, but for now I'm still very pleased with this one and how it came out.

Thanks for stopping by (cocket)!