Cap

This cap of closely knitted wool was probably originally black. The crown is flat and knitted to shape. The brim is deeper at the back than the front, and is cut so as to form four lappets ('ears'). These have a raw edge, ie they have not been finished off with stitching or hemming. The cap probably had a felted finish which it has lost. Typically, knitting ladders when the wool is broken, but here it has not.

Knitted or felted caps were designed to be warm and waterproof. Some protected the neck, some had ear flaps, and many were trimmed with ribbons to imitate expensive silk versions. Wealthy Londoners would have worn European fashionable bonnets or caps of silk velvet decorated with ostrich feathers, aglets (jewelled pins) and brooches. Knitted caps were heavily felted so their surface texture imitated velvet. Wool absorbs colour easily, so many caps were dyed in strong colours, such as red and black, which were fashionable at the time.

A large number of 16th-century knitted caps, most of highly fashionable shape, were discovered in Greater London in the early 20th century during building works. The context of the finds and the fact that the caps themselves were knitted suggest that they were not intended for the upper strata of society, but rather for the middle classes.