Mahaffie Sunbonnet Sewing Review

Only a few weeks after we debuted the new free sunbonnet pattern, made possible by the lovely folks at Mahaffie Stage Stop and Historic Farm, one of our lovely Sewing Academy readers and long-time Forum member, Betsy Connolly Watkins, has completed her very own, and was very happily willing to share the experience with all of us!

You can read her post, and see how charming the results are, right here.

And, for the record, I agree with all of her comments! This is not the very-very-simple style suited for very new historical sewists. It is not hard, but it does have multiple steps that may feel unfamiliar even to someone with the years of historical sewing experience those like Betsy have.

The process of back-engineering the original in the Mahaffie collection was a lot of fun for me, simply because of the interesting order one needs to take to replicate the results of the original. It was a series of “OH! So then… no, but first.. oh, and then… nope, this other…” I spent a good two hours muttering to myself in delight, sketching, and measuring. And then even more hours thinking through it all, and turn it into a step-by-step project and test out the sequence.

While you could make a Mahaffie-style sunbonnet in any sunbonnet-appropriate textile, I really love that Betsy used a woven check very similar to the original extant bonnet. The checks show off so wonderfully in this style, as would any linear-design fabric. This is one style that really needs the smaller, linear motif to show off best; a larger print, or a non-linear floral would not have such distinctly charming arrangements in the bias-cut frill, and in the seaming/piping of the front/back bonnet sections.

Excellent work, Mrs Watkins! May you wear it happy, deeply shaded, and in excellent health!