Based on an extant example of a Welsh Wig in the collections of St Fagan’s National History Museum dated 1854, the Welsh Wig was a popular nineteenth century choice with working men including soldiers and even polar explorers! The surviving example was a sample for a consignment of hats being sent to the Crimean.
The simple head hugging cap is adorned with a row of ‘curls’ at the nape of the neck which experiments have shown sit well under other hats and also prevent draughts or rain getting into your collar, very comforting in extreme weather and good also for impressions where your character will be sitting such as clerical workers wanting to avoid draughts.
Charles Dickens famously describes Mr Fezziwig as wearing a Welsh Wig in ‘A Christmas Carol’, making it an excellent choice for Dickensian events. The Nares expedition (Erebus and Terror) also equipped its men with Welsh Wigs, and Welsh Wigs made using the pattern developed by Sally have appeared in the recent series 'The Terror'.
Handknit to order in very fine wool at a tight gauge, this hat takes a fair while to make with over ten hours of knitting going into it. Any shade you like, but historically they are most commonly recorded in 'hair' shades of black, brown, grey etc. A few popular choices in the options below, but very happy to make any other shade you fancy.
Let me know your approximate headsize when ordering, these are pretty stretchy but I'll need to tweak the pattern for larger heads. Made to order.
Other shades or sizes available on request. Made to order. The way our order book is currently working, we open the shop approximately once a quarter for new commissions and shut it again once we have as many orders as we think we can realistically make over the next three months or so. Please be aware that your order may fall anywhere into that timescale. We'll always aim to be as prompt as we can..If you would like to knit your own, Sally's pattern, with accompanying research notes, is available at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/welsh-wig