Bonnet
Not on view
Simple cotton or linen bonnets were routinely worn at home by lower and middle-class women. The ingenious shape and cut of this whitework bonnet allows it to button together to form an attractive shape with a flounce at the back, but to lie flat when unbuttoned. The flat cut would have greatly simplified washing and pressing, which was by far the most laborious and time-consuming domestic chore prior to the adoption of the electric washing machine.
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