Mrs. Coffin's fancy half Handkerchief ca. 1770

One of my favorite portraits is that of Mrs. William Coffin (Anne Holmes) by John Singleton Copley painted ca. 1770.  I stumbled upon Mrs. Coffin while researching 18th century mourning gowns.  Mrs. Coffin appears to be wearing a simple black silk sacque back gown but it is her accessories that I found particularly enchanting.  Note the wired cap with tiny pleats that appears to tie under the chin.  There is what looks like an organdy bow with a satin or taffeta bow layered on top of it.  The choker is stunning--a row of what look like freshwater pearls at the top and bottom with large flat pearls in the center.  I'm unable to tell if the pearls are stitched down to a backing but the neck lookes darker behind them than it does in the "V" above her neck handkerchief. 

Speaking of the neck handkerchief, that is my favorite accessory.  I decided to copy it.  The sheerness of the textile leads me to believe that it may be silk gauze.   Other details:   Box pleated trim is applied to all the edges however the trim on the neck edge is narrower than the trim on the outer edge.  Also--I couldn't tell if it had wide box pleats set closely spaced or narrow box pleats set far apart.  I zoomed into the high definition image and determined that the trim was made with narrow box pleats spaced far apart.

I cut a shape I thought would work and tried it on. The angle of the "legs" was wrong as the shape did not lay flat on my shoulders. 

I took a huge tuck in the back to play with the angle and got the fit to work.

I traced the adjusted pattern, lengthening the legs.

I cut this shape out of silk gauze (organza) and made a tiny hem (less than 1/8 inch) hem around the edges.  The next task was to determine the width of the ruffles.   I played around with my measuring tape and determined that 1 1/2 inches on the neck edge and about 2 1/4 inches on the outer edge.  I cut strips across my 56 inch wide organza in these widths adding a bit for hem allowance, then I narrow hemmed the long edges. Since I wasn't sure how long to cut the strips, I started at the center back of the neck and just pinned the pleats in place.  I did the same with the outer edge, pinning the wider strip in place.  I ended up having to cut more so I cut a strip at the narrow width angling the edges until it was the wider width if that makes sense.  I used running stitch and spaced back stitch to stitch the strips to the hemmed edge of the handkerchief.  

Here it is for a final fitting.  I just used one pin to secure it then pinned the bow in place.

Here is the finished handkerchief worn over two different gowns.

I was very happy with this little project.  I love playing with accessories as I find that they can completely change the appearance of a gown.  Now I just need to get to work to finish the rest of Mrs. Coffin's mourning ensemble!