What is a Wimple?

Sep.08, 2010

Being a Wednesday, and a rest and recreation day for me – I thought I should look for a “W” project; little, sweet, easy, no brain required – and decided on a Wimple.

Wikipedia: The wimple is a garment of medieval Europe worn by women around the head.

It is a cloth which usually covers the head and is worn around the neck and chin. At many stages of medieval culture it was unseemly for a married woman to show her hair. A wimple might be elaborately starched, and creased and folded in prescribed ways, even supported on wire or wicker framing (cornette). Italian women abandoned their headcloths in the 15th century, or replaced them with transparent gauze, and showed their elaborate braids. Both elaborate laundry and elaborate braiding demonstrated status, in that such grooming was being performed by others.

So what can a wimple be on this wet, windy, wonderful & woolly Wednesday in Haarlem? A search on “Wimple knit” bought up quite a few hints, ideas, patterns and examples such as the following links.

Simple Wimple
Wrap turned Wimple
Gorgeous lace Wimple

AND then I remembered a “Wimple” or two that I had created back in early 2000s, not knowing at the time they were wimples. They were head and neck coverings, headgear I called them. There were a couple of others for which I do not have photos, so if you read this and you have one of my wimples – please send a photograph.