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Western Prairie 1800's Bonnets FAQ
What sizes work best for my children, for me?
I see SOLD OUT or TEMP OUT OF STOCK.. Will you get these bonnets back in?
Do you carry little boy's bonnets?
What kind of material do you use?
How do I care for my bonnet?
Do you ship to Canada, or outside the United States?
Do you offer overnight shipping? Which carrier?
Do you ship other than USPS?
How do these compare to other bonnets?
Where do you get your pattern?
Do you sell patterns?
What are the little little letters I see at the bottom of the bonnet descriptions such as NM, HL, WM, JO?
Do you sell patterns?
No we don't sell patterns, sorry 🙂 But we have seen costume patterns available from places like McCall's, Butterick and Simplicity., Though not like ours, if you are just planning on sewing a costume for you or your child, it might be just exactly what you want. Our pattern was created from an actual bonnet measurements that were given to us and has been tweaked over time and is not commercially available since there are no instructions with it. Just a paper pattern we've created ourselves.
What sizes work best for my children, for me?
We only have 3 sizes. The baby bonnet, the children's and the adults. The children's goes up to approximately 8 years depending on your child and then they would be wearing an adult size after that. The reason for this is that an adult size is actually only a bit larger, easily accommodating an adult and yet not overwhelming a child. (Unless your child is exceptionally small….if you aren't sure, please feel free to visit with us first if you like to determine the best size). The cap will be larger on a child and the brim will be longer, however, any adjustments can be made with ties under the chin as well as the ties inside the bonnet. As well, remember that, if you are thinking in period correct terms, it was common for children to wear bonnets that were a bit larger.
What kind of materials do you use?
We use some really great fabrics! We try to get them from many different places and always try to pick high quality fabrics with a heavier weight to it. A good weight cotton or cotton polyester blend is going to stand up to more wear and longevity and you'll love your bonnet for its durability.
How do these compare to other bonnets?
Naturally, we going to be biased:)))) But we HAVE seen other bonnets in places national historical site museums and gift stores. The bonnets appeared to be from a company in PA. but looked to be imported from China. The neck ruffle was barely an inch long, the gather inside the bonnet was made with elastic (ours use ties so that you can actually have some control over the bonnet) the brims were not quilted like our are, 1/4" wide zig zag stitches were made over the bonnets to hold them together and the cotton material was so light that we figured it might hold up to very few washings. At best, it was a souvenir buy. We truly make our bonnets for wear!
Do you carry little boys bonnets?
To be honest, we don't get asked very often to supply bonnets for little boys, however we do keep a few baby bonnets on hand that are either a solid color or are 'fun' bonnets. The kind that will have things like little trains or kermit the frog emblems on them. You'll find them on the Baby Bonnet page; just scroll down and look to the bottom left.
Do you Ship to Canada or outside the United States?
Yes, we do both. However, we have found that rather than an automated process with certain shopping carts that take a predetermined amount of money at the end of a transaction, if you can contact us your order and your complete address and contact information (with phone number in case we need to contact you regarding your order), we can give you a more accurate total of your shipping costs. Because shipping costs have gone higher, most customers prefer the extra time we take for this step. We can then contact you with the final cost and payment url.
Do you offer overnight shipping? Which carrier?
Yes we offer overnight shipping but it is not listed on the website. We do not have a sophisticated website in that there is a lot of programming or impersonal shopping carts, unfortunately. However, we certainly offer it and have used it frequently. You can either use FedEx, or UPS. The postal service does not guarantee overnight delivery over the weekends and we do not feel that is the best carrier/service to use and does not justify it's cost. Fed Ex has the best service but it is expensive! In fact, if you have your own FedEx account number, we can also bill shipping directly to you or your company saving time and hassle. Many customers have chosen this option. Contact us if you require overnight delivery.
Do you ship other than USPS?
Sure we do 🙂 If you don't want the United States Postal Service, let us know. We'll be happy to ship UPS or Fed-EX, And either one of those has overnight expedited air service or ground service. Please be aware that a Postal address and a shipping address are two different things. You may need to give us both. Many people will forget that and then we get a shipping address when they requested a postal service delivery, for example.
Where do you get your pattern?
Actually, it was based off an original 1850's pattern, believe it or not., We have tweaked and modified it over the last two years til it's become something that really is truly ours, though it's not really so very different from the original. We've lengthened the brim just a bit and the neck ruffle for custom orders at times and occasionally we've put in 'stays' in the bonnet brim when we've had to make an unusually large custom bonnet. The history of these bonnets was that many of these women would make bonnets out of absolutely whatever they had. Flour and feed sacks for example. And then put strips of wooden slats in their brim between blue jeans to stiffen the brims; then sew them all together with the feed or flour sacks on the top. Our pattern is based off that, but we just are lucky enough today to have much more wonderful materials to work with.
I see SOLD OUT. Will these bonnets be back in stock?
We put a SOLD OUT sign if we are completely sold out and trying to make a new bonnet to takes its place,. We put TEMP OUT OF STICK if we are trying to locate the material or if we have material on hand and are in the process of sewing more. We will get runs of material that are popular and will make bonnets out of the yardage until it's completely sold out. When it's gone, and we are able to track down the material again, the TEMP OUT OF STOCK sign will come down. If not, that bonnet photo will be replaced with a new bonnet image. Occasionally we make a mistake, though, and sometimes have one left in stock. We've been surprised (happily!) before. If in doubt, please feel free to contact us.
How do I care for my bonnet?
These bonnets are a simple wash and wear. We recommend a light cycle in both the washing machine and dryer (tumble dry) and a light iron if wanted or needed. But these bonnets are pretty easy to care for. Many women have bought them to wear on a hiking trail, so we've been told, and just cram them into their back pockets when they are not wearing them!
What are the little letters I see at the bottom of the bonnet descriptions such as NM, HL, WM, DF, JO? These are just codes that tell us what we might still have in stock regarding material, if we can possibly get more and how much we might have left. They do not in any way denote a bonnet size.
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