Kilmarnock bonnet (1)

This bonnet was probably knitted in Kilmarnock in the 1780s.  At this time it was common for the end of the knitting yarn in the centre of the crown to be decorated with a red top knot.   During the 1500s the bonnet was beginning to lose popularity in Europe.  In Scotland, however, many people preferred its solid durability, and over the centuries the bonnet became an important part of Scottish dress.  Although production generally declined during the seventeenth and eighteenth cenuturies, it flourished in Kilmarnock and Stewarton, and the cap became known as the 'Kilmarnock Bonnet'.