I set our goodwife the task of making a coif for display. She chose one from Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion, number fifty one in the book, dated 1600-10, but still ok for 1640s we reckon. The original is in the Museum of Costume and Textiles in Nottingham and features strings that run through embroidered loops so the coif can be adjusted to suit a variety of hairstyles (according to Janet Arnold)
Here is the result. The original is embroidered, though that would be a bit old fashioned for the civil war period and 
trimmed with a narrow needle lace. We chose Tudor Tailor lace and a plain linen. Barbara sewed every stitch by hand and made the loops & strings
It looked
a bit odd on the stand, perhaps a bit too baggy at the back, but we found when the needle woman tried it on that it does fit and the adjusting strings do provide the necessary adjustment as the book suggested. There are other ways of wearing a coif, braided hair will provide an anchoring point to tie the strings round for example, though this style seems to work well without. For further info, check the link to ECW Resources page
The 1642 Tailor 
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