Why is my turkey sporting frilly paper hats on its legs?

Wearing a chef’s hat while preparing Thanksgiving dinner is one thing, but placing a miniature one on each crispy turkey leg seems like it might be taking the holiday spirit a little too far.

These classic paper coverings have been given many inventive names over time, such as 'turkey frills,' 'turkey booties,' and even 'turkey panties.' While they’ve fallen out of favor in recent years, they originally served a particular function. As 19th-century author John Cordy Jeaffreson noted, paper trims gained popularity in the 1600s as a way for women to keep their hands clean while carving meat.

“To preserve the cleanliness of her fingers, the same covering was put on those parts of joints which the carver usually touched with the left hand, whilst the right made play with the shining blade,” he explained in A Book About the Table in 1875. “The paper-frill which may still be seen round the bony point and small end of a leg of mutton, is a memorial of the fashion in which joints were dressed for the dainty hands of lady-carvers, in time prior to the introduction of the carving-fork.”

As etiquette guides began advising 'lady-carvers' to use carving forks, the paper coverings didn’t fade away—they simply got fancier. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, 'chop frills' became a charming and elegant way to hide the unsightly leg bones of roast turkey, lamb, chicken, or any other bird. 'Dress up any leggy food with them for parties or children’s birthdays,' Iowa’s Kossuth County Advance suggested in 1951. 'They will be thrilled.'

If you’d like to add a little flair to a leggy dish this Thanksgiving, here are some instructions for creating your own chop frills, courtesy of HuffPost.