I spent hours thumbing through my small collection of bound volumes of Peterson's Magazine looking for the perfect inspiration for the bonnet to go with my Blue Seaside Bustle Gown. I had an idea that it would be one that tilted down in front and tied under my hair in back, and I finally decided on this image as my inspiration:
I typically work off of something that inspires me, rather than by replicating something I've seen. In this case, I ordered some variegated blue antique silk net veiling from hatsupply.com (among other trims) and this veiling served as the framework for the hat design and decoration. I also purchased my buckram from here. As has been the case with nearly all of the hats I have made, I used my blue glass fruit bowl (frome Crate&Barrel) as the basis for my hats.
I started with a two-layer circle much bigger than I would need, and molded this, while damp, to the underside of the bowl. I was trying to achieve a very subtle slope.
I then covered it with white flannel, allowing the buckram to gently glue itself to the flannel before drying.
After letting this dry overnight (a fantastic means of procrastination), I trimmed the circle bit by bit until I achieved a result that looked appropriate on top of my head. (note to self: do not try on wet buckram or you will leave a film of glue in your hair.)
I lined the inside with flannel, then whipstitched millinery wire to the underside of the hat.
I then basted my navy wool to the inside and outside and bound the edges with the same navy silk ribbon I used to trim the gown. If I hadn't been working on this the day before I left for Costume Con, I would have trimmed the top of the hat first, then applied the lining, and then bound the edges last so that the inside would be neater. As it was, I had expected that all of my trimming would have to be pinned in place to make it wearable in time!
Here I've pinned the trim in place. It took me a while to get the netting to look the way I saw it in my head. After that things fell into place. The big ice blue bow was made by tearing a strip from a very high quality silk taffeta I have in my stash. There are also 2" tying ribbons in cream/blue and 1.5" sky blue ribbons on the top from M&J Trim. I also added a white organza flower.
And here is the hat on my head! All the trim is sewn down!
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| courtesy of Aubry. |
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| courtesy of Gloria. |
