So...I just wasted a load of time trying to make another hat. Wanted to use the really stiff interfacing I bought aaaagggess ago to make a proper sticky out brim....well it was a bit of a disaster. At least I only used 'scraps' too small to make into anything else.
My little old machine really didn't like it. Was playing me up something terrible. The needle wouldn't stay thread and it was making a scary noise.
 |
| My sewing machine, balanced on ironing board as don't have sewing table. |
And can't use the more heavy duty one as its decided to break (was making a burning smell and pedal got stuck on 'go').
Back to the hat. I made the 'wings' of the brim too big so ended up looking like a deerstalker. So cut them down but now it looks a mess.
The brim should have been like in the picture below
 |
| The one lady Edith (far left) is wearing |
Instead it turned out like:
 |
| Top View |
 |
| Inside View |
 |
| Side View |
You know, I really think the actual brim shape looks good. Are you getting a floppy shape to the brim? It may help if you are able to get a fine wire from the hardware store (I use the smallest wire they have, in packages, for a few dollars) and sew it to the edge of the brim.
ReplyDeleteI never use interfacing as I am terrified of it. . .lol. . .I use either heavily quilted fabric or a base of buckram, and in the case of buckram, wire the edges and then cover the form with my fashion fabric.
I think if you made the front brim of the hat a little bit wider and wired the edges, you may be much happier with the shape - the wire will give you a nice smooth line on the brim so it is not floppy or wavy (don't know if you had that problem but its one I have had in the past).
You are really on a roll making these hats! I am inspired to try to make a new one too. I think the next one I make will be a small bonnet-type hat. I think for that I'll just alter my regency bonnet pattern.
As you can see bit more clearly in the last picture...the brim goes up and down like a mountain range rather than being smooth.
ReplyDeleteYou see buckram & wire I find daunting especially covering it.
My next hat project I'm gonna make a beret like this one http://janeaustengiftshop.co.uk/acatalog/beret_regency_handmade_silk.html I have some pheasant feathers I can use.
I have about 12 hats...well you've got to have one for every time of year. ;)
Practice makes perfect, as I well know. the next one you make will be better, as you will have found out what doesn't work.
ReplyDelete(Of course, you could just say that this was made as part of an Elf's costume...) ;-)
Hi, I've got two hatmaking tutorials on my blog that may help to achieve an outcome more Downton Abbeyesque:
ReplyDeletehttp://amamus-amatis-amant.blogspot.com/2011/03/hat-trick-making-wide-brim-hat-tutorial.html
http://amamus-amatis-amant.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-hat-tutorial.html
I made one for a friend recently that was wide brimmed like the first, but has a firmer crown like the second, and it was fantastic. I still made the back of the brim like the red one, with the split right through, but overlapped it and sewed it to itself, which worked very well. Hat brims need to be less than flat I feel, to stop them rippling and kinking. Good luck!
@MrsC Great tutorials. Will have to try one. I did once try to make a small boater hat using cardboard as alternative to buckram (which I couldn't find at the time) and covered it with material. My cousin borrowed it for a victorian day and I never saw it again.
ReplyDelete