[ covering the buckram crown with braid. ]
I took a bit of a break over last weekend from stitching the braid to the buckram form. Between stitching tiring to my hands and constantly pricking my fingers on pins, my hands were sore and needed a rest! But I was back at it Tuesday evening (it’s great for keeping my hands busy while spending time with Sailor Husband watching Sherlock Holmes mysteries). I finished the covering of the upper and lower brim pieces, and only needed to tackle the crown. I decided to stitch the braid from the sideband up to the tip (top of the crown), rather than from the tip down. Mostly because I was having a hard time getting things centered just right as I started the coil and spiraling around towards the sideband.
[ the finished brim pieces. ]
While I was working on the crown, I also took the opportunity to adhere the upper and lower brim pieces together. The reason I had two brim pieces is so that the underside is also covered in the braid, rather than lined with fabric. If I had been working with a stiffer straw, I could have probably forgone the buckram foundation; but the softness of the paper braid required the buckram, which needed to be covered up! I used my trusty art-school supply, rubber cement, for gluing the sections together. I applied the rubber cement to the backside of each piece, let it get tacky, carefully glued them together, and the pieces are presently weighted underneath a stack of heavy books for 24 hours to dry flat. (I’m chafing at the bit to see what it’ll look like once it’s dry! Oh! How I am so bad at being patient… lol.)
[ for the super-geeky: the backside of the buckram brims prior to gluing. ]
I’m still working on the crown–it’s been a bit slow-going this week. But things are starting to shape up and I’m excited! I still need to find a source for the ribbon for the ties and possibly edging the brim (my sketch is included in this collage if you’d like to take a look again!). I want a really wide (3″ or so) ribbon for the tie, but I haven’t found anything that I like–I really don’t want to go with a synthetic since it tends to be so stiff! So I think that is one of my missions this weekend–source some suitable ribbon and finish the crown. Hopefully I’ll have a finished hat soon!!!
You seem to have a lot of patience to make this. I admire that.
Great job! I’ll bet it’s going to look fantastic when it’s finished. Appreciate the “super geeky” pic too!
Just think of how strong and nimble those poor hands and fingers will be…
Good luck with the ribbon!
You are doing fabulous! I get trims like petersham and ribbon from MacCulloch & Wallis… they’re a Brit company so you have to wait a bit longer for their supplies, but they have some beautiful things including 100mm petersham made of Viscose. Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to see it completed!
It’s looking so good so far. I’d love to make a hat from scratch but I just don’t think I have the time!! I will follow your adventures instead. ^_^
I find that crochet is my great thing~for~my~hands~to~do~while
~watching~movies~tv~chatting~etc. It’s gotten to the point where I need to have my crochet at all times because I feel like I am just being so unproductive if I sit and do nothing!
xox,
b. of Depict This!
Very nice!it will turn out to be a fabulous hat I am sure!
Hey. I just came by your youtube the other day. I just wanted to tell how much I adore you. You are so awesome and sooooo pretty and I love the retro so much. I’m going to try to do one of your hair styles tomorrow. woooo.
I cannot wait to see how it turns out!
I can relate to all that achy fingers and sore from poking.
When I first started learning to do embroidery, I was forever drawning blood!
Keep up the good work on the hat!
It looks so good. I hope you find the supplies you want to finish it.
It looks great so far! Of course, I’ve never tried to make a hat, and I don’t wear them more than a couple times a year anyway, but to my novice eyes it looks very impressive!
Damn you’re good!
Now your making hats by the rules as well… Amazing!
Ahhhhh! Sooo amazing! I can’t wait to see the end result and also this is making me want to try hat making!