#bastard millinery

[lazymilliner]

Which brings us to my ninth and most recent hat, which I was working on when this blog started! I ended up reshaping it a bit per the commissioner's request, hence why it was pointed on front in earlier photos and is flat fronted now. I also made her a hat box to go with it (that thing it's sitting on in the photos) as a little wedding present for the bride who ordered it, although that was definitely a one-time thing- hat boxes, as it turns out, are a pain in the rear to make.

Anyways, she wanted the feathers to be a little more subdued than you usually see on ladies hats, something more like you'd see on a fedora. I think it turned out quite nice, and I hope it'll look fabulous on her wedding day.

[lazymilliner]

My fifth hat! Sorry I'm so slow in posting, ha ha...

This one is a little something I made for my friend SEM, who is generally awesome. I only made the hat! SEM is responsible for the rest. Anywho, she was putting together this TF2 Pyro (team BLU) costume for a con, and wanted her very own Madame Dixie, her favorite Hats Fortress 2 accessory. She's always doing nice stuff for me, so I made her a hat! She picked the base and sent it to me, and I made the rest. In case you were curious- you make felt hats by steaming a hatbody and shaping it over a hat block (I made a cheap and easy block of a sort that is great for costuming, but generally inadvisable if you plan to make hats regularly). You then stiffen it (using chemicals), sew in a hatband, put some wire around the brim and a little grosgrain to cover it, then decorate away. I had to make those tiny little silk roses because I couldn't find any. It was slightly a pain, but I think it actually made it look a little more accurate. It's slightly too tall, and has a little bump on the top (you can't see that here, you'd have to be looking at it the right way), and the stiffener I have really doesn't work that well... But overall I'm pleased, especially considering that I essentially made this in two days (heh...). And yes, she does have a gas mask. She's just not wearing it here. So I am told: The pose is based on a special Pyro taunt from the Saxxy event. Photo by *Yukai-Kasumi Thanks Yukai!

[lazymilliner]

This hat was my fourth hat and my first felt hat- I took a costuming class at my university (it was taught by my good friend and mentor; really it was just an excuse to come and work on my own stuff while hanging out with her in her workshop), and one of the things we were required to learn was hat making!

I had a lot of difficulty with this piece, and as a result it doesn't actually stay on my head on it's own (that's why I'm always holding it in photos), but it looks exactly how I wanted it to.

The cosplay it was made for is a character from Trinity Blood, Captain Mary Spencer. This costume won runner up (2nd place) in the Otakon Saturday Hall Costume Contest in 2011.

[lazymilliner]

Moving on, my second hat! Another buckram, this one sized for a BJD. You can check it out on the doll, Jaden, here and here. It has a crown measurement of 24 cm (about 9.45 inches). The commissioner requested something along the lines of Tim Burton's Hatter's hat. It's not a replica, but it certainly has the same feel.

This is when I discovered that some hats really are just too small to wire! It is also before I got a better camera, soooo.... Sorry about the grainy photo! I suggest not pulling it up in full view, it doesn't really improve the view.

Making a hat that was wider at the top than at the bottom proved to be quite the challenge- I couldn't use my usual technique on it, so I had to improvise a bit. I rather like how it turned out, though!

[lazymilliner]

More progress shots of that new hat! The body and brim have been covered and attached, and the band added. Now all that's left is to finish trimming it and shape the brim.

[lazymilliner]

A custom hat being made for a bride! She wanted one in the same shape and size of another hat I've made (which I'll post one of these days) but in custom colors, so thus far it isn't any different from that other hat.

The crown has been sewn together and the brim has been wired and then covered in some grosgrain ribbon (the cheap kind, not millinery grosgrain, since it's just going to get covered and is just there to reinforce the buckram). One of these days I'll post the tutorial I made so you all can steal my bastard millinery techniques. ^_^

[lazymilliner]

Well, let's go in order... The first hat I ever made! A miniature top hat in cotton bottomweight with a buckram base. Bastard millinery learned from the internet on a site that no longer exists or else I'd share it with you.