#hat band

[vandafineclothing]

Panama hats - almost as essential as sunscreen in the summer

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Addendum to the crafting journal: Gorilla Glue is NOT a good choice for sticking metal to clay. Just baking the screw post right into the clay, though, works like a charm.

[fishthegenderwiz]

I am weaving myself a hat band and since I’m winging this I decided that my strings need to be 75″ long, except while measuring I somehow thought that was 75 FEET, so at 30ft my roll of string gave out and I went, “Oh shit NO... INCHES ahahaha wtf.”

I’m glad I didn’t try that. I’d end up with the banding for an entire wardrobe of Viking wear... which is not BAD but my wrists would hate me forever

[cowboy-outlaw]

[vandafineclothing]

Two styles and ten hat bands to choose from.. which would you pick?

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[vandafineclothing]

When it's too hot for a necktie but you miss our grenadine, shantung, matka or seersucker ties? Try our handwoven Panama hats with a custom hatband of your choice.

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Cosplay Journal - McCree: Hat Band Complete

It is done! One ridiculous hat band for one ridiculous cowboy. Future photos of McCree passed out in my living room can now feature his favorite hat, saving him from being mistaken for being just any old random cowboy.

Came out pretty well if I do say so myself. I know I said I wasn’t gonna worry too much about being screen-accurate - you can’t do that with the Overwatch designs without going for a noticeably cartoony look, which isn’t really my style. But I think this does pretty well as a real-world version of a cartoon hat.

I do still intend to get a metal version of the big concho cast at some point. The clay copy works ok and it captured the shape really well, but it’s obviously out of place next to the brass shells. But that’s easy enough to change out at a later date, since everything’s attached with screw posts, not rivets.

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Cosplay Journal - McCree: Hat Band, Clay Mold

Soooooo. That 3d printer. It actually is pretty broken. It’s all good, I had a really fun time taking it apart and putting it back together again trying to repair it - but ultimately it looks like one of the temperature sensors is broken and I’ve had to put in an order for a replacement part. In the meanwhile, nearly every print failed halfway through, leaving me with a collection of mostly useless plastic chips.

However, I did manage to get one single completed print, so while I wait for a new thermistor to arrive, I decided to try a different approach and use the one finished print as a clay mold.

The biggest down side to 3-d printed objects, in general, is that the layering process results in jagged stair-step edges instead of smooth curves. I’m not worrying too much about it, but I did try to smooth them out a little bit with one of my leather stamping tools to make it a little bit less obvious.

Next up was a new medallion using my custom mold. I used Sculpey brand clay here - throwback to my childhood when we used this stuff all the time. It comes in all sorts of colors, only costs about $2 per pack, hardens in the oven at relatively low heat - basically a no-muss, no-fuss clay that works for anything and comes in dozens of colors.

Next up was a bit of added depth to the color with an acrylic glaze followed by a coat of Modge Podge. I wasn’t quite sure how either of those things would work out on Sculpey, so I stamped myself out a quick Mjolnir button to test. So hooray, now I have a spare Mjolnir for the next time somebody wants a Thor-themed accessory!

Last but not least, a bit of Gorilla Glue to adhere a screw post to the back so that I can fasten it properly to the hat band. I honestly don’t know if Gorilla Glue is a good choice for clay-to-metal bonds, so... uh... if anyone is reading this blog for instructional purposes, be warned. 

And with that, I’m ready to assemble the hat band. I still want to get a nice cast metal version of this concho made, but - my resolution for the McCree project is not to let an obsession with details get in the way of progress. I’ll save that for Geralt. With McCree, quick ‘n dirty is honestly much better suited to the spirit of the character. ;)