The Crafty Bee: Come On, Get Hatty!

I firmly believe in wearing hats that serve no real purpose, just because they make me feel happy. Yes, they're good for keep you you warm, dry, and protected from the sun. The hard ones -- and I do have one! -- are useful for protecting your head and keeping your brains intact. But sometimes, it's just nice to wear one because it's so darn pretty.

Many hats are made by stretching an unblocked hat "body" over a shape and letting it dry. It takes the form of the block underneath. I had bought this really funky shaped block on eBay about a year ago, and really wondered what the resulting hat would look like. I mean, it was hard to tell from looking at the wooden block. It has all these bumps and bulges and indentations and multiple "rope lines." I stared and stared and couldn't really imagine what I'd get from it.

Finally, I decided to just make something and see how it would come out. Luckily, Hats by Leko started selling inexpensive paper straw hoods from Japan called Toyo Straw. At $3.99 a hood, compared with $28.00 for sisal, I thought "Oooh - great for practicing!"

So here's how I made my new hat:

I started by setting out (most of) the supplies I'm using to make my new hat. I have a very cheap electric kettle (no thermostat means it won't turn off), petersham ribbon for the band, hat blocks and a spinner, clippy things, pins, scissors, stiffener, needle and thread, wire, saran wrap, and a straw "hood."

Here's a closer up view of supplies. On the right is my funky block that I'm going to use. The head-shaped block on the left I'm going to use in the next installment to make a free-form felt hat.

First, I need to make the straw more pliable by steaming it. This hood is actually made of a type of paper straw so it was cheap enough for me to buy a bunch for experimenting. Nice straw and felt hoods cost $30-50 in case you are wondering why hats cost so much. Don't even ask about the blocks. I stay up late trying to get them cheaper on eBay when other bidders have gone to bed.

The “spinner” raises the block so it’s easier to pull the hood down and work with it. To the right you’ll see my bowl of B&J’s red velvet cake ice cream because this is hard work and I need to keep up my strength.

It's also very important to give your atelier assistant a good bone so that she doesn't bark at you while you're working.

I (and everyone else) covers the hat block with saran wrap to protect it from getting gross with all the steam and dye and stuff.

Another view of the hat block on the spinner, ready for the hood.

So my hood is nice and damp (and HOT) when I stretch it over the block. I pull down with hands on each side - East and West, North and South, etc., etc.

Now I've pressed the hood into the ridges on the block and pinned it down. With straw I try to get the pin BETWEEN the straw so I don't actually break the straw fabric. I've also used a heavy boot lace to force the material into the ridge below the crown (this is called a rope line - in this picture it's decorative, but the bottom one is the cut-off point).

I have to keep steaming the hood, but I can't take it off the block so I made a tent with a (NEW UNUSED!!!!) wee-wee pad that has plastic on it. Really, it was fresh out of the package.

Steam under the tent.

I've used another lace to tie off the bottom rope line.

A close up of the top of the crown.

All tied off! Now we wait. It has to cool down and dry off. This is a "puzzle block," which comes apart so you can pull it out from under the hood without messing it up. Of course this is my first time using it so I could still mess it up.

I let the straw dry overnight and pulled the puzzle pieces of the block off the base.

Then I pulled the pieces out one by one. This allows me to make a hat that's narrower at the bottom than it is at the top without it getting stuck.

Oooo la la, I did not notice before that this block is from Paris!

Here's the straw hat pulled off the block and holding its shape.

The next step is to cut off the bottom excess fabric. I only want a small ridge to fold over to make a hem.

Here it is trimmed. I had to smooth it out a bit.

Next I fold the edge over. The ridge made by the rope line makes it easy.

Starting to take shape. Hey - it's a turban!

Doesn't my model Zelda look cute in it?

I sprayed the inside with hat stiffener to help it hold its shape.

Then I marked the back center spot with a pin. That's where the seam for the ribbon edging will go.

Next I cut a length of millinery wire. It's about 20 gauge wire covered in thread. I'll tuck it into the hem between the layers before sewing it together.

Zelda again. Now I’ve also marked the center front. It’s good to stay oriented.

And here’s the back:

Before finishing off the hem, I bound the millinery wire with "binding wire," snagged from my jewelry tools. (It's steel and won't melt when you heat it so I use it to tie things together when soldering.) They do sell these little joint thingys but my last two teachers said they weren't worth the trouble. So binding wire it is!

After I finished the hem, I decided to edge the hat in ribbon. Millinery ribbon, also called petersham, looks like grosgrain ribbon but the edge isn't bound so it's more flexible.

Now this block makes a 22-inch circumference hat. I think that because the straw I used was a little stiff it came out a little bigger. 22 to 22.5 inches is really normal. I have a TINY head - about 21 inches if that. I can actually wear hats from the toddler department. Anyway, I found this special drawstring liner that I sewed in so that I can make it any size I like. I pick tiny!

I lined up the lining along the edge. If I had thought of this earlier, I would have sewed it in before I but the ribbon edging on. Oh well.

I use clippy things from the beauty supply store to hold ribbon and stuff in place while I'm sewing.

Here it is with the lining. See? Ever so much smaller.

Then I went through my stock and pulled out some more Petersham ribbon to use for a decoration.

The thing about Petersham ribbon that makes it different from grosgrain is that the edge isn't bound. So you can make it wider on one edge and smaller along the other to go around corners and make flowers and things. You can stretch out one side by wetting the ribbon and spreading the fibers with an iron. It's called "swirling.”

I finished the edges of the ribbon with a touch of clear nail polish and then sewed them into "flowers" by running a needle and thread through one side (the "narrow" side) and gathering it and then sewing up the ends. Then I sewed them together to make two layers.