Coronation Disney Garb Challenge: Mad Hatter Hat
So the garb challenge has already happened, so this diary is sorta retroactive. I took pictures while making the outfits but did not have time to write the entries while sewing. I only had 3 weeks to do both outfits! Anyway, here is the entry on making the hat for the Mad Hatter.
So as mentioned in my last post, this outfit was made as cheaply as possible, this includes the hat. To keep the hat very cheap, I used some old theater tricks. The hat is made out of plastic canvas instead of buckram, both for cost savings and because my friend was not sure she would ever wear the hat again. She says she is not a hat type of girl. I prefer to make hats out of buckram but plastic canvas is cheaper and available locally to me. To make the pattern, I used a flexible ruler to figure out my friend's head shape and drew the pattern from this oval. Each piece was then cut out of plastic canvas. The edges of the plastic canvas can cut through the fashion fabric, so I covered all the edges with left over bits of bias tape. You can sew the bias tape on using a sewing machine, however it does dull the machine needle. Just a note, you can wire the brim with plastic canvas hats and I usually just add the wire by machine before adding the bias tape. I did not wire this particular hat.
Before stitching the hat together, I use these plastic canvas pieces to mark fabric for the fabric cover for the hat. The plastic canvas hat pieces were then hand sewn together. In the case of this particular hat, my friend's head size is a bit bigger than a single sheet of plastic canvas. So I stitched an extension piece that you can see in the front of the hat frame. It was also at this point that I realized that I accidentally made the break in the front rather than the back.....Oops! It has been quite a while since I had made this style of hat. I was not worried about it on the plastic canvas frame, but I did go back and cut a new lining and fashion fabric for this since I really did not want seam in the front of the fabric.
Here is the hat frame all stitched together.
The fashion fabric was a left over scrap of velvet and the lining was more the left over tan bottom weight fabric used in the overcoat. I usually use lighter fabric for the lining, but I had the scraps on hand. However, it did add more bulk than I wanted and made the hat a bit smaller than I thought it would. I dont think I will use anything this heavy again for a hat lining. I sewed the the brim fabric top and bottom together by machine then clipped both the seam and the inner edge. Once clipped, the fabric can be stretched over the brim. Once all in place, I stitched the brim fabric to the plastic canvas base.
At this point, I stitched the hat side lining to the hat crown lining by machine. I then clipped the seams and stitched the lining into the hat by hand. To make sure the lining stays up in the hat, I stitched the lining up through the crown to keep in in place. The I stitched the hat crown and side onto the hat by hand. I use a bunch of pins to keep the hat pieces in place while hand stitching.
The hat was decorated with some more of the cheap trim, a large button and a hand made card for the mad hatter. The card is made so it could be removed if my friend decides to use the hat again. My friend made the card and an outfit for her husband. Here is a final picture of the outfit being worn.
cross posted to dressdiaries
So as mentioned in my last post, this outfit was made as cheaply as possible, this includes the hat. To keep the hat very cheap, I used some old theater tricks. The hat is made out of plastic canvas instead of buckram, both for cost savings and because my friend was not sure she would ever wear the hat again. She says she is not a hat type of girl. I prefer to make hats out of buckram but plastic canvas is cheaper and available locally to me. To make the pattern, I used a flexible ruler to figure out my friend's head shape and drew the pattern from this oval. Each piece was then cut out of plastic canvas. The edges of the plastic canvas can cut through the fashion fabric, so I covered all the edges with left over bits of bias tape. You can sew the bias tape on using a sewing machine, however it does dull the machine needle. Just a note, you can wire the brim with plastic canvas hats and I usually just add the wire by machine before adding the bias tape. I did not wire this particular hat.
Before stitching the hat together, I use these plastic canvas pieces to mark fabric for the fabric cover for the hat. The plastic canvas hat pieces were then hand sewn together. In the case of this particular hat, my friend's head size is a bit bigger than a single sheet of plastic canvas. So I stitched an extension piece that you can see in the front of the hat frame. It was also at this point that I realized that I accidentally made the break in the front rather than the back.....Oops! It has been quite a while since I had made this style of hat. I was not worried about it on the plastic canvas frame, but I did go back and cut a new lining and fashion fabric for this since I really did not want seam in the front of the fabric.
Here is the hat frame all stitched together.
The fashion fabric was a left over scrap of velvet and the lining was more the left over tan bottom weight fabric used in the overcoat. I usually use lighter fabric for the lining, but I had the scraps on hand. However, it did add more bulk than I wanted and made the hat a bit smaller than I thought it would. I dont think I will use anything this heavy again for a hat lining. I sewed the the brim fabric top and bottom together by machine then clipped both the seam and the inner edge. Once clipped, the fabric can be stretched over the brim. Once all in place, I stitched the brim fabric to the plastic canvas base.
At this point, I stitched the hat side lining to the hat crown lining by machine. I then clipped the seams and stitched the lining into the hat by hand. To make sure the lining stays up in the hat, I stitched the lining up through the crown to keep in in place. The I stitched the hat crown and side onto the hat by hand. I use a bunch of pins to keep the hat pieces in place while hand stitching.
The hat was decorated with some more of the cheap trim, a large button and a hand made card for the mad hatter. The card is made so it could be removed if my friend decides to use the hat again. My friend made the card and an outfit for her husband. Here is a final picture of the outfit being worn.
cross posted to dressdiaries