Buckram, Bird, and Nest--The Hat!

Last post I promised to show you the progression of a custom hat I made for a client going to a Spring dance...which would also have a hat contest. She is a funky, cool dresser; lots of European designs, lots of abstract cuts, fun layering of pieces. Love her style! And she wanted a hat that would NOT be typical, something that would compliment her style.

Oh, and she is a collector of bird's nests, and wanted that to be the focus of the hat. Scroll down and follow the making of her hat. What fun this was!

I started with a Juliet shaped buckram frame. Client loves neutral tones so we decided to stay with black, to go with the fabulous black tulle skirt she was going to wear.

I've covered the buckram form with black velour. She loved the black patent leather bird I had on hand, but requested that she 'fly.' Hence, the black millinery wire you see here.

We also wanted to incorporate bits of straws, the kind a bird might use to make a nest--here you see sinamay and tangle tuft.

Starting to come together! I've attached the bird to her wire, the messy straw bits, and the moss green nest.

Here you see how I've bound the end of the beauty-marked veiling that will be added to the hat. Veiling needs to be bound on the ends before being attached to a hat or fascinator.

I used a tiny bit of super glue to attach the egg to the nest. Also, I've attached the veiling to the hat.

Next I added the lining to the hat. I attached all the elements of the hat before I added the lining so that no stitch lines would show. The lining hides those stitch lines and make a nice finish on the inside.

Here you see the lining stitched in. For some reason any kind of slick/shiny fabric shows stitch lines much more prominently than they show in person. Hence the pick marks you see in the photo above. Bummer.

Here she is! I just love this hat and that the client wanted to step out on a limb, so to speak, in her choice of design.

Close-up of the nest and egg.

And here is the client when she picked up the hat! She was sooooo pleased!

Next post will be from Chicago classes--flowermaking and wire (bridal and fascinators). See you then!