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| Discovery Shop Blouse Ready to Transform! |
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| Tea Hat |
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| Bow is in Back |
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| Another View |
Inspiration struck me twice! A beautiful silk taffeta blouse found at the Cancer Thrift Shop on Yakima Avenue and a fun Vogue pattern 7464 were my sources of energy. Yes, a hat attack.
Years ago I thought hat making was a silly waste of time.....but changes do happen as the years pass. Probably the complexity of the hat construction as well as the need to buy and use strange materials like buckram, 18 gauge wire, elastic hat cording, craft glue, styrofoam balls scared me to pieces. Never mind the fear, why not try something new....just play and have fun with the project.
With the silk taffeta blouse available, I delved into my stash to find touches of color to embellish the black and white check. I knew that I would have to piece the main fabric due to the limited main pieces that I cut from the blouse. You can see many choices below.
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| Great Fabric Options from Stash |
Now the challenges begin.....
Cutting the beautiful silk blouse apart, I realized that I would need to add additional length to almost every hat construction piece. And, every part of the hat was cut on the bias, making adding on more challenging. Back to the stash to find the best choice of silks. You see it in the photo -- a great raspberry dupioni.
Armed with fabric and the multitude of supplies, I was ready to start the brim.....
Cut the buckram for the brim, hem it and insert the wire....
Cut the brim fabric, join it, and baste it to the brim....
Hem the brim edge, add the brim trim and gather.........etc
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| Buckram in Brim |
Each step took more time and energy than I had imagined and proceeded slowly. I did like the results each step of the way. And, it was wise to cut only the materials needed for the immediate activity.
And, I did have incredible luck with the placement of additional dupioni fabric. The color pattern that evolved, totally unplanned, was absolutely fitting.
As a result of undertaking the Blouse to Hat project, I am definitely inspired to take on new challenges.....
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| So Far So Good |
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| Another View |
Like this, Sally. What about putting the blouse first?
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