My Little Top Hat - Obsession

Last year, I had four custom hat blocks made in 2/3 size from the normal full hat blocks. This means those finished hats would look more like a fascinator than fitted crown. This created a hat that fit most folks without customization. I decided to just go ahead and make all the classic designs: Bowler, Fedora, Western, and Top Hat. Of the four, I think the Top Hat has become my favorite. My wired top hat from the August 16th blog was modeled after the 2/3 size, but I wanted to create a wider and more turned up brim.

Up until this month, I have only used each of those blocks once. My slow-millinery does not give me a lot of opportunities to use a block consecutively. But these pieces are so special, I really wanted to spend some time on them, especially using fabric on buckram foundations.

This is my first 2/3 size top hat, adorned with my hand painted and tooled silk flowers. It has become one of my favorite pieces. “A Walk in Harlow” It was on exhibition, and now available in my online hat shop.

After working with mostly straw this year, I have been itching to work with other textiles, beginning with the beautiful lace from the Aug 16th blog. My personal collection of fancy brocades have grown; many were so costly, I was only able to afford a yard at a time. A yard could usually make two or three hats of the same size and style. This brocade dream was another piece I picked up on a previous trip to NYC.

The brim was tricky because I needed the fabric to match from the top and underside view. I did this by using a piece of buckram between the top and bottom brocade. The base of the crown was blocked using Foss-shape, a very useful (but not very environmental) material adopted by the Cosplay community. It’s uneven layers make for difficult hand sewing.

With each new material, the hat block gives way to a new personality.

The flowers were hand stitched using different brocade and satin ribbon. I decided against coordinating all the flowers with the fabric. I was really focused on texture here.

The hat band was created from the same brocade fabric and set on top of a black velvet ribbon. The different textures in this hat made it look very luxurious.

I really love working with my collection of ostrich feathers, many of which I have squirreled away for the right moment.

My third Top Hat is a little different, and uses a paper straw instead of the traditional plant fibers. Many of the paper straws are woven in Japan, and made into hoods and capeline base hats ready for shaping. I love the compostable aspect of paper straw, and it is generally very easy to manipulate and block. But because I use hand stitching rather than machine, sewing through paper straw destroys my fingers. I had an opportunity to purchase some checkered paper straw in yardage, which gave me a lot of flexibility with working on the bias. The only problem was how easily the weaving fell apart. I had to machine stitch all the cut edges to keep the weave intact. This new checkered piece used a Buckram base for the crown, and sinamay straw base for the brim. I was really happy with the effect on the inside brim where I created a two-texture effect. You don’t see it here, but I also sewed lace to the underside of the brim. I like unexpected surprises in small spaces.

Creating a spiral trim from the checkered straw, changed its personality. It felt more whimsical without feathers and another floral piece. Do you agree? This piece along with the others are going on exhibition this Winter at Austin’s Asian American Resource Center.