Sometimes, the process of making lemonade out of lemons is a very slow one. Bringing this original 1850s-1860s black straw mourning bonnet back to life is one of those times.
This beautiful straw mourning bonnet was shipped in a soft mailer without any protection. It arrived nearly flat with a fracture down the center top and a crushed crown tip. Given my plans to have this bonnet accompany me for spring millinery presentations, I felt as crushed as the bonnet when I took it from it’s poly-mailer.
Trying to make the most of the situation and not wanting to give up on the piece, I’ve been experimenting with techniques for stabilizing the bonnet.
I had to make a difficult decision when it came to the support. Ideally, I would remove the trims and lining, then add the support. But, with the extent of the damage I knew picking out all the stitches would likely cause more damage and potentially cause the whole bonnet to fall apart. I decided to place the support over the lining and work through it. Sadly, this covered the maker number tag inside.
It still needs some work, including another spa session on a millinery block, steaming the crepe frill back to shape and carving an archival foam support.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 
Beattiful restoration …too bad some folks don’t think things through…so glad this bonnet came to you . You certainly knew how to handle it properly.