If I Had My Own Blue Box:

I finally made a hat for those that love feather plumes. (currently available on Etsy)

I was so excited to see that Darline finished her hat as the original I worked from, I asked her to write about her hat for the blog. She did an amazing job replicating the zig-zag ribbon of the original. Thank you, Darline, for taking the time to share with us.

Anna’s fingers had barely left her keyboard after posting a small straw hat, when I snapped it up.  I had been researching straw hats – how, when and where they would be worn in the early 1860s – and now I owned a lovely little replica.

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When it arrived and I was happily trying it on, I thought of the original hat with the brown ribbon in a zig-zag pattern as a strong contender for the inspiration for finishing this hat.  Then, I set it aside and looked at even more images.  In the end, the zig-zag pattern spoke to me: make me.  What I love about it is the simplicity of the design – yet it isn’t just about slapping ribbon on a brim, it has a definite scale to it.  I also liked that, while it stands alone, it could support further embellishment to change the look.

I had a “further embellishment” in my sewing room, just waiting for a home.  In the marketplace at the 2015 Civilian Symposium in March, I purchased a bunch of creamy yellow flowers with fabric “stems,” tied with a pale green velvet ribbon.  Holding the bunch at the back of the hat, I decided this would be my first “further embellishment.”

The ribbon on the original hat is taffeta, but I chose to use some lovely double faced silk ribbon from my stash (purchased because I loved the color, also waiting for a home in my 1860s wardrobe).  I began by enlarging and printing the image of the original hat to guide my work.  Observing the symmetry of the zig-zag design, I loosely pinned the ribbon to my hat (pinning on the edge of the ribbon straight down through the hat).  Satisfied that I had the layout correct, I started by securing the front “V” then worked my way down each side, careful to follow the ridges of the straw at the top and bottom of the folds to make the design even.  It was “fiddly” work, hiding the stitches.  I brought the thread up and hid it under the ribbon to the next place it was to be secured.

Before trimming the ribbon ends at the back, I thought about how I would stop it from fraying.  Somewhere, I had seen a treatment on an original piece, where the ribbon end was turned back to a point, and held with a simple embroidery stitch.  I decided to use this technique on my ribbon.  I brought the edge of the ribbon to a point right sides together and stitched, then carefully turned it right side out and pressed it flat, making a nice little point.  I used sewing thread to make five little petal stitches, securing the end of the ribbon.  What I like about it is, it provides a little bit of weight to the end of the ribbon and finishes it unobtrusively.

Anna gave me some guidance on the placement of the ribbons that would tie under my hair.  Done!  I tried it on and loved it.  Now for the further embellishment!

After trying various ribbon loops and placement options, I settled on a plan.  I just wasn’t sure about the stems hanging down.  I like how amazingly real they look and also liked them as a design element.  But I needed some input – lose them, trim them???  So I decided to add the flowers and ribbon, and then post it on a couple of Facebook groups and see what others thought.  The amazing folks on the Civilian Civil War Closet didn’t let me down, and I soon had plenty of guidance!  When Anna chimed in, encouraging me to try trimming the stems, I did so.  As soon as I trimmed the first stem, I could see that was the answer.  I took about three inches off and trimmed them on an angle, since that is how I would cut real flowers.  The scale seemed right, and I’m very happy with my new hat!

I got to play with a mix of whimsy and nature for this hat. When I saw an original 1880s bonnet decorated with leaves, I knew I had to do this hat with leaves. Let me tell you – So Much Fun!

The edge of the brim is bound with a silk/rayon velvet, oh-so-soft velvet. The same borders the base of the crown setting off the angle of the brim. Down the back falls a deep blue double face Hymen Hendler ribbon.

I’ve had a pink and green hat stuck in my head for weeks. I kept putting it off because I thought I was nuts to want to line the underside of the brim with a multi-color silk. Well, I couldn’t shake it. So, here it is.

It is a little sweet, a little spring and a whole lot of pretty.

The pink and green silk taffeta wraps around the brim edge and lines the underside. To be happy, I had to get the stripes as lined up as possible.

There are two pink silk ribbons. The soft, true pink  the crown with a triple bow in back. A second petal pink ribbon is underneith to help tie the hat behind your hair. 

A trio of white velvet calla lilies are the it piece. The velvet has just a touch of pink and the centers are beaded. I set the in a row to emphasize the curve of the hat.

This hat is currently available on Etsy.

Friday provided the perfect weather for our Canandaigua Lady Excursion. It was in the low 80s, the sky was a beautiful blue decorated with little fluffy clouds and there was just the right amount of breeze. (See a just right breeze  ) Given how wet it has been so far this summer, we were quite lucky.

We started our afternoon off with a little picnic in the park near the landing. I packed a small repast of Spanish cheeses (very tasty, no clue what their name are at the moment), bread, strawberries, tarts and lemon water. I was quite convinced that Jody, Trish and Max’s picnic basket was bottomless. These ladies put together an amazing repast. There were potatoes, cheeses, sausage, chicken, eggs, berries and tarts. Max made this period cheese recipe with mace and port in it. It was incredibly tasty. (I’m hoping she will share where that recipe is.) Jody did a tasty twist on lemonade with mint and lavender. The lavender really set it off. I will be stealing that idea.

Here we all are as we head over to the landing to board. (Devon is behind the camera.

More photos:

Waiting to board.

Leaving dock. (Also another nice picnic spot.)

Devon

Trish

Jody

The paddles

Me

Marsha. (I didn’t get one of just Nick)

Looking towards Bristol.

Max

Ann and Devon

Devon

I hope everyone had a lovely time. I look forward to having more get-togethers like this in the future. 

~ I am roughly 3/7ths of the way to my summer financial goal. I have a colorful teapot helping me with keeping track of this. Thank you all for your support and requests.
~ I have a trio of pieces waiting for their trims to arrive.
~ I have a handful of requests on the board which I think will take me through July. Two are new to me.
~ I will start to taking August requests. I will also start taking winter millinery requests soon. (I know it is hard to think of the cold. But, with some big Christmas & winter events coming, requesting early is a good idea.)
~ I have greatly lapsed in writing. Blog posts have been mostly photos with little text. My goal of posting a crunchy article each week has flopped. I apologize for that.
~ Likewise, I have not written a single bit for the new patterns. I do hope to get you at least one of those this fall.
~ I do still plan to hold the FanU related event this summer. More on that soon.

~~~ Thank you all for you support and encouragement. I do enjoy making each of your bonnets and hats. It is just a little scary relying on handwork for income even for a few months. I do love hearing your stories when your millinery arrives and wen you get to wear it.

(Here is to hoping there aren’t too many phone typos.)

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever put this many flowers on a single bonnet. But, it worked. This bonnet is light and airy both in the way it looks and the way it wears. It is a Marie Stewart shape with the flowers decorating the inside and out. The client and I had lots of fun picking out the flowers.

This bonnet was a delight to decorate. As soon a she asked for it to be decorated, an idea popped into my head for the pansies I just couldn’t shake. It turns out they were the perfect choice. I’ll let her share the reason if she wishes. I am just so delighted I was able to do something with extra special meaning.

This is an early 50s straw with a berry double face satin ribbon by Hyman Hendler and velvet pansies. The facing is a neutral silk taffeta to set off the color of the pansies. The bavolet is a pale gold silk lined with net.

I am test posting because I heard there are WordPress and Blogger problems……