Show Us Your Hats!

[GryffinSong]

I love this hat, and just made up something similar Can I ask, what  kind of outfit will you be wearing with this? I had planned on vending at Faire only opening weekend this year, but it has worked out that I can do it all five weekends.....so I'm trying to mix up my garb with a few new accessories so I don't look like I am wearing the same thing all the time. My little hat worked up quick and cute but I'm not sure what to wear with it.

Thanks.

Please note that I don't worry about historical accuracy at all at this point. My time is swamped with my artwork, and I'd rather just wing it unless/until I have more spare time to study.

Here's the way I wore it ...

[jackrocks]

That's adorable......I am not HA either.....mine is burgundy, I think I will wear with my regular creme chemise and some layered skirts

[DonaCatalina]

Next I made a German-style hat for my German gown.

That is a lot of hat. It looks great. What pattern did you use?

[Irma]

Thank you.  It has become a signature piece for me.  Alyxx Iannetta has a blog diary of her making a Saxon gown.  I used her instructions as a guide, but scaled it down to a size I found more manageable.  The "goldehaube" worn under the hat was made by someone other than myself.

[gem]

Irma, that's fantastic! I'm in the process of pulling together materials & pattern drafting for a Saxon gown for this season. Yours is glorious!

Do you have a link to Alyxx's Saxon diary? It looks like she's in the process of updating her site, and her Saxon links are down ATM...?

[Irma]

The diary for her Saxon gown isn't available.  There is a thumbnail in the diaries section titled "More Feathers," which is where it would probably be, but there are no images.  Here are two Pinterest links to an image of the gown - http://pinterest.com/pin/151433606190265238/
http://pinterest.com/pin/145030050472204695/

[bookwench]

Gorgeous work, Irma!  I absolutely adore that hat. 

[Aderin]

Irma/Gryffin, wonderful hats! Thanks for sharing!

[Rani Zemirah]

Finally, I have something to share in here again...  I've been working on the design of my mini-toppers for Steampunk, and these two were commissioned by Lishy for her daughter and herself to wear to Space City Con earlier this month. 

(I'm sorry the photos are so huge.  I didn't see an option to resize them here, and facebook leaves them pretty large when you send them straight from your phone.)

The Copper Topper...



The Olive Branch...





This last photo shows how the center medallion is  two pieces of filigree, separated by a spacer. Next time I do something similar I'm going to try and figure out a way to make the front piece actually turn.  I used a tiny watch screw to secure it in place, and if I had put both pieces together before I attached them to the hat it might have occurred to me to try... but this design was just a happy accident that occurred to me as I was immersed in the "design process".  LOL  Oh, and I am looking into using actual functioning clock mechanisms in future designs, as well!   

[gem]

Rani, those are *glorious!* I love the olive and dusty violet together.

I was digging through an old junk jewelry tin earlier this week (for an ornament for my Obnoxious Saxon Tellerbarret), and ran across a vintage pair of clocks-and-gears earrings that are like 25 years old. I vaguely remember wearing them, but I am totally earmarking them for a future steampunk project!!

[Rani Zemirah]

Thank you, Gem!  I'm sorry for the color misrepresentation, but the olive is actually paired with a dusty milk chocolate, instead of the pale dusty violet it appears to be.  I had a lot of fun with both of these hats, and I'm looking forward to making lots more!  I will be vending at a couple of upcoming Steampunk events, and I'm hoping they will be popular with the crowds! 

I would LOVE to see the earrings, and see what you do with them! 

[Rowan MacD]

 Rani-Those adorable little hats are just flat out amazing!
I seriously have not seen anything better, anywhere, Brava!

[Rani Zemirah]

Oh, thank you, Rowan!  How nice!  I've worked a lot on the construction, and they are seriously sturdy, and will stand up to anything short of a hard rain!  They have 3 layers of materials for the crown, including one of stiffened craft felt and one of softer fashion felt (although I will be using some woven brocades in the future, as well), and 5 layers for the brim, with 16 gauge copper wire sandwiched between the layers for shaping.  I've also covered every seam and every edge with one sort of trim or another... so they aren't at all flimsy, and I LOVE layering all of the trims and the metal bits and pieces together! 

I'll probably never be able to sell them for enough to cover the time I put into each one... but I'll keep making them because they are so much FUN!   

[bookwench]

Rani, those are GORGEOUS!

[GryffinSong]

Rani, those are amazing!!! 

By contrast, this is a simple thing, but I just finished this pirate hat for next weekend's pirate weekend at MDRF. I knew it was going to be hot, so found a black woven hat at the local thrift store to use instead of the heavy felt blank I have. The felt blank will become another pirate hat for the fall.

I rolled and sewed the edges down about 3/4" to help give it more structure, and a little less brim, added buttons to hold the tricorn shape, and added some lace for a hysterically inaccurate lady pirate. I have a gorgeous ostrich plume I was planning to use, but I'm kind of liking it plain. Still dithering on that.