Since the first Accessory Challenge theme is Hats, I thought I share some that I’ve made. And then I realized that, since switching my website to Word Press almost 2 years ago, I still haven’t moved about half my photos & dress diaries here. Ooops. So a lot of the hats I made & gave away aren’t pictured. But still, I have a few & from various eras…
The hands-down weirdest hat I’ve ever made is the heuke (aka the duck-billed hatapus). 16th-century Flemish-ish. Wired buckram, curved over steam, mulled with flannel, covered with wool & edged in velvet. Looks like a duck, fits like a duck, water off a duck’s back.
Side view of heuke
A far more classic hat style (one I’ve cranked out seemingly millions of times!) is this little Victorian boater I made for my dear friend Donna. It went with a bustle gown she made, & she’d made a contrasting bustle gown for me (which I made a similar hat for). Wired buckram, mulled with flannel, covered in silk, trimmed with silk rosettes, buttons, & feathers.
Wren hat
Let’s not forget soft caps. All hats don’t require structure. Like this 18th-century cap made of silk organza, naught but a circle, a ruffle, & some ribbon.
muffin cap! – my iPhone photo
And of course my beloved 16th-century wired caps. Linen + starch + wire can be so cute.
Trystan’s plain wired cap, worn at SCA Beltane 2011, photo by Sandra Linehan
However, you don’t even have to make a hat from scratch for it to be the perfect topper for an outfit. I took a child’s felt hat & trimmed it out with fake sushi & chopsticks in order to get the right headgear for my iconic Sushi Victorian bustle gown.
Decorated sushi hat
So, are you thinking about hats? What might you make for the challenge? Any ideas yet? Do share!
I really kind of like the hatapus. It’s actually not as unflattering as you’d think. And I’ve always enjoyed weird.
Weird hats are a fun break from the everyday 🙂
I think I will use your challenge to inspire me to refurbish my lampshade style huik. I need to remake it over a firmer foundation, and complete the veil part.
Great idea! Not sure what you used, but a heavier grade buckram (often sold as ‘theatrical’) or double layers might help.
I need to rebuild my sticklchen to be able to wear my heuke 🙂 My hair loss means I have a hard time holding it in place. Might have to do a spot of hairline shaving…
Right and now to work how to follow blogs via WP… and set up a fancy list, and copy from your link list 😉
I always have to wear a hairpiece to fill out the back – my hair’s naturally thin & fine & makes for a pretty wimpy bun/braid. But a little sock bun thing is the perfect counterbalance 🙂