Make your own hats

by Gene Allen Martin

Both sides of brim covered with braid—

Allow the first rows to project slightly beyond the edge of the brim both on the top and the bottom. These edges may be brought together with a small slanting stitch, or if preferred the edge may be first bound with a bias piece of satin, or with a row of braid or gay-colored material. If the edge of the brim is bound, the edges of the first rows of braid at the top and bottom would not meet. The bound edge thus showing gives the effect of a cord.

To cover a crown with braid—

Begin at the bottom of the crown, slanting the second row off from the first row the same as on the brim. Pull the braid up with the thread (which will be found on the edge of nearly every braid) and sew until the center of the crown tip is reached, when a hole in the top of the crown may be made and the end pushed through and fastened on the underside. Keep the braid full enough so that it will lie flat all the way. Sometimes it is easier to begin sewing the braid on at the very center of the top of the crown, or a few rows may be sewed to a small circle of crinoline before attaching to the top of the crown.

If a braid is used which is composed of four or five smaller braids sewed together, the method is the same until the crown tip is reached or a place where it is impossible to make the braid lie flat. The braid must then be separated into the smaller strands and one cut off at a time, and each end lapped under the preceding strand; proceed with the remaining strands, cutting one off at a time until only one remains to finish the center with. When the crown tip is completed, push the remaining end through a hole in the center of the crown tip and sew to the inside of the crown. When using this kind of braid the operation may be reversed, beginning at the center of the top and covering a small circle of buckram with braid; press it with a warm iron to flatten it, then sew in place on the crown and complete the covering. This seems the easier method, because the top of the crown will look much better if pressed and this will be found hard to do unless begun on a small separate piece of buckram.

To piece braid—

Sometimes a braid must be pieced at a conspicuous point on the hat, when careful handling will be found necessary. If the braid is composed of several smaller braids sewed together, the ends should be ripped apart for several inches and the strands cut in unequal lengths; also the strands of the other end which is to be joined to it should be cut of such length as to meet the corresponding ends and allow a lap of one inch. The ends cut in this way may be tucked under one at a time without the joining being noticeable. If the braid is very wide it may seem best when covering a frame to cut and join the ends of the row of braid. It would then be better to make a straight joining in the back.

If a fancy braid is to be pieced, the ends are lapped diagonally and sewed flat. If a fancy joining is part of the design, a simple one is to lap the ends to look as though woven. This may be employed on a crown or brim or both, and it then becomes a part of the design. Also the top of the crown or any part of the hat may have a woven covering of braid, but any such fancy method requires an additional amount of braid.

The top of the crown may be covered by laying the braid on straight from front to back, allowing the ends to extend down on the side crown an inch or more. The braid of the side crown should cover these ends. The brim of a narrow hat is often covered with short lengths of braid radiating from the headsize wire, the ends extending up on the crown one inch. A fabric is often combined with braid for the sake of design, or if there is an insufficient quantity of braid.

Crown top of braid, side crown of fabric—