Make your own hats

by Gene Allen Martin

Side crown of braid and top of fabric—

Band of material, plain or corded, set in side crown—

Brim and crown made from small pieces of silk and braid—

A very soft-looking braid hat may be made by sewing braid over a wire foundation which has been made for the purpose. The braid may be pinned on the brim of wire and sewed, being careful not to attach the braid to the frame; slip the needle over the wire and finish sewing the braid while it is still pinned to the brim, then remove, press slightly, and sew a facing of braid to the under side of the brim if desired. Some kinds of braid may be dampened before pressing, but it is safer to experiment first with a small piece, for some braid is ruined by pressing.

A soft crown of braid should be fitted over a wire crown and sewed in the same way. After removing it from the wire frame, it can be slightly pressed by holding it over a thick cloth held in the hand and pressing a warm iron to the outside. A soft hat of braid can more easily be made by first making a frame of crinoline and sewing the braid to it. Horsehair braid crowns are beautiful when shaped over a wire foundation. They may be pressed slightly (after being removed from the wire crown over which they have been shaped) when they will be found to keep their shape. The brim would need a wire foundation to hold it out in shape and the braid should be caught down to the wire as it is being sewed. A small lace wire should be used for this foundation, four spokes together with the headsize wire and edge wire being sufficient. The wire should be wound with maline or have a facing of maline. Horsehair braid is transparent. There are many fanciful ways of using braid on a hat, but these can be readily copied if the foregoing methods have been mastered. Be very careful about pressing braids or adding moisture as it ruins some braids, while others must be moistened before they can be handled in sewing to a hat frame.

Covering wire frames with maline, net or georgette—

Wire frames which are to be covered with sheer material, such as maline, net, or georgette, must be carefully made, as the wire frame becomes a part of the design, and the wire should be silk covered.

If maline is used, it should be pleated or gathered on, unless the brim is of the halo style, for which directions are given elsewhere. Four or five thicknesses of maline are necessary. The material is often gathered in small quarter-inch tucks at the points where the tuck may be sewed to the circle wire on the brim or the crown. A small tuck at the edge wire would make a softer looking edge than if put on plain. The fullness is then gathered in and sewed to the headsize wire. If the edge is left plain, a few rows of lacey-looking braid may be sewed on the edge. A wide tuck hanging down from the edge is sometimes used and it is very becoming to certain types of faces. The wires of a frame are often first wound with narrow bias pieces of net or maline. The edges are turned in and the material wrapped on smoothly and evenly. Sometimes the wires are wound with a contrasting color.

An effective covering for any frame may be made from ribbon or bias strips of satin or silk, velvet or georgette, or any soft fabric. If a wire frame is used, it must first be covered with a thin plain material to serve as a foundation to which the ribbon or strips of material may be sewed, or a frame of neteen or crinoline may be used if a very soft hat is desired.

Ribbon covering—