Imagine That ( Hat )

This hat started dancing around in my imagination at the end of last year.
The dance floor in my imagination is very crowded.

So when I knew exactly what I wanted the hat to look like I quickly drew this sketch. 

Approximately 5 months later I can state that I have successfully created the exact hat that I imagined.

Let me share the journey from fantasy to reality...

Shopping the half-price sale at my local Goodwill for a different project I found this beautiful off white 100% wool jacket with moth holes. 

There were minimal seams so it was a great candidate for recycling into my hat.

I salvaged the wool exterior and the rayon lining and began the most time-consuming method of creating a hat.

After endless tweeking to paper patterns I finally cut the band, the brim and the tip ( top ) out of buckram. 

Pieces were sewn together and some were edged with wire then covered in bias tape. 

Easy hand sewing with jab stitches and a straight needle.

Now that the hat structure was finished it had to be covered in the beautiful wool.

Almost all of the stitching was done by hand with a curved needle.

Difficult and precise work.

Creating a hat this way is very time consuming.

If I had a wooden hat block this shape I could steam a hat blank over it.

But, I am weird because I actually enjoy the tedious hand sewing and old school methods.

Sometimes the journey is more fulfilling than the destination.

Once the hat structure was completed I cut out the lining 

and quickly sewed up the seams on my machine.

The lining and head band were hand sewn into the hat and I was pretty happy because…

time to embellish !!

I did not vary at all from my original sketch.

A lace overlay covered 1/3 of the band,

and three strands of velvet ribbon were wrapped around the band.

Triple ribbons are becoming a signature for my hats.

Now the whole time I was working on the structure I was also making flowers,

 and flowers, and more flowers.

Some were too tight, some were too bulky and some were disasters.

and then I found the method to make roses just right :)

front view

My hat is finished and it looks exactly how I imagined it.

back view

Of course, I took a hat class whilst making it,

right side view

and learnt a millinery rule;

 height looks best on the left and embellishment on the right.

left side view

And that is how I sketched the hat but, of course I built it the opposite.

LOL

Remember,

" With the right hat, nothing else matters "

anonymous quote

If the Shoe Fits…buy it ?

This is a quiz.

Guess which pair of summer sandals is priced LESS than $1,000

Designer: Dries Van Noten

Designer: Prada

Designer: Gucci

Designer: Givenchy

Designer: Dolce & Gabbana

The only shoes under $1,000 are the cobalt blue fringe sandals by Gucci at $767

 I wonder what my fashion purchases would be if my budget was unlimited?

Three Little Shops

Three wonderful, whimsical stores that take your imagination to the land of possibilities

Tail of the Yak at 2632 Ashby Ave. Berkeley, CA 94705

First store is Tail of the Yak. 

A Berkeley store full of curiosities and treasures from around the world.

The owners have loved and cherished this store for over 40 years !

It's truly indescribable and constantly evolving.

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The Ribbonerie at 3695 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94118

 The next amazing store is The Ribbonerie in San Francisco's Presidio Heights.

It IS the ultimate ribbon store.

The owner has been selling ribbons for over 20 years.

My ( now signed ) Ribbon book by Candance Kling

This time my visit was special because I attended an afternoon 

Ribbon Flower workshop 

with THE ribbon flower expert;

 Candance Kling, 

who literally wrote the book on ribbon flowers.

Candance brought a dozen 24" X 36" boards filled with her gorgeous ribbon work.

Yellow flowers are Candance's samples and pink flower is my finished one

But, the 3 hour class focused on just three flowers. 

And I still only finished one.

Loved every minute and am enrolled in a 4 day ribbon course

at Wayne Wichern's studio with 

Candance Kling in June :)

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Gilding the Lily at 305 N. Harbor, Suite 101, Fullerton, CA 92832

My last wonderful, mind blowing store is much closer to home in Orange County

at Fullerton's historic downtown district.

Gilding the Lily is a store FULL of mostly vintage, one of a kind wonders.

This small store is a treasure hunt of goods in every nook, drawer and cranny.

It is my new go-to store for ribbon, buttons and feathers.

Hopefully I won't be too distracted by all the other fantastical items.

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  Each of these amazing stores are an extension of an amazing female proprietor.

Each store is full of creative energy, possibilities, vision, whimsy,and imagination. 

The fuel that feeds your soul.

1940's Dress in 48 Hours for Mela Hoyt-Heydon Tea

I am now an official member of the Costume Guild West. 

And on April 26th was a Tea Party for member Mela Hoyt-Heydon. 

Mela is a professional costumer AND amazing milliner so I had to go.

BUT, this was the costume guild and I realized I would need a "costume".

First stop was my hat collection and I settled on this wool cloche I made a few years ago.

Luckily I had also previously purchased this
1940's dress pattern by Decades of Style from Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle
( fabulous store, see link on right under Great Stores in the NorthWest ).

Not so lucky all these ideas came together just days before the Tea Party.

Tuesday April 22, I purchased the fabric at Joannes before my night class. 

Of course I needed 3 yards and there was only 2 1/4  yards left of the ideal fabric.

I decided to risk it.

Wednesday April 23 I stayed after class to use the extra large cutting tables. 

Wasn't sure if I'd have enough fabric for  my design idea to have 

some stripes vertical and some horizontal.

( hint- draw on pattern pieces desired direction of stripes )

I managed to squeeze the necessary pieces out of less than required fabric.

 As I was cutting I decided to add length to the bodice ( because I am 5' 11" )
 and add a little to the side seams at the waist and hips
even though my measurements were exactly what the pattern listed for size B.

Thursday April 24 I finally started sewing. 

As the bodice came together I was really glad 

I mixed the direction of the stripes to create subtle visual interest.

There was a lot of finishing edge stitching on the bodice and here's a tip my students love.

Instead of backstitching to secure the stitch leave a long thread tail.

Thread the thread tail through a needle, bring it to the wrong side and hand tie it off in a knot.

No visual hiccup of thick back stitching on the garment front.

This garment required an invisible zipper in the left side seam.

Invisible zippers are my sewing Achilles heel; they're never invisible!

I took the time to try an experiment. 

First I basted a seam and then sewed in the invisible zipper like a centered zipper. 

Complete and utter failure.
Had to just do my best with the traditional invisible zipper installation method.

I kept sewing and overlocking late into the evening on Thursday 

because on Friday I was in LA for the entire day.

Got the dress assembled and realized my great idea of 

cutting pattern a little bigger on each piece added up to the entire garment being way too big.

The clock was ticking but I had to fix it.

The morning of Friday April 25  I removed the skirt and took out the invisible zipper.

Then I could shorten the bodice length and take in the side seams.

Later Friday evening ( after field trip to LA )

 I re-sewed the invisible zipper in the left side seam,
 made the side seams tighter,
re-attached the skirt,

 created the sleeves,
and sewed everything together.

Miraculously it all fit wonderfully!

Saturday morning, April 26th, 

I stepped outside of my comfort zone and put on my first "costume" ever    

( besides Halloween )

The Tea Party in Fullerton was indescribably delicious and
the guests were incredibly warm and welcoming...

and dressed in fabulous outfits from all different periods.

These women are not lunatics; they are lawyers, teachers, engineers, etc.
that find dressing up great fun!

The guest of honor was Mela Hoyt-Heydon who is the department chair at 

Fullerton Community College in Theater 

AND an amazing milliner.

I wish I could be a Mela when I grow up!

There were also dozens of hats by Mela on sale.

 Each one more spectacular!

She easily sold at least 30 hats.

At the end of the long day I literally let my hair down...

And wished I had just worn it long.

The Costume Guild West is a really fun group of people 

and I am now very excited about attending my first 

Costume College this August.

And just maybe my 48 hour 1940's dress is
just the beginning of my own "costume" collection :)

Now For Something Completely Different

ps. it doesn't hurt if you also look fabulous