The Ultimate hat making thread!

[rhylla]

well, thanks to this thread, i was inspired to have a go at making my own mini-top hat. It's made out of wool - finger knitted, then sewn together. i put wire in the brim to give it some shape. and i starched it to within an inch of its life hehe.

 
the finished undecorated one

 
messing around with some additions

there are some parts that bug me a tad, but i know what to do better next time. Just have to work out how to attach it to my head!

-Rhylla-

[Lady Ashgrove]

cute - cute - cute

I really want to try one out of felt myself

[WhiteRabbit]

I've only made two hats in my life, one was a beanie and the other a comical top hat I made. It's quite large here's a icture:
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/22535_107913945892034_100000202864704_213494_6871905_n.jpg

[Jonny B. Goode]

I made a steampunk top hat for a girl I liked... who ended up not appreciating it, or me, as much as I had hoped. It really did turn out well though, although I don't have any photos.

I intended to perhaps make more of them and sell them. But I posted some photos elsewhere when i had first started out (which I don't have anymore, alas), and I got some criticism from "steampunk fashion nazis." One girl in particular complained that she thought the hat I started out with "looked cheap" and suggested I start with a hat of "better quality" (the hat I started with was bought from a bridal and tux shop). I'm like, "I doubt I can sell a hat like this for more than 50 or 60 bucks. If I start with a 50 or 60 dollar hat, and then have to put in 40 or 50 dollars more in ribbons, flowers, feathers, lace and whatnot, and am not going to get more than 50 or 60 for it when I'm done... what's the point, really?"

[Lord Zonker]

Here are a few hats I've made over the last few months.


The leather flame top hat is something I am offering to bikers hot rodders et al to make for them matching the flames and colors of their car, bike , guitar etc. My wife and daughter claimed this one as I was making it and wanted the small brim.




A black tricorn for a customer



And the latest project a leather Civil war era styled kepi

[greensteam]

I have a couple of Instructables:

Space cadet helmet: http://www.instructables.com/id/Spacecadet-Helmet-Instructables-from-the-Beach-/

Aviator helmet and goggles: http://www.instructables.com/id/Steampunk-Flying-Helmet-with-goggles-and-headphone/

[ps ignore any stuff on my Instructables about a maker fair: that was 3 years ago and i am having difficulty erasing it from the pages there]

I would like to make an opera hat. Does anyone have a picture of the necessary mechanism?

[Sir Henry]

I would like to make an opera hat. Does anyone have a picture of the necessary mechanism?

I would like to second this request. Frankly, I'm amazed that there appears to be zero interest here in opera hats, which are essentially mechanical top hats, surely about as close to steampunk as a hat can get. I have wanted one my whole adult life, but never had the money to have one made. As my head is longer and thinner than the average, none of the few that I've come across have fitted, so making one seems the only hope.

Does anyone know how they work?

[Will Howard]

Has anyone tried decorating a hat (Lady's or Gentleman's) with a drop spindle or a miniature spinning wheel?  If this is done, we would have "THE ULTIMATE THREAD MAKING HAT"!

[Unsubtle Pete]

Has anyone tried decorating a hat (Lady's or Gentleman's) with a drop spindle or a miniature spinning wheel?  If this is done, we would have "THE ULTIMATE THREAD MAKING HAT"!

Smaller version of one of these.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Much more steampunk 

[Will Howard]

Has anyone tried decorating a hat (Lady's or Gentleman's) with a drop spindle or a miniature spinning wheel?  If this is done, we would have "THE ULTIMATE THREAD MAKING HAT"!

Smaller version of one of these.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Much more steampunk 

I've met a few people whose heads were big enough (Swollen?  Fat?) to wear the full machine.  Thankfully, none of them are Steampunks!

[Bookgal1977]

Hello all!

I'd like to find a good supplier for basic victorian style women's hats without all the decor....I want to decorate them myself, but I have no real skill in making clothing or hats from scratch. All the reasources I can find though, sell hats already with lace, feathers, etc. Any ide of where to get a base hat without the bells and whistles?

I think touring hats could be made with a modern straw hat base if you can find the right one, but tophats and riding hats have a very distinct look that can't be found at the local JC Pennys. 

[greensteam]

Primark in Glasgow has had straw boaters at 50p each. The Argyle street one had them laast week but dont know if any left now.

[Poppy Locks]

Hello all!

I'd like to find a good supplier for basic victorian style women's hats without all the decor....I want to decorate them myself, but I have no real skill in making clothing or hats from scratch. All the reasources I can find though, sell hats already with lace, feathers, etc. Any ide of where to get a base hat without the bells and whistles?

I think touring hats could be made with a modern straw hat base if you can find the right one, but tophats and riding hats have a very distinct look that can't be found at the local JC Pennys. 

Hello, this supplier might be of interest to you.  They have a very wide and varied selection including a huge amount of buckram forms you can cover and trim.

http://www.hatsupply.com/index.htm#

Hope it helps!

Poppy

[Bookgal1977]

Thank you Greensteam and Poppy!

[frances]

I've been to a millinery bits supplier in London, on Ebury Bridge Road, Victoria.  But I just cannot remember its name. 

Luton is the place to go for hat things as they used to be the central place for straw and hat-making in England. 

(Can I have a little ad and say that if you have a group and want to learn to hat-make you can invite me along for day/weekend tuition.)

[Midnightlaura]

Hi all, it's been really interesting to read all of the comments and different ideas!! Knitted hats, heavens!!

I recently opened an Etsy shop with Mini Top Hats (and am making more, with Mini Tricorn's being added in to the mix) and have been thinking about starting to sell 'blanks'- hats with no decoration- and kits, so I was very interested to see that this might be useful to people.

Can I ask if this would be of interest to anyone? And if so, what sort? A couple people are asking about 3/4 size? Any input would be greatly appreciated because although I run this as a business I'd like to be helpful too!!

Thanks, Laura x

[Stella Gaslight]

I am glad you got some inspiration but market research goes in trading.

[Midnightlaura]

Reported, and many apologies for the inconvenience. I still think you guys are doing lovely work however which was the main point of my post.

[Stella Gaslight]

That is ok it can take a while to figure out where everything goes here.

[Argentum]

The work displayed by Mr. Watson the the other folks here on BG inspired me to try my hand at millinery. Here are a couple of pics of a top hat I made this month for the Steampunk World's Fair, using a pattern by Lynn McMasters:

Just after finishing construction:



And with the full ensemble:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A little rough around the edges, but I'll know better what to do and what not to do next time. And oh yes, there will be a next time!   

[Sam Watson]

That looks great! I saw it in the Dressing Up thread, and meant to comment so I'm glad I saw it here too. It seems like you're having one issue that I had as well, which is that the hat band doesn't conform perfectly at the top where it meets the crown. It happened to me because I just used a piece of ribbon that I had bought, and it didn't have any give. If I were to do it again I'd use fabric that I cut on the bias, fold in the sides without hemming, and that would conform to just about anything since it's on the bias.

[Argentum]

That looks great! I saw it in the Dressing Up thread, and meant to comment so I'm glad I saw it here too. It seems like you're having one issue that I had as well, which is that the hat band doesn't conform perfectly at the top where it meets the crown. It happened to me because I just used a piece of ribbon that I had bought, and it didn't have any give. If I were to do it again I'd use fabric that I cut on the bias, fold in the sides without hemming, and that would conform to just about anything since it's on the bias.

Thank you sir!  Yes, the hat band is grosgrain ribbon; the pattern I used recommended using a steam iron to shape the ribbon to the contour of the crown before attaching it, but I found that more difficult than expected, so I just said the heck with it and glued it on.  It smoothed out a bit more over time as the glue contracted.

[Lady_Eliza]

I make a lot of mini toppers. Generally using plastic for the innards, but sometimes cardboard or stiff cloth. It just depends on what it will be used for.

This one was one of the first ones, sorry for the bad cell phone pic



This one was one of my all time favorites, I loved the way it turned out and the size was perfect.

[Poppy Locks]

Thank you sir!  Yes, the hat band is grosgrain ribbon; the pattern I used recommended using a steam iron to shape the ribbon to the contour of the crown before attaching it, but I found that more difficult than expected, so I just said the heck with it and glued it on.  It smoothed out a bit more over time as the glue contracted.

Try pinning the ribbon to your ironing board cover in the shape you want to iron it into.  It can usually be "teased" into the shape needed!

Poppy

[Delireus]

I've only made 1 hat before, it was in a millinery and fabric dying class I took in college a few semesters ago. Sadly, we got tied up in fabric dying and did not have time to make the 3 hats we were suppose to :/

I remember thinking it was pure hell making one, we used thick buckram and millinery wire, but our professor made us sew it by hand, no machines, because that's how she learned how to do it  . I'd say invest in a good thimble and one of those rubbery needle grips or pliers! We made a boater style hat, my brim was a tad large. After it was all said and done, mine was just a little too small for my head. I can wear it, but it isn't terribly comfortable. We actually covered the buckram in baby flannel (which is just thin flannel) in a color similar to our fashion fabric to mask any flaws in the wire and prevent the markings on the buckram we made from showing through the thin fashion fabric, it works pretty well.



It's a gold and black fabric, this isn't the best picture but it's the only one I have right now. both sides of the brim are done in the same fabric the band is made from. The edge of the brim is just black bias tape. It was originally a straight flat brim, but since I made it so deep, it looked ridiculous on me! Like some crazy sombrero or something. So I tried curving it. Meh

Even though I hated making the hat at the time, I really want to do it again! So this coming semester I'm taking a small class on making hats for the play Music Man. These hats will be used in the play, so I can't keep them, but I think it will be fun, and I'll get to make different styles and such.

The book we were required to get for the course is called From the Neck Up: An Illustrated Guide to Hatmaking, it's got some patterns and instructions on making patterns, as well as how to measure your head and just good instructions. While it is a bit old, it's still pretty good and I'd recommend it.