She couldn’t resist making one for herself, but…who can blame her?!

Made using vintage materials, she looks very handsome in it!

And she has lent me vintage material so I can make myself one with them:

Here I go again… I bought some chic and cheap polyester fabric with a fun print on it and ironed a stiff interfacing on. For the outside I used the “good” side of the fabric, for the inside I used the “wrong” slightly darker side.

I made a dogs breakfast of it and had to rip part of the brim seam because the lining was longer than the outer part which resulted in some ugly wrinkles when I tried to fold the brim up (live and learn). Another low point was when I realized I had cut my finger and left tiny droplets of blood all over the fabric. Fortunately I managed to remove those.

The result is not bad at all and it got some compliments when I wore it yesterday…

The funny thing is that both this version and the red one get the comment of being a “Robin hood” hat, but never in a demeaning way more as a general comment on what people get reminded of when they see this shape. Again I have used a brooch (not vintage but still nice) for this hat, but if I make another one I think I will use some of the wonderful vintage buttons I have recently received.

I took some pictures of the process, but not as many as I should have because I panicked halfway when I had to undo some of it.

Looking through one of my vintage millinery books I saw this fun looking foldable hat and decided to give it a go. It is so ridiculously easy that I was not sure if it would turn out ok or if I would end up looking like an overgrown elf. Good news is that it looks great and it’s soooooo easy. The book is “How to make hats” by Ruby Carnahan.

The one I made is the simpler version, using just the “section A” pattern for the outside and lining, but there is a posibility to use contrasting colors, and a pattern for making a tri-color hat. I used some leftover wool  fabric I had at home, and I’ve followed the instructions to a certain point, because I’ve sewn everything by machine, finishing it by putting the lining and exterior (good sides together), sewing around the brin and leaving a bit to turn it around.

The hat is simple because it’s made out of a single piece of fabric (well, two, one for the outside and one for the lining), sewn into a cone which then has its tip folded down to give it its peculiar look. The brim allows for a lot of play to get different looks. I’ve used one of my vintage brooches to keep the tip down

I’m not much of a sailor, so it’s going to be just a hat for shore for me, but I would be tempted to board a cruise ship in style with my new hat.

You can try it yourself, I have scanned the instructions and pattern (seam allowance not included!). Click here to see all pictures and pattern.

I intend to make more of these, so I will take pictures of the process next time. If you give it a try let me know, I would love to see how it looks!