This is my multipurpose design, the Giorno/Sera (Day/Night) hat. It’s a hat that works as a sun hat with a wide brim, but which can be used as an evening hat by removing the brim and attaching a veil.

Here is the sketch of the hat (and yes, I sketched that not having a clue how I was going to solve the issue of the removable brim and veil!!):

Two of my projects for the competition were made with sewn straw braid. The reason is that I love the possibilities of sewing “straw” braid by machine and the wonderful final look. It helps too that I recently took at course at the Hat Museum/Atelier of Chazelles-sur-Lyon that was a real eye opener in what concerns the use of a hat braid sewing machine, with top notch teacher and wonderful person Jean-Pierre Tritz. Here is a picture of us students with the much admired Jean-Pierre Tritz (he’s 4th from the left, I’m 2nd from the left). I cannot recommend highly enough this course and this teacher: he is THE MAN.

Here is the picture of the finished hat assembled as EVENING hat (the straw used is Starbright):

The front angle on the hat was made by sewing the braid closer together on that side. Little by little the right angle is achieved.

[Lots more pictures follow, just click on the “more” button on the left!]

This is a back view of the hat:

And here a picture of the hat with the veil removed:

Once the veil is removed, the hat can be assembled as a DAY hat:

Here is the brim unattached (there is some velcro that keeps it closed), and then the fabric is tied into a bow:

My original idea for this hat was to make a cork block for the brim in order to shape it to perfection (a hat block allows the sewn braid to be ironed into perfect shape). Unfortunately there was no time (the two cork sheets -3cm and 4cm- are still in my workroom waiting to be transformed into a brim block). It took me too much time to work out the HOW of this hat, and the clock was ticking. Sometimes it’s better to have a finished product that is beautiful and almost perfect, than to have a half finished hat that is becoming perfection, but is not finished when the deadline hits. The brim was shaped free-hand will sewing.

More soon on my groovy 60’s leather cap!