Verity Vintage Studio

A Conglomeration Outfit and a New Hat

Recently when I went through my hats, I found some I'd forgotten about. One of those was this lovely smoky blue 1950s flowered hat, which I found at an antique store years ago, brought home, and never wore as far as I can remember.

 

I promptly remedied that oversight! It's such a pretty color and in great shape.

 

The outfit I wore it with is a rare conglomeration - I usually like to keep things pretty decade specific. The blouse is modern, the skirt is a long ago make from a 1950s pattern, and the shoes are 1940s reproductions (Peggy from Royal Vintage Shoes), which I mostly wore with this outfit because I wanted an excuse to wear them. 

 

The blouse is exactly the same color as the blue netting on the hat, so even though they are separated by sixty years or so, I had to pair them. 

 

I guess the moral of such an outfit is that even when I wear one of the inexorably modern garments in my wardrobe, it's apt to come out looking as vintage as possible. Must be an Irresistible Urge or something built into my genes. :-)

Green and Black: 1940s Ensemble

I made and posted about this 2 piece dress last spring, so that's not new. What is surprising is that it fit me through 7 months of pregnancy. I had made it a little too big to begin with, then lost weight. I intended to alter it and never got around to it - as a result, I only just outgrew it, though it was not a maternity outfit. I could still zip up the skirt and button all the jacket buttons all the way up till now!

 

Though the darts are slightly distorted by my shape, at the moment and the wrinkles are telling me this is the last time to wear it until after the baby comes...

 

The sage green rayon has held up well and presses nicely without shiny spots. With online rayon purchases, I never know what the fabric will be suitable for when it arrives - this one was perfect for dresses with that nice limpness needed for a lot of 1940s dresses. I actually could have used a fabric with more structure for this outfit and kept the rayon for something with gathers and shirring detail...oh, well. 

 

It was very windy when taking these pictures, which posed a challenge for trying to get decent photos!

 

Other than my trusty black 1940s purse, the other accessories are new to the blog.

The classic 1940s black and white spectator pumps are from Royal Vintage (which, by the way, is hosting a giveaway - you still have one more day to enter!). They look like they stepped out of a vintage ad, and are comfortable to boot, once the high vamp is broken in a bit. I used some leather stretch on mine because it cut into the top of my foot on first wearing.

 

I'd always wanted 1940s spectators (still want some navy and white ones!) but after years of looking have never found any that were in nice shape, my size, and price range. To me they are the quintessential shoe of that era and I've loved them for a long time. I finally realized I could spend a bit more and get brand new ones that would fit and not have fragile leather soles, so that's what I did. They are gorgeous, the detailing is superb, and they go with a surprising amount of outfits. Plus they would work for late 1930s as well.

 

My hat I got years ago at a favorite antique mall, then never wore it until more recently when I realized I would like it better if I tucked the upstanding decoration on the front down a bit, so I tacked it down a little to make it slightly less obtrusive than sticking-straight-up and have worn it several times since then. 

 

I've had a hard time dating it, but I think I've settled on the late 1940s and the New Look era, though I'd appreciate anyone's opinion on it. The shape and decoration styles could well have been 1930s, but the shiny straw feels later than that. When I put it on with this outfit I thought it was 1940s enough, but in these pictures it looks closer to 1950s...whoops.

 

The veiling is in poor shape - maybe it was always just a wisp, but it's more a string now. I keep it tucked behind the brim. The hat does have a cute coordinating hatpin with the end of the hatpin the same straw as the hat.

 

Any ideas out there on the appropriate decade or era for this hat?

Why I Like Thrift Stores - The Houndstooth Sweater-Blouse

(This post was supposed to be finished last week, but due to a crazy busy weekend, it was delayed until today.)

Getting ready for a wedding entails several major shopping trips, where we include visiting some large thrift stores. Some new-to-me clothes made their way home, among them this lovely vintage style feminine sweater, which I spotted on a mannequin as soon as I stepped in the door, and hovered around it until someone could take it off the mannequin for me. My first impression was - ooh, that looks so 1950s!

 

Fitted sweaters in a shorter length, worn without a belt, were very popular in the 1950s, as were allover prints and sweater sets. This one is a classic, with its V neck and hip length, wide ribbing and a giant houndstooth design. Super 1950s style.

 

Here I dressed it up as a go-to-town outfit, but it also could be styled more simply for an everyday or house outfit.

 

It's also more than just a pullover, with the pretty lace detailing at the neck and the use of contrast at neck, hem, and cuffs.

 

I found I have a dearth of skirts to wear it with, so that will need to be a wardrobe upgrade at some point in the future! I wasn't really happy with this pairing (also a thrift store find from years ago), but didn't have much choice.

 

But it does go so well with my newest hat, snagged at an antique store earlier this year. The straw beret is fairly fragile, but I couldn't resist the big black velvet bow.

 

It can be worn at various angles, and I believe would also work to accessorize for the 1930s, though I'm pretty sure it's a late '40s or 1950s hat. 

 

The sweater also I could see as having 1930s potential, if worn with a longer bias-cut skirt, ruffles at the throat, and a belt. That's the fun thing about simple pieces like this - they can cross decades of fashion. (Obviously, since this is a modern sweater! :-)

I will enjoy wearing it this fall, and finding new ways to style it. Light sweaters with short sleeves are a favorite of mine when the air starts to turn, but it's still warm during the days. Especially for everyday, since as I've mentioned before, sweaters are fitted and vintage appropriate, but without movement restriction or the need to be pressed before wearing.

 

So I consider this one as a wonderful addition to my autumn wardrobe, and am so glad I spotted it at the thrift store! 

The Bachelor's Button Bonnet

When I was antique shopping with Gina a few weeks ago, I brought home various goodies. A 1930s pattern, some ruffling which I promptly used in a sewing project, a vintage magazine and some books. Gina learned very quickly that I was side-tracked by rows of old books as we skimmed through the booths! But my prize of the day was this hat.

 

I think it's from the late '40s or perhaps 1950. It was too charming to let behind. The black straw with its cunning side loops and close fit to the head was lovely enough, but the corsage of pristine vintage blooms in delicate white and blue, all for a reasonable price, was too much for me. So it came along home to join my extensive hat collection.

 

I frequently mix eras when I dress up, unless it's for an event where I want to be as period correct as possible. But this time, by accident, the era of the dress I paired with the hat was a perfect match.

I've mentioned before how much I like the transition between classic 1930s and classic 1940s in fashion. But there was also this neat little fashion blip between the war-affected fashions of the mid 1940s and the quintessential silhouettes of the 1950s when older fashions were in style again - of course with some updating to make them fashion forward. Taking something old and redesigning it in a fresh way in nothing new to the fashion industry. Reading fashion ads in vintage magazines from this era you'll find descriptions of the latest thing including words like "bustle" and "carriage hat" and "poke bonnet" that sound much more like the late 1800s than the late 1940s. 

Here are some images from 1948 or thereabouts to demonstrate what I'm talking about. The first one is even edited to look like an old portrait photograph! The others - feathers, high buttoned shoes, jackets with peplums, hats - look heavily Edwardian in everything except for the skirt length and the made-up faces.

 

  

  

This dress (made last year as part of my Polka Dot Project) is from that window in fashion, and honestly (though perhaps my fabric choice contributed), doesn't it look almost 1910? Heavily inspired by the Titanic era, at least?

 

So at any rate, this hat deliberately has an older-fashioned-than-vintage flavor yet still with a chic element that would have been new back then. I love the charming combination.

 

Gina told me these are bachelor's buttons (I'll take her word for it, being fairly ignorant of flowers), and they are in such good condition. She told me to steam them to make them happy again, so I did. And they are.

 

I love vintage millinery flowers. Such better quality and so much more lifelike than most modern faux flowers! I like to use them for corsages and hair flowers as well, and it delights me to find these in pristine condition.

The thick grouping of flowers on one side did make the hat a tad heavier on that side, but nothing that a hatpin on the opposite side wouldn't fix. One more little detail was a wisp of black veiling that softens the front brim and nestles against the head just above the curls.

 

So, though it wasn't Easter, was it any wonder that I had a tune stuck in my head most of the day?

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,

You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade...

 

Only in this case it definitely wasn't frills. It was flowers. Lots and lots of them!

Green Dress and Kooky Hat

Recently while stopping at the same vintage clothing shop where I got my wide-brimmed brown hat worn in the Traveling Dress post, I found another hat I had to add to my collection (especially, or perhaps only, because it was 60% off!) 

 

I have a feeling it was quite a pricey hat in its day...probably the late 1940s during the New Look era. Come to think of it, it would have been quite a pricey hat in this day, if it hadn't been on sale!

 

But it's just so...interesting! I call it my Kooky Hat. The unusual shape, and the curled ends, and that unexpected tassel!

 

The lady I bought it from said it always reminded her of George Washington, and his curled wig!

 

After debating over it, I finally decided to get it and wore it to church a few weeks ago, pairing it with the dress I had made for Palm Sunday this year. I love the dress and have worn it a few times but until now it hadn't made it to the blog.

 

It's from a 1950's pattern. The skirt has a yoke and cute little pleats in the front. I pressed them, since they appeared to be pressed on the pattern illustration, though there were no instructions for doing so.

 

The pleat detail is also incorporated into the yoke on the bodice.

It was a bit of a learning curve, doing the pleats that way, but it all went smoothly. I love the feminine detail they add to the bodice.

 

I like 3/4 sleeves so that was my first choice with this dress, also because the fabric was a color I can wear from spring to fall. It fits me well and the solid-tonal cotton blend fabric is comfortable, so I was very happy with it overall.

 

And my new hat was a good color to complement the green.

 

I debated taking off the tassel, and I still could while leaving it intact in case I wish to put it back, but decided that the tassel was part of the unexpected element about the hat which made my buy it, so I let it on. What do you think? Tassel or no tassel?

April Tutorial - Revamped Original 1940s Crochet Hat Pattern

Springtime and Easter means time for new, shady hats! You can often find lovely ones in antique stores and online, and sometimes in thrift stores if you're lucky. But how handy it is to make your own!

 

Some time ago I found this rare, beautiful 1940s crochet hat pattern online and knew I had to make it. At once! The original pattern had only one photo and was somewhat difficult to follow - vintage crochet terms are different and much looser than modern crochet - and I ended up changing it some as well, so I thought I would share my version of the pattern with you. 

(Want the original instead, vague instructions and out-of-production materials notwithstanding? Check it out in this issue of Hey Doll Vintage Magazine.)

 

My first trial was mostly a success. Since I didn't have the millinery wire called for I was typically too impatient to wait until I found some, so I used a long, thin metal dress hanger instead and re-bent it into a circle. It didn't quite work. Too small, so the hat ended up a little ruffled and somewhat lumpy. But still quite wearable. 

 

I trimmed it with these gorgeous vintage millinery strawberries from Mary Not Martha.

 

For my next trial, I found this 12 gauge, easily posable floral wire - floral wire is much easier to find than millinery wire! - to use for the brim. It turned out it really was too posable and bends too easily to be the best choice, so I guess I'll keep looking!

 

My yarn choice was different as well, and the final version turned out much smoother and quite sturdy.

 

 

Not having any photos of the back, I was surprised to find as I worked through the pattern that it had an open crown, which I ended up liking very much. But, at least for my head, the crown the pattern called for was too high and unflattering, so I revamped it a little.  

 

The flexibility of the brim wire may be a disadvantage, but it does allow for easy changes in style!

 

So now for my version of this pattern.

 

Wide-Brim Lacy 1940s Hat

Materials:

Lily's Sugar'n Cream 100% cotton worsted weight yarn - 2 balls Ecru, CA; 2 balls Light Blue, CB

Size H/8/5mm crochet hook, or size needed to obtain gauge

yarn needle

stitch markers (optional)

12 gauge floral or millinery wire

vintage flowers and/or ribbon for trimming (optional)

 

Skill Level:

low intermediate

 

Gauge:

 With 2 strands, 3 rows of sc=1 in. high. (Stitches will be tight and dense.)

 

Finished Size:

16 in. in diameter; somewhat adjustable head size at the crown.

 

Abbreviations:

CA=color A

CB=color B

ch(s)=chain(s)

lp(s)=loop(s)

rep=repeat

rnd(s)=round(s)

sc=single crochet

sk=skip

sl st=slip stitch

st(s)=stitch(es)

 

Pattern Notes:

Solid section rnds are not joined; use stitch markers to keep track of beginning of rnds if necessary.

 

Hat - Crown

Solid Part:

Holding 2 strands of CA together, ch 40 (ch should measure approx. 13 in. long). Join with sl st in first ch to form a ring. Be careful not to twist.

Rnd 1: ch 1, sc in each ch around; do not join. 40 sc

Rnd 2: sc in first sc, 2 sc in next sc, (sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc) around; do not join. 60 sc

Rnds 3-4: sc in each sc around. At end of last rnd, join with sl st in first sc and fasten off. 

Lace Part:

Rnd 5: holding 2 strands of CB together (or you may use 1 strand in order to match the brim better), join in any st, ch 1, (ch 5, sk 2 sc, sl st in next sc) around; join with sl st in first ch. 20 ch lps

Rnd 6: work 5 sc in each ch lp around; join with sl st in first sc. 100 sc

 

 

Lower Crown and Brim

Solid Part:

Rnd 7: holding 2 strands of CA together, join in the center sc of any 5 sc group, ch 1, (sc in center sc of 5 sc group, ch 3) around; join with sl st in first sc. 20 ch lps

Rnd 8: ch 1, (sc in sc, work 3 sc in ch lp) around; do not join. 80 sc 

Rnds 9-10: sc in each sc around; do not join.

Rnd 11: (2 sc in next sc, sc in next 2 sc) around, add 2 more sc in same st as last sc; do not join. 109 sc

Rnds 12-13: sc in each sc around. Join last rnd with sl st in first sc. Fasten off. 

It's starting to look like a hat now!

You could actually stop here and wear it as a small 1950s hat on the back of the head.

 

Lace Part:

Rnd 14: with 1 strand of CB, join in any sc; (ch 1, sc) in same st, ch 5, sk next 2 sc, (sc in next sc, ch 5, sk next 2 sc) around; join with sl st in first sc. 36 ch lps

Rnd 15: sl st into next ch lp, ch 1, work 5 sc in each lp around; join with sl st in first sc. 180 sc

Rnd 16: sl st into next 2 chs, (ch 1, sc) in same st, ch 5, (sc in center sc of 5 sc group, ch 5) around; join with sl st in first sc.

Rnd 17: rep Rnd 15.

Rnd 18: rep Rnd 16. 

Rnds 19-20: rep Rnds 17-18. Fasten off at end of last rnd. 

Rnd 21: join 1 strand of CA in center sc of any 5 sc group, (ch 1, sc) in same st, (ch 3, sc in center of next 5 sc group, ch 4, sc in center of next 5 sc group) around; instead of last sc, join with sl st in first sc.

Rnd 22: rep Rnd 15.

Bend wire into a loop, wrapping the 2 ends securely together for a few inches to make a circle. Hold wire against Rnd 22.

Rnd 23: Working over wire, sc in each sc around; join with sl st in first sc.

Rnds 24-25: sc over Rnd 23 and wire again (the 3 rnds of sc will effectively conceal the wire). Join last rnd with sl st in first sc and fasten off. 

 

Finishing:

Cut a length of CA, weave through sc of Rnd 9, tighten slightly and tie ends on the wrong side of hat to define brim. This may be adjusted to help fit head size. Weave in all ends on the underside, mist with water and shape hat; let it dry on a hat form or inverted bowl.

Trim as desired with vintage flowers and ribbon. (The original photo seems to show it with a ribbon around the crown and tied in the back with the ends dangling down to the shoulder blades.)

(I happened to have a yard of 4 in. taffeta ribbon that matched the blue yarn exactly!)

 

That's it! All finished. Now you can style it any way you like. 

With the bow in the back, bend the front down for a more dramatic picture hat style...

 

...or leave it with a plain round brim for the cartwheel look on the back of the head especially worn by teens and young women during the summer months in the 1940s and '50s, as shown in the original pattern photo...

 

 

...or tug it a bit to make it more of an oval shape, bending it slightly and wearing it tilted with the bow on the side front, for more of a late 1930s look. Lots of possibilities!

 

The last round is tedious, awkwardly working over the wire, but I think it's worth it. Fun to make and wear for spring! And the best part is you can make as many as you want in any color needed in your summer hat wardrobe. 

Till next month!

Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

 

Look for a new tutorial posted during the first full week of every month...How-tos for hairstyles, crafts, vintage, repurposing, etc.

Why I Like Thrift Stores...the Brown Bow Hat

...lots of reasons! But a lovely vintage hat in mint condition for a low price is definitely one of them. :-)

May Tutorial - How to Make a 1930s Tilt Hat from a Plain Wool Beret

I love hats with lots of style, especially tilt hats from the 1930s and '40s. Unfortunately, most times they are the most expensive to buy because the seller, even if he or she doesn't know what they are worth, think that they look like they should be expensive! And it's true. The amazing creativity of hats from that era always has fascinated me, and the endless varieties of shape, style, and embellishments make hat collecting a never ending pursuit.

 

But it's so much fun to make your own!

 

So this month, I'll show you how to turn a plain, 100% wool beret (the type that can be bought cheaply, compared to fancy vintage ones) into an elegant tilt hat just the type worn in the 1930s and '40s - perfect for costumes - with plenty of personality. And of course, if you make it, you get to decide how it will look and be trimmed.

 

 

Some Specifics

Tilt hats were always worn on the top of the head, usually - hence the name - tilted to one side. It could be tilted a little or as far down as one eyebrow. They could be wide brimmed or small, made of most hat materials. The hat's shape lent itself to this and usually featured a small lap of the hat's fabric under the brim or edge of the back. In the 1930s, since it had just evolved from the very close fitting 1920s flapper hats, small tilt hats were very popular, often worn well pulled down, and could be plainer for travel wear or very elaborate. When you make your own, the style and trimming is up to you.

 

To make your own, you will need:

1 plain 100% wool beret

something for a hat form (I covered a tin container with foam and bubble wrap, but a styrofoam life-size head would work too since you can stick pins in it and it will give a better idea of how the finished hat will look on a real head)

long, sturdy pins

vintage flowers, veils, ribbons, etc, for trimming

 

Reshaping the Beret

We're starting with experimenting with different styles, so we won't wet the hat yet.

 

Here's a "before" photo of the plain beret:

The most important part of making a round hat into a tilt hat is making the back higher than the front. Since all tilt hats had a lap or tongue of hat fabric out the back, we will try to do the same by refolding the hat.

 

Here's its original shape:

 

And this is how the brim looks underneath:

 

What you'll want to do is find the back of the hat, usually indicated by the brim lining overlapping, and refold it just at the back so that it has as much extra as possible. In this case I could only get it an inch wider because of the sweatband coming into view.

 

This will make the back taller than the front, which is what you want.

 

Pin it on the hat form as you are holding it.

 

Now you can start experimenting with the front. There are quite a few ways to do it, and here are a few.

  

View 1. Mark the center front. Crease the hat on either side of the center on the brim, which will fold the tip of the hat down to make a point, kind of like a newsboy hat.

 

 

View 2. Make an assymetrical hat by folding down one side of the front several times, and as that will pull on the rest of the hat, shape it in creases. I used a pin to keep it in shape.

 

View 3. Make it sailor style by bending down the center and making a point in the front.

 

There are of course other ways to fold and pin it. If you try pinning it with safety pins, you can even try it on and decide what looks best and is most becoming. 

I went with view 2, or as closely as I could replicate it.

 

To set it, wet the beret completely and thoroughly. With your hat form on a towel, reshape it and pin it as you go. As you set it now, it will dry, so smooth out any lumps or dents you don't want.

 

Put a fan on it and let it completely dry, which may take as long as overnight. Then unpin it. Here's mine:

 

Now the fun part begins! I first experimented with a large gauze ribbon flower on a bow.

It worked, but didn't look quite Period.

 

So my next try was with a vintage veil that had a large, flat flower in the center of it, and added a small bundle of iridescent feathers.

The feathers added a touch of color and the way they curved along the brim emphasized the front point.

I decided to keep it like this, but fastened the veil and feathers on with safety pins on the inside of the hat, which means I can unpin it any time I want to redo the hat's trimmings. Much easier than gluing or sewing!

So that's how to add a great, classy costume piece to your 1930s or '40s collection, without breaking the bank! It's no ordinary beret now. :-)

 

Till next month,

~Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

Look for my new tutorials posted sometime during the first full week of every month. Hairstyles, crafts, repurposing, vintage themed, etc.

 

April Tutorial - How to Make a 1950s Hat for Spring

Since Easter is this month, which means it's spring hat time, I thought I'd show you how to make a cute 1950s style hat that anyone can make and customize and it fits any head size, using just 3 things.

 

I'm always on the lookout for smaller hats or head adornments to wear at restaurants or other formal occasions. I saw one on Ebay that was made of velvet covered wire twisted with 2 loops on either side and had just one strand like a headband to go over the head, and it looked so classy and easy, so I decided to make something similar for myself. I couldn't find a heavy gauge covered wire, so I decided to make my own.

You can see the classic 1950s silhouette.

 

You will need:

wire cutters

floral grapevine

wired 5/8 in. ribbon

 

1. Wrap the ribbon around one end of the grapevine several times to hide the end.

 

Keep wrapping, overlapping the edge so it starts to cover the grapevine. Since you are working with 2 wired substances, the best way is to keep the ribbon stationary and turn the grapevine as you cover it.

Keep on wrapping! It's amazing how much it takes to bend in a few loops.

When you get a lot wrapped, go ahead and start shaping it. I did mine in 2 loops of slightly different sizes. The smaller loops will go in the front. (Of course you can try bending it in all sorts of other shapes.)

Here it is a little farther along. By this time I held it on my head to determine how long the across piece should be, and started the loop for the other side. You want to make the loops like a figure 8, always crossing on alternate sides.

 

 

If you like it with a slightly rustic look, wind the ribbon loosely so the grapevine shows through occasionally.

 

Now it's wound far enough that I am ready to join the 2 ends.

 

 

With the wire cutters, clip the grapevine off and cut the ribbon with 4-5 in. extra.

Now hold the grapevine ends together and wind them securely with the ribbon to close over the join. Then you're all done!

 

2. There are lots of different ways to decorate. For this one I chose a vintage flower with a short wire stem, and wired it to one side of the hat.

It's light, cool to wear for summer, and can be bent to fit your head over your hairstyle, even if it's a new way each time you wear it!

 

Of course you can trim it in so many ways. Here's one with the top covered with a floral branch.

 

It makes a great base for a veil.

And I want to try it as a hat frame, too, to be covered with lace or fabric and decorated.

But for now, it's a fun spring accessory (Period correct for 1950s costumes, too) and only takes about a half hour to make!

 

Till next time,

~Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

Look for my new tutorials posted sometime during the first full week of every month. Hairstyles, crafts, repurposing, etc.

 

January Tutorial – How to Make a Titanic Hat from a Wool Cloche

Less a Tutorial than a Project Journal

I am not a person who can wear bucket cloches. Very few people can wear them well, and I am not one of them. So when I got a navy blue bucket cloche with a lot of other hats from an auction, I didn't know what to do with it. I kept it for years without wearing it. I did try crumpling down the center, and it looked like a fedora. Not my type of hat either. 

Skip ahead a few years...Recently I've become interested in hat making. I've been reading articles and how-tos on different types of hats, and also hat forms or molds since to buy one is so expensive. I've become more and more fascinated by how easy to shape wet wool felt is. But being impatient me, do I wait until I can find or order some hat grade wool felt? No...

Instead I get the brilliant idea to reshape my vintage cloche – especially since that means all the seams are done already and the hem.

It also means I have less scope for creativity because I have to work with what is there. I have to take into account the decoration already around the crown. But I figured I could do something better with it, and here is how I did it.

(I'm so sorry I don't have a before picture – I didn't think of using this for a tutorial until it was already finished. But here's a picture that shows the approximate shape of what it was before I started.)

 

The Hat Form

Basics first. After researching how to make your own hat form, I decided to do it easy and found that this works well, though it's not the prettiest hat drying form around, and only takes a few minutes.

 

First, I took a Planter's peanut can, which is about the right size and lightweight. Many other types of cans should work – I had this one on hand.

 

I folded styrofoam packing on the bottom of the can (now the top of the hat form) and used packaging tape to tape bubble wrap all around it to make a dome. This is to keep the hat from having a square top.

 

 

Then I covered it all over with plastic wrap to keep it dry when the hat is on it.

 

And the best part is - it only took me a few minutes!

 

The Hat Shaping

For the cloche, I first soaked it good in water. I ran water in it and outside it, all over it, until it was completely soaked through. It still retained its shape – it just looked like a very wet, heavy cloche.

I put the hat form on a bath towel and put the dripping hat on the form.

 

Then the fun part started. I had the decoration on the side to work around, so I knew what had to be front and what was back. Also the length of the brim was slightly different in front and back. But with those considerations in mind, I could play around with it, folding it different ways and pinning it.

 

 

I pinned up the brim on one side to make it look a little like a riding habit hat, then pinned all the wrinkles how I wanted them and smoothed out the ones I didn't want.

 

 

Since I didn't want the hat so tall, I punched the top in a little and sculpted the wrinkles that created.

 

With all the padding on the hat form, you can stick pins into it and they'll stay. So when it was all pinned, I set it – still on the bath towel – in front of a fan and let it there all day. It felt dry by the evening, but I left it on the form overnight, just in case.

 

The next day I took the pins out and this was the result:

It held its new shape perfectly! Hooray!

  

Hat Trimming

The fun part! I wanted a Lady Grantham style sort of hat for my Titanic costumes, and this hat lent itself well to that. I won't say it in the end it looks completely period, but it's close enough for the time being.

My favorite hat trimming devices are vintage millinery flowers and berries. They just look more authentic than modern ones, for some reason. But I also like hat trims that don't have to be sewn or glued on, since that way I can change them around to match my costume if I like. With that in mind, I keep a supply of decently-authentic looking flower clips and brooches (cheap in craft stores), which are admirable for times like this.

 

So first I wanted a dash of color. The millinery berries did that well, and with the turned up brim I could hide the stems easily.

 

Feathers are always appropriate, especially for this time period. I liked how this looked on the hat, but it came down over my eye too much, so I decided to wait until later to place it.

 

 

Then I had an idea to use a jewelry component of a strip of rolled ribbon flowers I've had for a while. I tucked one end under the side decoration, and the other between two folds on the crown of the hat. That makes a nice asymmetrical look.

 

But it needs more poof. Time to bring on the clip-on flowers.

 

This one? Nope. Definitely not polka dots. And the rose shape doesn't fit right with the style of the hat.

 

This one's better, but almost too much poof. It makes the hat look more steampunk, or gothic. Which is fine if that's what you like, but not what I'm looking for. Besides, I thought it added too many colors in a jumble.

 

 

Ah, now this is better! It's close to the ivory of the roses, but more of a champagne, to add depth of ivory shades. It will match anything and is more the right size. It's on an alligator clip, so I can move it around as I wish, or replace it if needed to match an outfit.

 

The feather adds a finishing touch. And all I need to do is stitch down the ends of the rose strip and maybe a berry cluster to keep it in place.

 

 

Hat views:

 

 

And of course, even though I am not in costume, I had to try it on.

 

 

I flatter myself that it really does look like a hat Lady Grantham would wear. And even if not, it's much better than the bucket cloche it was, when it sat in a hatbox for years!

 

 

Now I am excited about buying up all sorts of wool hats in antique stores that I wouldn't normally purchase, just so I can reshape them; and am sorry for all the ones in the past I decided I didn't like after all, and sold or gave away!

Just to demonstrate shaping a different style, here's the before and after pictures of another hat I at first didn't like and had the inspiration to turn it into a ritzy looking (and even more Period than the cloche) '40s style tilt hat - one of the more expensive styles to buy vintage and incidentally one of my favorites.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I don't know if I'll get into actual hat making - shaping straw, for instance - although I do think I want to try making a hat from scratch eventually, maybe cutting up wool coats from a thrif store (not too nice coats, of course!). But I am looking forward to being able to make my own unique creation out of ugly or unwanted hats – and give them a new life.

 

See you later!

~Kristen - Verity Vintage Studio

 

 

Look for my new tutorials posted sometime during the first full week of every month. Hairstyles, crafts, repurposing, vintage themed, etc.