A Hat for the Man in Black

This really was a last-minute project for Ryan. He originally said no to a hat, then wanted a tri-corn type of hat.  I told him no to that - hats of that style were about 100 years after the time period we were supposed to be in.

After a little research I realized he needed something akin to a fedora with no shaping, or a short top hat. I was in the midst of creating three other Ren Faire outfits and my creative juices were on overdrive.

​As they say a hat completes an outfit, so this is what I cobbled together from supplies I already had lying around. It started with a $3 hat from Dollar General, which was a little too small.  

It was a paper "straw" hat, and I just picked apart the plastic thread stitching and off came several coils, until the brim was narrow. The top was raised with the help of some super-stiff interfacing I normally use for bodices, and the top was stiffened with nylon upholstery piping.

​And hot glue. Lots of hot glue

Then the whole thing was covered with black felt, secured in place with more hot glue.

Here is the felt over the top with pleats to hold it in place.  Those took forever to get right!

The pleats were secured in three places along each pleat, and some leftover trim from his doublet hid the seam between the hat body and the brim.

And here the corner is turned up, with feathers added that have been pirated from my own hat.  I really, really wish it wasn't just a a little too small. After adding the felt the straw hat lost its stretch.  Ryan said it gave him a headache, though he wore it for a few hours with compliments!

So, I'll file this under "practice." I'm not going to attempt a hat for him this fall, unless he specifically asks.