Steampunk and its growing following

[Rani Zemirah]

Just picked up a couple of sheets of stiffened craft felt at Hobby Lobby today, and am busy creating a pattern for my first ever mini-topper... I plan on using the felt as the pattern, itself, and making the bodies out of several of the brocade and chenille samples I've got.  I haven't decided what I'll use to stiffen them with, but I know I don't want to use buckram because it loses it's shape if it gets wet.  I thought about plastic canvas, though... and it comes in different thicknesses, so the very thinnest might just work. 

[Auryn]

keep us update Rani, Id love to see how it comes out.

[Taffy Saltwater]

Rani, as you know, I love toppers of all sizes and anxiously await your new chapeau.  Yay, you!  There are lots of tutorials on the webs, if you need a little help.  The only thing I took away with me from the board last year was that the brim is a lot bigger than you'd think.

[Rani Zemirah]

Well... since you ask.  Uhhhh...  I just happen to have an update.    

After drafting the pattern {which was surprisingly easy, btw) I was so excited to try it out that I decided to go ahead and cut out the pieces, just do see if it looked like it was going to work.  I used one of those chenille samples I've been trying to talk myself into making pouches with for, well... ever... (do NOT use upholstery chenille for making hats... it sucks... and it will unravel completely if you aren't careful), cut out the pieces... and decided to sew a couple of them together.  


Yes... I stayed up all night.    But... I now have my very first mini-topper, and all that's left to do is decorate it!  Well, and work on my techniques a bit... and figure out the easiest way to actually sew the pieces together... and decide if I will EVER again fully line another hat.    

(Edit:  I need to press the brim, as well... and maybe slip a piece of florists wire inside of it, just to give it a little shape... )


It has been a VERY long night... but it was very productive, and lots of fun!  And I actually have something kinda cool to show for it...  





Oh, and it's actually completely black, but I couldn't get a decent photo of it in my house, because all my lighting sucks... so I had to play with it a bit in photoshop to get ANY detail to come out at all.  The background is one of the silk skirts I got last week along with the saris that I stumbled across on craigslist.  

Taffy, you're right... I DO need to enlarge the brim a bit... and widen the opening some, as well.  

[Taffy Saltwater]

Oh, that's cute.  And looks like it was a lot of work.  Which was the 2nd thing I took away from the mini top hat board.

[Rani Zemirah]

Oh, that's cute.  And looks like it was a lot of work.  Which was the 2nd thing I took away from the mini top hat board.

Oh, yes... I was a huge amount of work!  But I think it will get a bit easier, and a little faster, once I have more practice.  I also sewed every stitch... by hand.   

Because of the scale I just couldn't really get my head around trying to sew any of it on the machine... and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get to that point, either.   

[Delireus]

That hat is adorable! I just made my first hat last semester, I took a fabrics dying and millinery class at my college (I'm a technical theatre student, it was under costuming)

It was a boater hat, like...those straw hats with the red white and blue ribbon around it that you see people on boats with from a long time ago? Only it was out of buckram, baby felt, and fabric. We had to sew through 4 layers of buckram by hand! My teacher said that since she had to when she was younger, so did we XD. Oh, it took like 4 weeks. We literally had to hammer the huge needle into the buckram and pull it out with pliers it was so thick. However, because of the law of justification of effort, I have never loved anything so much in my life as that hat! I bet you love yours too because of all the hard work you put into it, and because it's so adorable 

[Rani Zemirah]

Awww... thanks.  And yes, I do really love it!  Although I'm also looking very critically at it to see how to make it much better next time.  I haven't been able to put it down yet, though...  LOL  I had to decorate it, of course!  I'm about to fall over now, because I haven't had any sleep... and if I had to do this for a living I'd starve to death, because there's no way I could charge enough to justify the amount of hours I have in this project...    

Hopefully, though, I will be able to seriously streamline the process, and make a little something with it, as well...


Et viola!!!





Sorry for the large photos... that's just how my phone sends them to facebook... so that's how they post here.

[April Marie]

it looks fabulous Rani!  You did a wonderful job!  I was thinking about making my own hat for my steampunk costume and decided that i would forgo a hat this year.

[Auryn]

Rani- love the hat.
I particularly love the little organdy poof in the back

[Rani Zemirah]

Thanks, ladies...  It was lots of fun to make, and now that I know what NOT to do (   ), I think the next one will go much faster!  Particularly since I plan to use a brocade instead of the cursed chenille...   

I was realizing, though, as I was looking around for various things to trim this one with, that I've been collecting bits of ribbon, lace, trim, cord, appliques and such for literally years... and if I could just get it all much better organized than it is now, I could probably make a few dozen different kinds of hats all from my stash, without spending anything out of pocket for a good long time.  Particularly after coming home from the party on the 4th with a whole zippered plastic storage bag (think bed-in-a-bag size) full of thread... every color you can think of.  Family friend was going to throw it out, after her mother passed.  Yes... I've got a whole lotta crafting supplies.   


I think I'm going to try one in the leather I just got in a couple of weeks ago, as well... after I get my pattern perfected, of course.   

[Taffy Saltwater]

I really love this - very nice job!

[Rani Zemirah]

Thank you, Taffy...    Knowing how much you're into toppers, your approval makes me feel really great about this whole project! 



Oh yeah... did I mention that I made the whole hat (except for trim, of course) out of a single 16 x 16 fabric sample?   

[Taffy Saltwater]

Well, heck, that makes things even mo' bettah!   

[Rani Zemirah]

Oh, Gods.. I can't even SEE straight!  I have to get a couple hours of sleep... before I fall over! 


I wish the girl upstairs would make her 4y/o STOP running across the floor...    Sounds like she's got a herd of stampeding elephants up there!!!