Finished hat.

Lining

We made a 2 piece lining to fit the crown by cutting a top piece and a bias strip for the side band. I used a scarf as my fabric and added light weight interfacing on the top piece to help the lining stay in place.

The center front and back were marked, the band pinned to the crown and machine stitched.

Izzie suggested that I leave the scarf border showing on the band … its a nice touch and adds a personal touch.

The lining is placed in the hat [ aligning center front & back] and pushed up to fit into the crown, holding it in place.  The band edge is pinned just inside the head size and whip stitched into place.

Headsize

To finish the headsize we used cotton / rayon gros grain cut to about 25″.

At the iron fold one end over 1/4″ and press.  Arch the gros grain using the hot iron.

Pin in place [smaller ark goes up], whip stitch and lap the folded over edge over the raw edge to finish.

Trim

Prior to class I made up a couple different trims and settled on this one.

Hat trim detail. Photo taken in light box with Nikon

A great class with Izzie Lewis, many new skills and a fabulous hat…

This week we learned about customizing and fitting the hat.

Crown

We marked center front & back on the crown, removed the tacks and popped the buckram off the block.

The crown block I used was in two pieces since it was slightly flared.

We then trimmed the buckram to our desired height, cut flannel with grain aligned front/back, pinned, backstitched and trimmed; then repeated with fabric.

Brim

This is where a custom fit hat is made, by adjusting the cut out hole to fit the shape of the head….long oval, flat oval…making adjustments and trying on until the fit is perfect.

My fabric is a little thick when folded and my head is a long oval which means I made a few adjustments; including trimming out the flannel thickness, and running a new machine stitch line in the center front.

I also clipped and manipulated the hole to fit my head. Once we had a good fit the brim and crown were pinned together and a running stitch was placed in each tab to secure.

A hat is born.

Homework is to complete the crown band.

This includes cutting a bias band 2x crown height + 1″, stretching the strip around the crown for a snug fit, arranging folds and securing with a hidden stitch.

Next lesson trims and lining.

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