Out of My Comfort Zone-Victorian Hat

For the Historic Sew Monthly June Challenge of "Out of You Comfort Zone" I decided to try drafting a 1925 day dress from pictures.

 

It was an abject failure.  Not even worth showing or explaining. I have decided to maintain my original idea of using patterns.  Why reinvent the wheel?

 

My second project I attempted to get out of my comfort zone was to make a hat to go with my Natural Bustle era walking costume. I purchased the TV 550 hat pattern and the requisite materials.

 

 

I used two layers of buckram as mine was a light weight. I hand stitched the entire hat following the instructions in the pattern. I then covered it with a layer of white silk flat lined with white cotton muslin. The blue trim is upholstery trim.  I purchased a package of feathers to finish the trim.

 

 

There are a lot of areas I can improve such as learning how to join wires more neatly, hand stitch  the fashion fabric more neatly, etc.

 

 

 

These two hatpins I inherited from my mother.

 

Cost breakdown:

Buckram $5/yd. I used about half a yard

Wire: $3

Silk: $9 for half a yard

Trim: About $1

Feathers: $4

Total: About $19

Pattern: $11

 

Challenge: Out of Your Comfort Zone

Pattern: Truly Victorian 550

Year: ca. 1880

Notions: Wire, thread, trim, feathers

How historically accurate?: About 80% as the trim is polyester and of course all materials are machine made.  I sewed the entire thing by hand.

Hours to complete: about 10 hours as I was rather obsessed to get it done.  Next time I will slow down and try to improve my skills.

First worn: Not yet.

Total cost: $20

 

Thank you for stopping by and seeing my latest costume challenge.

Jeannine