Hats and Mad Caps at the Hat Bar

First off, I figured out why I could no longer upload pictures to my blog (with the help of the Geek Squad.) I was using the new Edge search engine that came with Windows 10.  It is flawed.  It will not allow pictures to upload.  So I have gone back to Google Chrome and Voila! it works.

So Let's play catch up.

The first few days of August I was home alone and hadn't spoken to anyone in three days except the cats. As sweet as they are I felt it was time to speak to a human.  So Saturday morning I got in my Jeep and started driving around town looking for garage sales.  In the oldest section of town where there are houses from the 1920s through the 1950s I found an estate sale.  

I poked around the back yard first, nothing but farm and garage tools.  Then inside I found a bedroom with a rack full of 1950s hand made dresses. Dresses for a very tiny lady.  In the closet there were at least 10 hats.  Most were in well used shape.  I looked them over and picked up a pair of hats.

  This first hat reminds me of Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy. It has no tag in it but is in super shape.  Nice and clean with no fading or wear marks at all.

It really is this gorgeous dark navy.  It will look beautiful with the 1943 dress I made or better yet with a pencil skirt and suit coat.

This second hat is labelled.  It is also this perfect shade of navy.  It is made of velvet. I think it would need a hat pin of some sort to keep it on my head, or else it is just too small. I am not sure what I would wear it with here in California. It is definitely a winter hat and our weather is always warm.

Mad Caps New York was a hat company founded by Alfred Solomon.  He would "design" hats that were slightly altered knock-offs of Paris designer originals.  He would sell them in hat bars in department stores. This 2004 obituary tells more about him and the Mad Caps.

Here is a photo of the label.

Thank you for stopping by to see my new hats, which I may never wear!  They were only $5 each and I couldn't pass them up.

I also had a nice conversation with a gentleman who used to own a vintage shop in our town and would snap up these hats and sell them at a drastic mark-up.

Jeannine

Blog Absence

I'm sorry I have not posted in a long time.  I had my computer taken back to its original settings because it was overloaded and slow.  Then Windows 10 came out.  Now blogger absolutely refuses to communicate with my computer.  It will not allow pictures to be uploaded. And I can't figure out what the issue is.  I am not a computer person, I am a seamstress. Computers just seem to emphasize stress! Bear with me.

I have a pair of great hats I bought at an estate sale and a couple of Regency era pieces I've sewn that I would like to share.

Thanks for hanging in with me.  I have to find time to hit up the GeekSquad again.

Jeannine

1880s Parasol

For the challenge: accessories, I thought I needed a parasol.  It is extremely hot in California and a lady needs to keep the sun off. (Especially when she is wearing so many layers!)

 

 

 

This is the inspiration piece I used as a reference.  I still have a few more details to finish, but wanted to share to get opinions on the spots.

 

Met Museum

 

This is an old faded umbrella I inherited from my mother. 

 

 

You can see the faded lines from being folded and sitting in the sun.

 

And of course it was in the back of my Jeep and got chewed by a nervous dog.

 

First thing was to clip all the little threads keeping the fabric centered on the ribs.

 

Then I removed the fabric from the metal ribs.  I clipped off the little metal tips and saved them all in a box so the kitties wouldn't get them.

 

I carefully unstitched one section of the old fabric to use as a pattern. It needed a little extra seam allowance as it had very narrow 1/8 inch seam allowances.

 

I traced them onto my Polyester Taffeta.  I know.  Cheat.  But there was no way I was going to use silk when I more than likely would be ripping and resewing. Then I cut them out and Hemmed each section. Then I sewed them in pairs, then fours, and finally sewed the two halves together. I matched the outer edges but didn't worry too much about the tip.  I left that open a bit.

 

 

I hand stitched the tips onto the new fabric and then slipped the new canopy over the open ribs.  I put each spoke back into a tip.

 

 

Next, the ribs were each hand tacked along the seam lines in two places to keep them in place and evenly spaced.

 

Here is the underside.  I cut off the hook part of the handle and sanded and applied wood filler to the chewed point at the top.  Then I painted the tip and handle black.

 

I'm afraid the paint is already scraping off the shaft of the parasol as I open and close it.  I will also need to seal the paint on the handle so It stays put.  I used basic wall paint.  I figured craft paint would come off more quickly.

 

The original parasol has  this little fluffy thing at the top as well.  I used it to hide all the points of the sections.  They are sewn to a ring and unfortunately hot glued.

 

There you have it: a representation of an 1880s parasol.

 

Question:  Should I paint the large black spots or leave it plain?  It is to use with this outfit. I am concerned that I will make a mess of it if I try to paint.

 

 

The challenge Details:

Challenge #7: Accessorize

Fabric: 100% polyester taffeta

Pattern: None

Year: ca. 1880

Notions: polyester thread, hot glue, wall paint

How Historically Accurate: Maybe 20% for overall look

Hours to complete: Approximately 6 hours

First worn: Not yet

Total cost: $6 usd, I had all the notions etc. on hand.  I only purchased the yard of fabric.

 

Let me know what you think, weigh in on to spot or not.

Jeannine

 

Ariel The Little Mermaid Town Dress

My lovely daughter allowed me to dress her up and take pictures, finally!  This was supposed to be Ariel's town dress from Disney's The Little Mermaid.  However, with her hair cut short and the way she put the bow in her hair, she sort of looks like Esmeralda. 

 

 

 

 

Show's how versatile a basic skirt and corset can be.  We put absolutely no accessories on her.  The whole costume can change just with the use of jewelry, hairpieces, etc.

 

I would love to make this for anyone who is interested! The corset is fake suede while the blouse is cotton and the skirt is, well, garage sale fabric!

 

Thank you for checking out this fun costume.  Maybe a pink or lavender skirt and blouse for Aurora?

Jeannine