Hat

[elizabeth_mn]

Thanks, all, for the nice comments on my sweater!

I made this new hat/cap for my HB over the last few days.  This project gave me so much trouble!  It's the 5th one I've made from the same pattern (a discontinued Vogue) but somehow it ended up enormous, and I had to rip it apart and put it back together twice before it would fit.  Of the other 4 I've made, three fit perfectly, and one was way too tight, and needed alteration.  This does not make sense to me! 

Anyway, it fits now, and he is happy with it.  Yes, it's on a bowl because I don't have a hat-head.  (And he refuses to model his hats for photos, for some reason).



It's 100% linen, self-lined.  We are both very sun-conscious for health reasons and he likes to have lightweight hats to protect his head and face in summer.

The pattern suggests using buckram for the brim, but it's not exactly washable, so instead I usually use two layers of horsehair canvas with two rows of millinery wire sandwiched and stitched between them.  It's washable (by hand, gently) and the brim can be bent to ideal shape.

This time I used petersham for the inner band, mostly just because I had some and I didn't have any bias tape.  I ironed it into a gentle curve first.  I think I'll continue to do this, as it looks nice and also the hat can be stretched or eased onto the band if necessary to help with those wacky fitting issues.



Yay, a hat!  Or a cap, really.