Edwardian hat

Pattern: none

Fabric: mauve satin cotton from an Ikea Gäspa fitted sheet; light pink tulle

Haberdasheries: cherry blossoms

I started making this hat last year, for my second civilian World War I event at Huis Doorn. But I didn’t finish it, because I couldn’t find any decorations for it that matched the brown fabric. (I find hat decoration the hardest part of making historical outfits! There are several more hats that I haven’t posted here yet because I’m not yet happy about them. My 1915 hat turned out exceptionally well!) So I wore it undecorated, looking like this:

But most Edwardian hats were very lavish, so I didn’t want mine to remain minimalist! Also, the brown fabric was a bit too artificial, although it doesn’t show in the photo. So I decided to start over with new fabric, and just choose a nice colour rather than one that matched the straw base. I realised I should see the straw similarly to jeans: as a neutral that matches pretty much anything.

This was what the hat originally looked like:

I removed the ribbon and threaded metal wire through the rim to stop it being floppy, which was of course too modern:

I put some fibrefill around the crown of the hat, and sewed the fabric on over it, to create a wide crown:

And finally, I added tulle and lots of cherry blossoms:

From the side and top:

My inspiration for the flower arrangement, and also for the bow-like piece of fabric on the side of the hat (bottom row, second from right):