V250: Finished 1770s Parisian Chapeau

Awhile ago I posted a little page of sketches for a late 1770s hat to go with my striped “Parisian Gown.”  I went out and bought all the materials for it, but never got around to putting the thing together, until now.

I went with the design in the bottom left of my page of drawings, which came from 1778, Gallerie des Modes, found on the wonderful Dames a la Mode site.

Designs all taken from fashion plates and paintings

The hat in the bottom right served as inspiration

I got the straw hat at Michaels Crafts – the small brim with the large crown – and some ribbon and silk flowers for decoration.  The rest of it was put together with bits n’ bobs of fabric, trims, and feathers I had in the stash.

Unlike the Gainsborough Hat from a few days ago, I didn’t cover the straw hat, just decorated – infinitely less stressful!  The crown is covered in a large poof of dotted cotton batiste, and I used leftover strips of fabric from the Parisian Gown to add fluffles to the brim.

The puffed ribbon around the band isn’t particularly great – it may come off at some point, to be replaced by something better.

Once the crown and brim materials were applied, I “basted” the brim into the shape I wanted – the sides curve down (a couple lines of strong thread across the inside), and the back flips up (an “X” holding that in place) – then sprayed the whole thing liberally with water.  When it was dry, I removed the stitches and the hat held the new shape.

A few more decorations – feathers, flowers stuck here and there, a bow – and it’s done.  I can’t wait to add this to a high hairstyle with lots of rolls out the back, a month from now in Colonial Williamsburg. 🙂