Sunshine On The Doorstep

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week was half term so we took a trip to a museum in Manchester. The big red brick buildings with all their Victorian pomp and ceremony are always impressive and inspiring. I love all the details in the brickwork over doors and windows.
There were a couple of very last minute wedding needs. Luckily I was able to make them in time and the sun shone for the wedding which is always what you hope for.
I have also had some lovely spring sunshine on my doorstep which is keeping my hellebore happy. Always nice to be greeted by a happy plant as you enter a shop.

Next week I shall be involved in a very unusual photo shoot so there will be some great pictures to share, I'm just crossing my fingers for a blue sky and no rain.! The felt beret will be taking part in the shoot. The lattice felt strips remind me of a cherry pie top.

Disco wedding shoot

 

A couple of weeks ago I was involved with a disco wedding shoot that my pal the very clever Shelly Mantovani pulled together with many other talented people to create this Disco styled wedding shoot for the The Faversham in Leeds.
Like all shoots there are many hiccoughs along the way but on the day it all came together in one glorious glittery bang.
I made a bell hop hat with a cherry trim, Disco headdress, a red visor, sinamay crown and a bridal martini froth.
We had a lots of laughing throughout the day and this is a small selection of images.
To see more hop over to Shelly's blog   www.toastofleeds.co.uk

Hats straight off the block

  

 

 

  

      

       

 

      

 

 

It's been a busy day in the shop but I managed to take some photographs this morning of three hats one of which sold this afternoon.!
The top hat is a knotted straw crown, fine straw brim and silk trim.
A very classic little hat but can be worn with so many styles so always great to have on my hat wall.
The red straw is an over sized beret with a hand tooled red silk flower. It's the type of hat that someone doesn't need but just wants.
The final pictures are of a really unusual block that I bought from Milliner Rachel Skinner in London, when I started my business. It's very different and can make some great shapes. Here it was used for blocking pinopok then sculpted after blocking to create a striking hat on a small base. It sold this afternoon.I shall make another but not the same.

Three Felt Hats

 

 

A story of three felt hats, the top one I made from a luxury leopard print felt, then trimmed with bright pink dupion silk, added a hand cut felt twist and a bright pink bead to secure it in place.
The other two were made by Holly who is also with me on placement and as you can see is really in the swing of hat making. All three are now in the shop and I expect they will be on someones Christmas wish list very soon.!

Black is Back

 

Two different styles of bows. The top one is made from crin a synthetic mesh,  the bottom one vintage gross grain ribbon.The crin bow is sat on a black sinamay base edged with black raw silk with a small vintage petersham ribbon bow to secure it into place. The black gross grain ribbon has been wired so that it can be twisted into position and anchored with two buttons one sitting on top of the other. There are lots of black tie weddings at the moment so theses pieces are now in the shop waiting to be whisked away.

Royal Ascot Pill Box Hat

 

This little navy blue fine straw pill box hat has been made for a client who loves things frayed and distressed not too perfect and always wears them in an unusual way yet always looks amazing. In fact when she came to collect it today she put it on in a sideways position and it looked great, however this is not the case for most people I would say. The cotton covered wire trim with hand frayed and rolled pinopok are really quite striking and are a nice alternative to feathers or a quill. Lets hope she turns a few heads as well as backs a few winners.

Neopolitana Ice Cream Hat

A classic hat for a formal event is trimmed with a wide petersham ribbon bow. It's made from fine straw in two colours and a silk band in ivory, so could be worn with any of the three tones.

The difference between petersham and gross grain is that petersham has a wavy edge and gross grain a straight edge. Milliners use petersham to sew into the brim of hats sewing every third ridge, this creates the band that is worn close to the forehead.

Spring Colours

I am very busy blocking crowns and brims in lots of lovely spring colours which is a breath of fresh air from all the darker winter tones.

The pink hat will become a straw beret,there's a couple of pill box shapes a large lilac brim which I will cut into an unusual shape.

There is also a pill box shape blocked out of window sinamay, very light to wear.

To construct the hats you work on the brim first then attach the crown.

Simple as that sounds it can take quite a few hours, so I better go and get cracking.

Take a brim and a crown

When you make a hat by hand each part is blocked separately.
This is where you dampen the material then steam and stretch it gently over a hat block (mould)
When dry and removed it is then cut to the desired shape.
The brim is worked on by adding brim reed around the edge to keep it's shape and stop it flopping, then this is covered with fabric.
Here you sew so that the stitches can not be seen.Tricky stuff.
Petersham ribbon is sewn to the head size around the inside of the crown and the label added.
Next attention is turned to the crown this is the part that wraps around the head the top is called the tip.
A lining is made to fit inside the hat then the brim and crown are joined together.
Now you create a band to cover your workings and add the trim. Simple.!
This hat is a very simple design as the suit it will be worn with looked better without too much detail.

Little Red Cloche

This lovely red fine straw cloche hat is a real winner in the cute stakes, so far just about everyone popping into the shop has fallen in love with it.
I also made one in cream but that went to a wedding in California a while ago.
I took this photograph for my new web site which is slowly making progress.
My friend Clare Lupino looked so good in this shot I decided to post it on the blog first.

Soda Fountain

Definitely not your average wedding photo shoot, but Shelly of Toast had an idea to produce a different view of that special day and went all out to get it.
This Felt Soda Fountain headpiece with white veiling and vintage buttons stands proud and regal on the models wild hair.
It was made by hand cutting two identical felt pieces which were sandwiched together with a wire frame, allowing me to bend it slightly into a pleasing shape, then sewing it all together with fine stab stitching.Sounds painful but hard to see so the perfect stitch.
I don't get to make too many pieces like this and I loved the end result.
Maybe there will be a bride out there daring enough to want this look too.We'll see.!

Pop in and browse Hats for sale

I thought it might be nice to show a few shots of the shop including my black and white floor which I love.!
The HAT wall where most of my occasion hats nestle on their pretty wrought iron arms is missing but I am planning a blog post all of it's own later.Not to mention the fact that I am madly making new hats at an alarming rate to fill my gallery wall.!!!
There's a sign on my door that Say's pop in and browse but if you are too far away this will give you a little taster of how it looks.