One metre???

Since challenge #24 has been finished some time ago I am now wondering what to do for the "one metre" challenge which is due on december 16th.
It is obvious that it has to be something small and I wanted to make an underbust corset (a "real one" - not a corset girdle) for quite some time. But then I have just finished the half-stays and maybe should not participate with a corset again so soon?

The HSF is a challenge after all, so maybe I should do something that I have never done before.

And here we go: after pattern browsing I decided to try a Bustle Era hat.
I've had the pattern flying around for ages and never made anything from it. It is a Lynn McMasters pattern for four different Bustle Era hats.

Since I have never made a hat, I didn't have any supplies at all. Therefore I went on the Internet and ordered some buckram and millinery wire as indicated on the pattern. When it arrived I figured that (maybe) I have misread something...
That buckram is enough for TEN hats. I am certain there will be more hats in the future...

Now, enough talking! Here are some process pictures!!!

1. Cutting out the buckram. Gosh, that stuff is hard! I'm really curious how it will work.

 2. Adding millinery wire to the edges.
I am quite lazy so I planned to use my beloved sewing machine as much as possible. I took my strongest needle (100) and a special Pintucking Foot to sew on the wire. The thread is a heavy nylbond I thought I would never use. It has been much longer in my stash than the pattern... The opening in the foot appeared to be just the right size. Even the joining part of the wire wasn't a problem at all.

3. Sewing the center back seam close by hand.
I have been a bit concerned about sewing through the buckram by hand, but after trying I was surprised how well it worked. And it looks ok, too.

The same had to be done on the crown side.

 

 4. Joining the crown tip to the crown sides.
Hahaaa! It starts to look a teeny tiny bit like a hat! This had to be done by hand, too. For the handsewing I used a normal needle. That particular needle had been used a lot of times and on very heavy fabric as well, so it had a small curve from stitching through it. A fact that came in quite handy swing the sides to the tip of the crown...

5. Covering the wired edges with bias tape.
For this I used the leftover bias from my half-stays.
The bias is not sewn, but glued to the edges.

Hmm. some wrinkles... Not very pretty.

 6. Padding crown and brim.
I used muslin instead of the recommended flannel, since I didn't want to buy new fabric.
It is sewn to the brim and glued to the crown tip.

Fortunately I managed it without any wrinkles this time. And the ones I made before are all covered up:-)

No wrinkles on the top brim

 While the glue on the crown tip was drying I continued with the under brim.
The first step here was to sew the fabric to the buckram, than fold it to the middle and spray glue the rest of the fabric to the under brim.

Nearly no wrinkles this time...

Nearly no wrinkles on the under brim

 

 After the glue had dried I cut back the seam allowance and glued the mulling to the side crown.


Waaaaaaah!!!! I guess this is a beginners mistake:-( While trimming the seam allowance on the brim I accidentally cut away a piece of the bias tape, too. Noooooo! I hope it won't show later.

 

 7. Cutting away the center oval of the fabric and clipping the seam allowance.
Since I clipped the buckram between step 5 and 6 already, it was easier this time.

Enough for today...

Hhhmmm. Maybe I'm doing the corset anyway...