I did it!

New Fillet 2
Originally uploaded by laurelfactorial

I made a new hat!

This is the second fillet I've made, and I'm much happier with this than I ever was with the original (which you can see here). It was fairly involved, although I think if you are not as abysmal at sewing as I am it would probably be fairly easy.

You need: Buckram, linen, lots of pins, an iron, a small amount of thread. Also: paper.

Using paper (I just cut up a grocery bag), make a very shallow arc that will fit around your head and has the right amount of flare. Less flare is more period. Fiddle with it until it's right. Mine is 2.5 inches tall which I think is just perfect. When you have your paper arc perfect, use it as a pattern to cut your buckram. Sew the two ends of your buckram arc together and set it aside.

Now cut a strip of white linen that is over twice as long as your head's circumference (I don't know the exact ratio here, sorry -- I used 54" of fabric and it was just about perfect for me) and 7" wide (if using the 2.5" height that I used). Pleat this. I put a pleat every inch.

Pin the pleated linen onto your buckram. This is hard and I don't have good advice. All it really takes is patience. I started by pinning the outside down, then folding the linen over to cover the form, then folding under and pinning the bottom edge.

Use very tiny stitches near the bottom to tack down each pleat on the inside and outside of the hat.

Ta da!

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

This new hat is turning out to be not so much a sewing project as a cussing project, as I am doing more of the latter than the former.

But now it finally seems to be coming together.

(Yeah, this is how I'm spening Christmas Eve. My persona would have stayed up all night, right?)