Buckram hat

Photos of my fourth, and most complex hat from my millinery class (one and two are for my parents and they check this blog frequently; three is ugly and won't be posted). The crown and upper brim are turquoise silk layered with black organza, the underside and hatband are black silk, and the hat is lined with warm purple with matching grosgrain. Roughly 30 hours went into this hat and it fits a 24" head (I have a massive head).

Fun fact: buckram, the base material, loses its shape when wet so this hat can never be caught in the rain or else it will be ruined. Yet somehow these are the hats worn by the English at garden parties. I will never understand that.

Hats!

I started a millinery class on Monday and am now trying to design the 5 hats I'll be making over the course of the semester. I've figured out one thus far, the most complex and 4th due, a buckram fabric covered hat. I'm trying to work primarily with fabrics and notions I already own (to cull the masses) so I'll be making it out of raw silk (turquoise and black) with a sheer black fabric covering the turquoise. Likely lined with a dark grey.