Lesson one..

I didn't really know how a fascinator became a fascinator or it had never occurred to me to think about how it was made. So my first lesson was an eye opener and it got me so excited at all the limitless possibilities that you can make! I love learning new processes, seeing all the different stages and watching something be created with your hands in front of your eyes.. magical!

My materials.. 

- sinamay in a range of colours

- Millinery Stiffener 

- Hat Block 

- Cling Film 

- Needle and Thread 

- Hat Pins

And that is literally all the materials you need to make a fasinator! 

I covered my hat block in cling film so that the sinamay wouldn't stick to the wood once it had stiffener on it. Then I cut out two squares of sinamay and placed them over each other on the bias to check they covered the hat block. Then I added some millinery stiffener to water and soaked the pieces in it. The stiffener is like a glue helping and does what the name suggests, stiffens the fabric once it's dried. 

I plaed them the pieces on the hat mold and pulled the sides down securing them with hat pins while it dried. 

Once it was dried I drew on it with chalk the size I wanted the base of the fasinator to be, then cut it out ready for the next stage! 

And that was my first lesson! 

Sophie.. 

Where it all started..

So I thought I would start the blog off by telling you where my love of hats all started! I’m currently studying Art and Design at West Cheshire College. In the first year we work through different units in different areas of art; fine art, fashion/textiles and 3D. When I started fashion and textiles I became obsessed! I spent all my time filling my sketchbook with sample after sample to the stage where the sketchbook started to come apart.. yep I fell in love with the subject utterly and completely.

Our brief was about skins and surfaces of animals and the different patterns they make. I looked at a wide range of animals but fell for flamingos. They are extraordinary birds, did you know a flock of flamingos is called a flamboyance? I know countless random facts about flamingos now but I won’t bore you with them! After choosing my animal that led me onto Alice in Wonderland as they use a flamingo in the croquet game. I looked at a lot of other things but Alice in Wonderland really inspired me.

Flamingos and Alice in Wondeland just fitted perfectly together for me. Alice in Wonderland is so flamboyant and over the top, the colours are so bright and imaginative. I wanted to portray this is my piece, I decided to make a hat inspired by the mad hatters hat and by flamingos. So obviously everything was pink on my hat! I used a lot of different techniques; weaving, fake fur, twisted chords and in the end created something that is exactly what I imagined in my head. Has that ever happened for you? You have a vision, a picture in your head of what you want something to look like and then once you’ve actually made it it’s exactly what you had envisaged and even more! It’s an amazing feeling!

That’s the story of my love of hats so far, but I’m now having lessons in creating fascinators/small hats. I’m using all hand sewing and making them out of sinema which is my new obsession! I’m going to document my lessons and my progress on here, hopefully you will see some amazing hats soon! In the meantime here’s some pictures off my flamingo hat! 

Sophie..