Lets start with the materials:
gauze like fabric or something light weight,
copper wire about a 20 weight or something a bit heavier than used for beading,
matte varnish and a gel medium mixed together
a paint brush
button thread for sewing paired with a contrasting light weight yarn,
a leather needle,
t-pins to hold things in place
a jar to stabilize drying
soldering iron (optional but more sturdy)
a hair dryer
permanent marker (or anything to make marks with)
Xacto blade
Start with a diameter that comes close to the lip on a pint glass (just for good measurement and consistency.) You will need 2 lengths of copper wire relatively this size. One for the top of the hat, and the other for base of the hat. When I say base I don't mean the brim, that is a third piece of wire altogether. The brim should be a round of copper wire that is about an inch and a half larger all the way round than the top of the hat.
Make an oval like shape of the smallest of the copper wire and this will be the top most of the hat. I like to use a soldering iron on the copper to close the ends together. (not really necessary though~but kind of fun) The soldering iron used was actually a portable one that uses gas. Imagine the possibilities.
Once the wire is cool, cover the wire with the fabric of choice, and fold under
. This needs to be glued together using our medium and varnish mixture. I generally apply all glue to the undersides and less visible areas of the hat. Still with me...
Now you have the top of the hat, next you want to make the middle bit, the part that looks like a stove pipe. This is where it gets tricky.
Cut about 6 inches of fabric, in the diameter of the top of the hat.
Take the fabric and fold it in half. In the fold of the fabric, the second round of wire is going to nestle. But before you put the wire in, the fold needs to have glue applied, or glue should be applied to the second copper round. Also glue should be applied to one of the edges as this will become a seam (I glue the edge that will sit on top of the other edge)
There should be fabric that overlaps. That's ok this will be the back seam of the hat.
Pin the back in place once you've gotten it to sit straight and neat. (It may take awhile)
I like to glue before I stitch things together.
So grab you jar or bottle that is just slightly smaller than the middle section of the hat. This is used to keep the piece stable while gluing. I like to use what's on hand, so here we have some Hop Rod Rye, from Bear Republic.
I work a section at a time, gluing and then drying with the hair dryer. It's quicker this way and keeps a more even form than letting it air dry. Go all the way around.
Now that things are relatively dry, stitch up the back seam to the middle section, going from bottom up. Leave about an inch unstitched. Do not cut thread.
Next you will need to fold the fabric at the top of the middle section. This will later stabilize and close that section to the top piece already made.
Fold the fabric down to the height you think may be appropriate for your hat. For me I like a topper with a middle section that is about 2.5"-3" tall.
Next place the top piece onto for your hole your about to close up. The fabric that was just folded down now needs to be glued to the top piece. This should be done on the inside of the topper, and just give it a generous amount of glue and take a hair dryer to it. You will find this to be rather stable, but just in case stitch both pieces together. Stitch the top and middle sections together starting with the seam you left off at.
Once all the way around, you are now ready to attach the bottom ring to the middle and top rings.The bottom ring is the largest ring of copper.
First cover the bottom ring in fabric. This one is done a little more differently than the top in that it's more like a diaper . I gave up photographing at this point because I was covered in glue.
Place ring on fabric. Glue around ring.
Fold fabric to top of ring,
Fold other side of fabric over this. There are now 3 layers of fabric all touching.
Glue an edge down, this is your bottom edge and will not be seen.
The remainder of the fabric should be pulled and folded around the ring so as it is not seen, but covers all areas evenly. Glue all layers into place.
Blow dry.
Turn over and place the middle and top sections onto the ring that comprises the brim of your hat. The placement of the middle bit should be slightly back so there is just a little more brim in the front of the hat.
Turn all these pieces over and with a marker, note where you want the middle ring to sit.
Next draw an X in the circle you just outlined.
Using the xacto blade cut your X, and if need be a few more line to get those edges to fold in.
If your hat is more gauze like you may want to cut the points down to half their size otherwise they will be seen.
Like the top of the hat being attached to the middle; the bottom of the hat will now be attached to the middle.
Glue the part of the bottom of the hat that was made with the X to the inside of the middle section of your hat.
Blow dry.
Once dry, stitch the bottom and the middle of the hat together as done before.
Now relax, this is a little easier as a two day process, as all the stitching is rather hard on the hands, and it is a bit complex.
Embellish your little mini top hat in ribbons and such fair. You may opt to cover your seams with ribbon or trim as this does a fine job of hiding those stitches (as would matching thread, but where's the fun in that.)
The brass on my hat was found in a nice bead store, out in Niles Canyon, Kiowa Rose .
That's it.
Now onto the frog and snail topper...
oh and please feel free to contact me if there are any questions as I only assume there could be.
Cheers and here's to having picts again!
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