HAT COVERINGS
TO COVER WITH BRAID--
Great care and patience must be exercised in covering a hat with straw
braid. The lines which are to be emphasized should be carefully studied,
as there are several methods used in laying the braid on the frames.
(See illustration.)
The stitch used for sewing braid is always the same--a very short stitch
on the right side, and a stitch one-quarter of an inch long on the wrong
side. The thread must not be pulled too tight, or the position of the
stitches may be seen; also always match the thread to the straw. Straw
braid may be sewed to a willow, buckram, neteen, or crinoline frame
except when a _very_ soft hat is desired; it may then be sewed and
shaped over a wire or buckram frame, but not on to it, as it is to be
removed from the frame after sewing; or, if the braid is coarse, it may
be sewed to a wire frame which has been previously covered with
crinoline or mull. (See illustration.)
[Illustration: ONE METHOD OF STARTING THE BRAID ON CROWN AND SEWING IN
PLACE]
Many hats have a brim faced with straw, while a fabric is used on top.
In this case the braid must be put on first in order that the stitches
may be taken through the brim, which the fabric on top will cover.
TO PIN IN PLACE ON THE FRAME--
Place the outer edge of the straw even with the outer edge of the brim,
beginning at the center back, allowing three inches to extend to the
right. Pin in place and baste all the way around until the center back
is reached. Curve the second row gradually up from the center back; do
not make an abrupt curve, until the correct lap is reached, usually
one-eighth of an inch. There will be found a thread at the edge of most
braids which may be pulled up to take out the extra fullness when sewed
on a curve. The outside edge of the first row must be left free for the
edge of the fabric, which covers the other side, to be slipped under. Do
not begin sewing until the second row is basted in place.
TO SEW--
Bring the needle through the edge of the braid at the lap from the under
side and take a tiny stitch, stabbing the needle through the braid and
the buckram; the small stitch on the right side will be hidden if the
thread is not pulled too tight. Take a stitch on the wrong side from
one-quarter to one-half an inch in length, depending upon the width and
quality of the braid. Continue basting and sewing the braid until the
headsize is reached and the braid extends up above the headsize wire one
inch. If the brim is wider at some points than at others, the wider side
must be filled in with short strips following the same curve, being
careful that the ends are left long enough to extend up beyond the
headsize wire one inch. When the brim is very much wider at some points,
short pieces of braid may be worked in at intervals as the braid is
sewed; this would not make such an abrupt curve, and the general lines
of the braid would be more pleasing.
When one side of the brim is to be covered with fabric, fit this to the
brim, baste at the headsize wire and cut the edge, allowing one-quarter
of an inch to lap over the edge. Remove the basting from the first row
of braid and tuck the edge of the fabric under. Pin and slipstitch to
place through the straw.
BOTH SIDES OF BRIM COVERED WITH BRAID--
Allow the first rows to project slightly beyond the edge of the brim
both on the top and the bottom. These edges may be brought together
with a small slanting stitch, or if preferred the edge may be first
bound with a bias piece of satin, or with a row of braid or gay-colored
material. If the edge of the brim is bound, the edges of the first rows
of braid at the top and bottom would not meet. The bound edge thus
showing gives the effect of a cord.
TO COVER A CROWN WITH BRAID--
Begin at the bottom of the crown, slanting the second row off from the
first row the same as on the brim. Pull the braid up with the thread
(which will be found on the edge of nearly every braid) and sew until
the center of the crown tip is reached, when a hole in the top of the
crown may be made and the end pushed through and fastened on the
underside. Keep the braid full enough so that it will lie flat all the
way. Sometimes it is easier to begin sewing the braid on at the very
center of the top of the crown, or a few rows may be sewed to a small
circle of crinoline before attaching to the top of the crown.
If a braid is used which is composed of four or five smaller braids
sewed together, the method is the same until the crown tip is reached
or a place where it is impossible to make the braid lie flat. The braid
must then be separated into the smaller strands and one cut off at a
time, and each end lapped under the preceding strand; proceed with the
remaining strands, cutting one off at a time until only one remains to
finish the center with. When the crown tip is completed, push the
remaining end through a hole in the center of the crown tip and sew to
the inside of the crown. When using this kind of braid the operation may
be reversed, beginning at the center of the top and covering a small
circle of buckram with braid; press it with a warm iron to flatten it,
then sew in place on the crown and complete the covering. This seems the
easier method, because the top of the crown will look much better if
pressed and this will be found hard to do unless begun on a small
separate piece of buckram.
TO PIECE BRAID--
Sometimes a braid must be pieced at a conspicuous point on the hat, when
careful handling will be found necessary. If the braid is composed of
several smaller braids sewed together, the ends should be ripped apart
for several inches and the strands cut in unequal lengths; also the
strands of the other end which is to be joined to it should be cut of
such length as to meet the corresponding ends and allow a lap of one
inch. The ends cut in this way may be tucked under one at a time without
the joining being noticeable. If the braid is very wide it may seem best
when covering a frame to cut and join the ends of the row of braid. It
would then be better to make a straight joining in the back.
If a fancy braid is to be pieced, the ends are lapped diagonally and
sewed flat. If a fancy joining is part of the design, a simple one is to
lap the ends to look as though woven. This may be employed on a crown or
brim or both, and it then becomes a part of the design. Also the top of
the crown or any part of the hat may have a woven covering of braid, but
any such fancy method requires an additional amount of braid.
The top of the crown may be covered by laying the braid on straight from
front to back, allowing the ends to extend down on the side crown an
inch or more. The braid of the side crown should cover these ends. The
brim of a narrow hat is often covered with short lengths of braid
radiating from the headsize wire, the ends extending up on the crown
one inch. A fabric is often combined with braid for the sake of design,
or if there is an insufficient quantity of braid.
CROWN TOP OF BRAID, SIDE CROWN OF FABRIC--
SIDE CROWN OF BRAID AND TOP OF FABRIC--
BAND OF MATERIAL, PLAIN OR CORDED, SET IN SIDE CROWN--
BRIM AND CROWN MADE FROM SMALL PIECES OF SILK AND BRAID--
A very soft-looking braid hat may be made by sewing braid over a wire
foundation which has been made for the purpose. The braid may be pinned
on the brim of wire and sewed, being careful not to attach the braid to
the frame; slip the needle over the wire and finish sewing the braid
while it is still pinned to the brim, then remove, press slightly, and
sew a facing of braid to the under side of the brim if desired. Some
kinds of braid may be dampened before pressing, but it is safer to
experiment first with a small piece, for some braid is ruined by
pressing.
A soft crown of braid should be fitted over a wire crown and sewed in
the same way. After removing it from the wire frame, it can be slightly
pressed by holding it over a thick cloth held in the hand and pressing a
warm iron to the outside. A soft hat of braid can more easily be made by
first making a frame of crinoline and sewing the braid to it. Horsehair
braid crowns are beautiful when shaped over a wire foundation. They may
be pressed slightly (after being removed from the wire crown over which
they have been shaped) when they will be found to keep their shape. The
brim would need a wire foundation to hold it out in shape and the braid
should be caught down to the wire as it is being sewed. A small lace
wire should be used for this foundation, four spokes together with the
headsize wire and edge wire being sufficient. The wire should be wound
with maline or have a facing of maline. Horsehair braid is transparent.
There are many fanciful ways of using braid on a hat, but these can be
readily copied if the foregoing methods have been mastered. Be very
careful about pressing braids or adding moisture as it ruins some
braids, while others must be moistened before they can be handled in
sewing to a hat frame.
COVERING WIRE FRAMES WITH MALINE, NET OR GEORGETTE--
Wire frames which are to be covered with sheer material, such as maline,
net, or georgette, must be carefully made, as the wire frame becomes a
part of the design, and the wire should be silk covered.
If maline is used, it should be pleated or gathered on, unless the brim
is of the halo style, for which directions are given elsewhere. Four or
five thicknesses of maline are necessary. The material is often gathered
in small quarter-inch tucks at the points where the tuck may be sewed to
the circle wire on the brim or the crown. A small tuck at the edge wire
would make a softer looking edge than if put on plain. The fullness is
then gathered in and sewed to the headsize wire. If the edge is left
plain, a few rows of lacey-looking braid may be sewed on the edge. A
wide tuck hanging down from the edge is sometimes used and it is very
becoming to certain types of faces. The wires of a frame are often first
wound with narrow bias pieces of net or maline. The edges are turned in
and the material wrapped on smoothly and evenly. Sometimes the wires are
wound with a contrasting color.
An effective covering for any frame may be made from ribbon or bias
strips of satin or silk, velvet or georgette, or any soft fabric. If a
wire frame is used, it must first be covered with a thin plain material
to serve as a foundation to which the ribbon or strips of material may
be sewed, or a frame of neteen or crinoline may be used if a very soft
hat is desired.
RIBBON COVERING--
If a ribbon is used, it must be gathered on one edge so that it may be
drawn down to fit the frame and may be laid on the same as braid. An
inch-wide ribbon is easily handled.
BIAS FABRIC--
If bias strips of silk or satin are used, the material should be cut in
strips two and one-half inches wide, on a true bias, and joined in one
long strip. Fold lengthwise through the middle and gather the raw edges
together a little less than one-quarter of an inch from the edge. This
is sewed to the frame the same as braid, the folded edge overlapping the
raw edge and the thread drawn up to adjust it as it is pinned and sewed
in place. This is an excellent way to use up old material.
HAT LININGS
A hat lining should receive the same careful consideration and
workmanship as the outside of the hat. From the milliner's point of view
it is an advertisement, the place where we find the designer's name. A
well-fitted lining, whether of somber or gay colored silk, enhances the
value of a hat. Sometimes we find a tiny sachet rosebud sewed to the
lining, or a little lace-trimmed pocket for the veil.
There are three popular kinds of linings--
Plain lining
French lining
Tailored lining
PLAIN LINING--
This should be made of a bias strip of material cut the length of the
headsize wire, plus one inch for seam. The width should be the same as
the crown height plus two and one-half inches.
[Illustration: SHOWING METHOD OF COVERING CROWN WITH TWO-INCH WIDE BIAS
SATIN. CORD SEWED IN ONE EDGE; THE OTHER EDGE IS GATHERED AND PULLED UP
TO FIT CROWN]
Fold one end over one-half inch and pin to the back of the hat; fold
the edge of the material down one-quarter of an inch around the inside
of the crown as close as possible to the edge without showing when the
hat is on the head. Pin in place all the way round and slipstitch the
two ends together; then begin at the seam and slipstitch the lining in
place. The method is to bring the needle from the underside of the
lining through the edge of the fold, catch a few threads of material on
the hat opposite this thread, and put the needle back through the fold
at the same point; bring the needle through the fold one-half inch from
the first stitch and proceed in this manner until the seam is reached.
Turn the other raw edge down one-half inch to the wrong side and make a
running stitch one-quarter inch from the folded edge in which a narrow
ribbon should be run, and drawn down as much as necessary to make the
lining fit the crown. A crown tip is used with this lining, which is
made of a piece of silk four inches square, sewed or glued to the inside
of the crown top. On this piece the designer's name is usually found.
FRENCH LINING--
This lining is made from an oval piece of silk which corresponds to the
crown measurements. Measure the crown from front to back and from side
to side, adding one inch to these measurements. Fit a small wire to the
inside of the hat at the headsize and tie. Lap the edge of the silk over
the wire one-quarter of an inch. Gather the silk close to the wire using
a small running stitch. After completed, pin in place and slipstitch to
the crown. This lining will reduce the headsize of any hat somewhat, so
it should never be used if there is any danger of making the hat too
small for the head.
TAILORED LINING--
This lining is rather the most popular lining used. Large firms send
their material away to be made up for their trade and the linings may be
bought ready-made, but almost every one has pieces of silk which may be
easily made into one of these linings.
Cut an oval of crinoline two-thirds as large as the top of crown, baste
a piece of silk lining over this. Pin this on top of the crown, as this
can best be fitted on the outside and should be done before the hat is
made. Now cut a piece of bias material long enough to reach around the
bottom of the crown wide enough to meet this crown tip at all points.
After pinning it to the crown tip, turn up one-quarter of an inch at the
bottom and pin to the bottom of the crown. Stretch snugly because the
inside of the crown is smaller; pin the fullness to the crown top all
around, gather between pins, and baste in place. Stitch on the machine.
This seam may be corded or a small cord sewed on to cover the seam.
Linings may be made of taffeta, china silk, satin, sateen or of almost
any material which is not too heavy. When a wire frame is covered with
thin material and the frame shows through, the hat should have a thin
lining. If the hat is covered with maline, use a maline lining; if with
georgette, a georgette lining should be used.