La Bricoleuse (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
labricoleuse) wrote2011-06-22 11:02 am
labricoleuse) wrote2011-06-22 11:02 am
Entry tags:
Ruby Carnahan's "Hat for Ship and Shore," 1952
As I was putting together my packing list for Scotland, I began to consider the problem of hats. I am a diehard hat wearer, because as a milliner, I believe that the best way to bring hats back into style (in addition to, say, events like the royal wedding) is to wear them stylishly yourself. I wear a hat almost every day, and definitely to all parties and formal events. But, the problem of traveling with a stylish hat is age-old: many hats crush easily, and can take up quite a bit of room. What I need are cute hats that pack flat.
Of course, I do have the spiral-stitched travel cloche I posted about by Abigail Aldridge, but I'm not a one-hat type of gal. While looking over my travel wardrobe, I remembered a blog post by Barcelona milliner Cristina dePrada on making a cute 1952 hat pattern originally by Ruby Carnahan, the “Hat for Ship and Shore.” At the time, I loved the look and versatility of this style, a simple fabric machine-stitched hat which could be made reversible and, through the use of brooches and other pinned-on ornaments, either formal or casual.
In the blog post, Cristina had a link to the entire pattern scanned and posted on Flickr. I took a screen-grab of that pattern, scaled it up to the proper size in Photoshop, and printed it out.
Foreground: pattern, hat at the rear left.
Side view, one way to wear it, modeled by my 1920s-reproduction hat mannequin.
Front view, isn't she sassy?
I like to wear it like this!
The hat pictured above is my first mockup of the pattern, made from a couple of remnants I have in a big box under the coffee table in my home studio: an upholstery weight burgundy fabric woven with an alternating satin/faille stripe, and a quilting weight cotton printed with a faux-indigo block-print design featuring floral and bird motifs. I stitched the two layers of the hat by machine and bagged them out, and then rather than a top stitch, finished the edge with an ornamental feather stitch in black. The turned-over tip is threaded through a vintage Bakelite slider buckle and held in place with a safety pin, which will allow me to reverse the hat and change the ornament with ease.
Millinery-abroad problem solved!
Of course, I do have the spiral-stitched travel cloche I posted about by Abigail Aldridge, but I'm not a one-hat type of gal. While looking over my travel wardrobe, I remembered a blog post by Barcelona milliner Cristina dePrada on making a cute 1952 hat pattern originally by Ruby Carnahan, the “Hat for Ship and Shore.” At the time, I loved the look and versatility of this style, a simple fabric machine-stitched hat which could be made reversible and, through the use of brooches and other pinned-on ornaments, either formal or casual.
In the blog post, Cristina had a link to the entire pattern scanned and posted on Flickr. I took a screen-grab of that pattern, scaled it up to the proper size in Photoshop, and printed it out.
Foreground: pattern, hat at the rear left.
Side view, one way to wear it, modeled by my 1920s-reproduction hat mannequin.
Front view, isn't she sassy?
I like to wear it like this!
The hat pictured above is my first mockup of the pattern, made from a couple of remnants I have in a big box under the coffee table in my home studio: an upholstery weight burgundy fabric woven with an alternating satin/faille stripe, and a quilting weight cotton printed with a faux-indigo block-print design featuring floral and bird motifs. I stitched the two layers of the hat by machine and bagged them out, and then rather than a top stitch, finished the edge with an ornamental feather stitch in black. The turned-over tip is threaded through a vintage Bakelite slider buckle and held in place with a safety pin, which will allow me to reverse the hat and change the ornament with ease.
Millinery-abroad problem solved!
no subject
no subject
I also sized up the pattern by about an inch all around and made a version at that scale, which also turned out quite cute. By the time I made my fourth one, they were taking about half an hour each. (Then I decided to move on to non-remnant fabrics for “the real one.”)
If you make one, I want to see pictures! And I bet Cristina would like to see, too!
WONDERFUL!!! I love it!! Thank you!!
(Anonymous) 2011-06-27 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)Your hat for Ship and Shore turned out wonderful, I love the feathered top stitch and your pictures of all the wearing possibilities. Isn't it a wonderful pattern?
I really want to see your four versions of the hat. Will you post them?
I'm sorry your comment on my blog got lost. I hate it when that kind of thing happens!!
Thank you,
Cristina de Prada
http://kuki.deprada.net
Re: WONDERFUL!!! I love it!! Thank you!!
I did just finish of fifth one from actually nice fabric that I chose: a Navy herringbone canvas, and a black/gray cross-woven silk shantung. I actually packed all my bags for my trip already (catching a plane in the morning) but I am sure I will be posting photographs including my hat in the course of my travels!
No worries about the lost post, it only pointed you to this entry saying that I had made a version of your pattern! It is a really incredible pattern, so deceptively simple but so versatile. I actually think I may be doing a workshop on how to make it with some local ladies in a quilt Guild, it is such a nice introductory hat pattern for people who know how to sew, but have never made their own millinery project.