ok, here goes with a vague but picture heavy tute for the lolita-esque cocktail hat. the pillbox is easier, but i ran out of camera battery. i meant to get this done and up here days ago, but it was AB honor weekend and my baby-nap and after-bed time that is usually for crafting was sucked up by WOW. damn pvp.
TUTORIAL!
the hardest part of making these hats is asking yourself, "what do
I want to put on my head?" EGL silliness? irony? tackiness? so-loud-it-may-cause-hearing-loss? whatever, that's up to you. also, just look through all the remnants and scraps you've been saving/hoarding/scavenging from the fabric store. i couldn't pass up that 1/4 yard of black satin remnant for 90 cents, and even though i didn't have plans for it
then i'm glad i had it on hand.
these are the things you want to have in front of you.
plastic container
glue gun (or craft adhesive of your choice. NOT superglue. screw you, superglue. you suck.)
craft scissors or cutter that can be used to cut plastic (not the sexay sharp-as-heck fabric shears)
iron
approx 8" of fabric to cover your hat
felt(optional)
elastic cord, comb, or hairclip
lacey lace and random trim, embellishments, etc.
so, you have your yogurt (or cottage cheese, sour cream, whatever.) container.
cut off the bottom carefully, and with about an inch left. cut the remaining walls into eye shapes, sort of. (you can get 2 of these from the container, and this is basically your hat shape.) set the bottom aside because we are focusing on the other hat sort.
since it was part of a cylinder, it is waay too curvy to be a hat, so you have to iron it. CAREFULLY. place it between layers of a dishtowel and iron it slowly at medium heat for 10 seconds at a time. keek checking, you want it flatter, but still somewhat curvy, so it follows the curve of your head. like this.
if the fabric you will be using for the hat is thin, then you want to glue felt onto the hat base, using the same technique as you will use for the fabric:
place the fabric face down on your crafting surface, and place the plastic on top so that the curve is down. like its lying on its back.
glue the fabric edges to the underside of the plastic, stretching it taut. don't glue it to what will become the top of the hat, as any lumpy gluing imperfections would show through, or the glue could saturate the fabric and look crap.
glue it all around. it doesn't have to look neat, but the top should be smooth.
the underside all glued^^
turn it over and you will have the base of your hat!
ok, that was the technical part. the creative part is up to you. for an EGL look, i take lace and glue it along the edges in ruffles, you could dispense with that on your own creations. for the blue hat i made i took cheap, 50cents a roll lace, and painted it with pebeo setacolor fabric paint so it would match. (prior to attaching to hat.)
embellish the hat however you wish. after you are done with the way it looks, take a piece if thick fabric (felt is ok) cut the same size as the plastic base, and glue it to the underside of the hat, to cover up the edges of the lace and the edges of the fabric. now it looks neat. to attach the hat to your head, you could glue it to a comb, or a hairclip; i like to put a length of elastic cord on there that is easily hidden by your hair. and there ya go.
this hat has 2 layers of lace around the edges and some fimo sculpted skulls and rose.
i hope this was at the very least interesting to read. ^.^
