sewing grosgrain ribbon to a straw hat..{to keep it upon thy head}

[lady constance]

and what does one put into google to discover this craft?

tons of millinery stuff i have seen..... but i want this particular craft........

are yah out there callenish?

capn sterling?

aint it interesting that the men know these things???

how about lady brower?

[callenish gunner]

I usually use a ribbon 3X's the diameter of the hat.

Center it across the mid-line of the crown of the hat on the inside.

Tack stitch it to the inside of the hat.

Take each end of the ribbon and carefully fold it onto itself to make the ribbon ends trail toward the rear of the hat; stitch the folded sections of the tails to the crossing ribbon. repeat the process on the opposite side of the crown. The tails will be about 45 degrees off square to the crown section.

When you tie the hat in place it is tied behind your head under your hair.

I don't have a detailed pic but if you look at Chole Black's photos she has some that show the look of the finished hat. She might be a better source of someone to ask for detailed pics and instructions

[LadyBrower]

I wear my hat in a similar fashion... but with the ribbon over top which makes it more of a "bonnet" I take the ribbon over the crown and tack it to the center with a little "x" and then at the band. I've also taken to wearing it tied in back. It stays in place better.

[lady constance]

grrrrrrrrrrrr....

i made a linen piece and sewed it to my hat{ sewed it on the inside}...... but it still wont stay on my head!!!!!!

will try to sew more of it to the hat.....

and i love my new avatar!!!

tis me with the Hamish! { i pirated him}

:)

[LadyBrower]

Wearing it over a proper cap with your hair secured in a bun helps it stay better when you tie it underneath the bun. A good hatpin helps too- especially if it is windy.

[Silkie McDonough]

I find that wearing my great grandmothers tortus shell comb under my cap makes keeping the hat on easier. It gives it something extra to push against won the back of the head when the hat is tied around the back Now if you can have a comb AND a bun you should no issues (don't ask me how to accomplish that). The cap also gives you something to pin the hat to.

I too still have an issue keeping the hat on in the wind.

[Jas. Hook]

Lady's low crown straw hat questions -

Standard grosgrain or a df silk??? I've on hand some 1.5 red silk, 1.25 black silk and 2" black.

Are the tie ends finished, folded and stitched, or just left raw?

Is the over the crown enough or should a band around the crown be included?

Thanks.

Jas. Hook

[Aquazoo]

Lady's low crown straw hat questions -

Standard grosgrain or a df silk??? I've on hand some 1.5 red silk, 1.25 black silk and 2" black.

Are the tie ends finished, folded and stitched, or just left raw?

Is the over the crown enough or should a band around the crown be included?

Thanks.

Jas. Hook

Depends on what you mean by standard grosgrain. Most that you find these days is synthetic and has a plastic-looking sheen to it. Sometimes you can find a rayon that looks good. The occasional silk grosgrain treasure might turn up, too. What is df?

Research done by a friend showed the ends for 18th century snipped into a swallowtail — an inverted V.

A band around the crown is great, especially ruching the ribbon for a decorative effect.

As far as the ribbon over the brim, check artwork for the era you're doing. The only examples I know are 1740s English garden scenes. Usually the ribbons are under the brim, allowing more options for shaping the brim. This can be done by wetting the hat and bracing it to shape to dry, or wiring it with millinery wire. You can run a ribbon around the outer edge of the hat, too, to conceal the wire.

Hat styles changed through the years, and even a poor or "unfashionable" person could reshape or retrim her hat easily enough. That's where it's important to look at artwork of your era rather than relying on what you see other reenactors doing.

[LadyBarbossa]

Most images I've seen with a lady wearing a hat, looks like it's just sitting there magically atop a fine, fancy hair style.

I decorate my hats around the crown with floral and ribbons. One even has lace layered on the brim coming from the crown. I no longer attatch a ribbon to the top of the crown to drape over the brim to tie under the chin or the back of the head. I attatch the ribbon to the underside of the brim either at edge but now I'm doing it at the base of the crown and tie behind the neck at the base of the head. I do use the inverted "V" that was meantioned, I also long diagonal cut them like a long "\" or "/". It makes for a nice presentation when you bow tie. Sometimes I do tie under my chin as well. But not often.

Again, the brim I steam molded down on the sides and with a slight wide curl up in front and back. When it's windy, I use a hat pin only when I'm going out of camp shopping, a stroll or something else. Otherwise, I won't wear my hat in camp. No reason. Plus the flies, ropes, just makes the hat get in the way.

If you do use ribbon to trim the brim of your hat, I like silk thread since it's strong and very fine, to barely be seen. I don't know if there is a particular way to trim. Folding and tucking or darting works. Depends upon what sewing styles you know.

~Lady B

[Jas. Hook]

Thank you ladies for your comments.

df I believe is double face.

For now, I just stitched black 1.25 inch silk ribbon across the hat and tacked it at the top center of the crown and both sides where the crown and brim meet.. The ribbon ends I just folded back and stitched down to prevent unraveling. Silk thread was used but I think I need to use finer needles.

Further experimentation will follow.

Jas. Hook

Edited October 30, 2010 by Jas. Hook