Hello! Thanks for dropping by. I had a request to do a tutorial for the mini top hat I made for my dress form Betty. I apologize in advance for the picture quality. It has been raining here, and my house is dark even on a
sunny day. Here we go.
Materials
lampshade- size of your choice.
thin quilt batting
material
glue gun
glue sticks
spray adhesive- optional
poster board ,cereal box etc.- Any thin weight cardboard
scissors
medium gauge wire
seam binding
ric rac, lace hem tape, feathers- Anything you can imagine, to use for decorating your hat.
Choose a lampshade. You really don't have to remove the outer fabric. I had already removed mine for another project.
Lay out the fabric you chose on a flat surface. Place your lampshade on it's side. Roll your lampshade, marking your fabric as you roll the shade. There are some good tutorials for recovering a lampshade on the net. You may find one of these helpful. You need to cut this piece slightly larger than your marks so you can glue your fabric over the edges of your shade.
This is what you end up with.
Cut a matching piece of the batting. Glue batting to the top and bottom edges of the shade.
Grab your poster board (or whatever cardboard you chose). Cut a circle big enough to cover the larger opening of your shade.
Take the circle you just made and cut out batting and material just slightly larger. Glue all edges onto back side of circle. Don't attach to top of shade yet. We will do that later.
To make the brim, I used a bowl to trace a circle. I just eyeballed the size. You can make yours bigger, just use a bigger plate, bowl, etc.
Use your lampshade's smaller end to measure a circle in the center of your brim.
Cut points into the brim using the center circle as your guide.
I marked an F for front and a B for back, but later found it was unnecessary. It is now time to use that wire. Use the width of your brim as a guide and make two hairpin like shapes to fit over the brim.
You are now ready to cover your brim. Cut batting and fabric to cover both sides.I used spray glue to attach each layer. You could use hot glue or another adhesive. Remember to re-cut your points.
To cover the edges I glued bias tape to the brim. Now back to the lampshade. Cover the shade with your material. I cut notches in the edges of my material Glue the top edges and the bottom edges.
Almost done! Glue the top piece you made earlier to the shade.
The final step is to take the brim, using the notches, glue them into the inside of the hat.
Pat yourself on the back! You have just made a top hat. It's cute but decorating it will make it even better. Use those wires we put in the brim to roll the edges of the brim. I just bend mine until I like how it looks.Add whatever you like. I added lace, a ric rac flower and feathers.
Since this hat is larger than the other one I made
See that post here , I am going to use it as an Easter display this year. I'm on the hunt for a larger rabbit and some tulips.
I hope this inspires you to make your own top hat! Have fun.
Thanks for letting me share.
Kathleen
I'm joining in at
Debbiedoos Newbie Party
Savy Soutthern Style Wow us Wednesdays
2805 Potpourri Friday
My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday
