Downton Abbey Cloche Hat Works Today - Making My Own Part 1 (Hats, Millinery)

Do you remember when Lady Sybil wore this cloche? It was in the episode when Branson drove
her to a political meeting she wasn't supposed to attend. So it wasn't a super dressy occasion.
I want to create a head fitting pattern out of multiple pie-shaped wedges like this. 
I'd also like it to have a nice rolled brim
that displays some kind of lovely lining.
I'm thinking about trying for something like this in lightweight denim.
Sybil's hat appears to have some kind of ribbon around the crown as well.

I'm enchanted by the cloche hats on Downton Abbey. A lot of them would be very wearable for modern times, especially for folks like me who live in a mild-winter California climate and walk a lot. We need to protect our skin (in addition to our SPF 50!) and keep the sunlight out of our eyes. So far I've mostly created fabric caps for this purpose. I like those, but I'd also like something with a brim that goes around an entire hat, not just a bill in the front, like a cap has.

I use an inexpensive foam wig stand for
storing this straw hat I produced from the first millinery class I took (Wayne* blocked the straws for us, we trimmed them).
See the tissue sticking out underneath?
I need that because my head is 2 inches bigger than
the crown of the stand. My hat is 3 inches bigger than the
stand (for comfort)
It's important to store hats on something that holds the material of the hat in place,
because otherwise eventually, they will collapse.

The wig stand is only 21" around the crown
The crown of my head is 23" - and that's a very tight fit
When I make a hat, it's 24 or 24 1/2 inches, for a comfortable fit.

I want to create a pattern for a cloche hat.
This one measures about 24" around, after I strapped a number of layers of duct tape tightly over my head.
My cloche will have some kind of a brim to keep the sun out of my eyes,
but the first thing is to get a well-fitted shape around my skull
I made this one out of duct tape and a nylon stocking (the knee high kind)
The stocking (more or less!) kept the duct tape from sticking to my hair
I got my ideas for this form from this post on Crafster

After I peeled the duct tape form off my head (pulling out a few stray hairs along the way!) and trimmed the knee high stocking, the rest of the stocking started to peel away, so I applied leftover (tee shirt) cotton knit scraps on the inside. Then I reinforced the edge all the way around with more duct tape. It was actually helpful, making the head/hat block more stable.

The cloche form needs to be stuffed with something to fit well on the foam head block
I could use leftover cotton knit scraps
 (I left the scraps sticking out in this photo just to make the point)

Or I could stuff it with tissue scraps
 (again, I'd actually stuff the tissue all up inside)

At this point, I can start creating a pattern that fits my head, with or without a brim.

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

My tapestry cap inspired an Enchanted by Sewing show. In August of 2014 I recorded an entire audio podcast about sewing fabric caps, including technique and pattern talk http://www.enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com/2014/08/ench-by-sew-023-capping-off-summer.html

*In this posting I talked about my experiences in Wayne Wichern's millinery class. We focused most of our time on a fabric-covered buckram hat. http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/09/matters-millinery-making-my-own-hats.html,  Early this year, I'll be taking a three full day hat making workshop from Wayne in his studio in Burlingame. I expect to block my own straw and felt hats there. 

My first fabric cap in 2013, was a lovely subtle denim print. I've just about worn this out! http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2012/06/caps-off-chewing-bun-with-tuppence.html

Alvan's Crafster post about making a duct tape cloche hat form helped me with my form. Thanks! http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=gjkdubsculiivgd9tu5t1g50k3&topic=361109.0

Floracraft makes an Inexpensive form for base of a head block - a foam wig stand http://www.michaels.com/floracraft-wig-head/10315631.html

Ench By Sew-12 Creating Dress Forms (Podcast Episode)

Co-Published with the Show Notes for Enchanted By Sewing

http://enchantedbysewing.blogspot.com

Hey! The latest Enchanted by Sewing Podcast has been published!

Two Ways to Listen

i)You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on the this link

** * * 

~ OR ~

ii)  Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes 

Did I miss any links mentioned in the show? If so, please post here and let me know, or else email me ,  EnchantedBySewing AT gmail

~~~
This month show is about my experiences creating and using two different types of dress forms - 

a) A duct tape dress form

b) A Uniquely You dress form

~ ~ ~

Please send your thoughts about this month or next month's topic – Jeans Sewing -in the Post a Comment section,  below :-)

~ ~ ~

Please Note

My Uniquely You Dress Form Instructor was Judith Jackson. I referred to her as "our teacher" in the original recording, as I was waiting to ask her permission to include her name. She said 'yes' :-)

In this month's show

1) What is a dress form?

a. A mannequin who’se shaped like you. A fitting or body double, a way to fit patterns, garments, drape and design as though you’re the tailor and the dress form is you

b. Listen to Lori's Sew Forth Now Podcast for a history of dress forms

Lori not only talked about history, she also talked about the style of dress form and I’m not repeating any of that. Please listen to her wonderful show (she said it would remain there for the near future) esp interesting to me is lori’s archeologic work, uncovering the history of dress forms.

http://sewforthnow.blogspot.com/2008/05/episode-28-dress-forms.html

Lori uses an adjustable dress form, I worked with two different types – duct tape and a Uniquely You dress form

c.

2) Why I wanted a dress form

a. Fit

b. Trying out patterns and muslins in 3D

c.  Create and play around with my own designs, and minor commercial pattern alterations and design changes

d.  Because Lori made them sound so appealing!

e. Maybe for photographing in my blog….

3) Body Issues and your Team

a. Body issues are a part of our culture

b. Find helpers/team who help us feel good about ourselves

c. A dress form helps us distance ourselves from body issues – it’s just data

d. A dress form helps us notice our best features – what do I want to flatter more?

e. A dress form helps us make patterns or garments we design ourselves more flattering, so we learn to play up our best features

f. A dress form allows us to experiment with a muslin/toile – Can I make a shirtwaist that flatters my figure type?

g. Choosing our Team

4) Two types of dress forms I experienced. Basically what they are,  

5) Cost

6) Materials (tools)   and Resources (web stuff) - I list some Resources below

7) Safety- Working around kids,  young or older goofy, fun loving kids - Two good reasons not to !

8) Social Comfort/Body Issues – You need a work group, at least one other person. Find someone who supports your best interests and helps you feel good about yourself

9) How I’ve used my dress forms , what other things I or others might do w/ them

 - Fitting, altering, trying out new patterns, hand sewing/deconstructed neckbands - helps me conform neckline to lay well on me

- A Wedding in your future? Formal/Special Occasion Wear I would guess that if you’re doing a formal dress for someone with beading or close fitting - and maybe they aren't available at the drop of a hat, might be worth making a duct tape (or other type )  dress form for them

10) Technicos: In-depth details about how I made these two different styles of dress forms. What I actually did to create them

~ ~ ~

Resources

Listen to the Podcast on web - no need to download to a mobile device
http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/draft5_dress_formENCHANTEDbySewingFINAL.mp3

There are so many fun things about dress forms - making them, draping on them,  displaying historic, artistic and other garments on them, and enjoying them as an art form - whether full sized, half size, miniature or doll size. There are even topiary forms inspired by dress forms. Whenever I see a good dress form that fits any of these categories, I pin it on one of my virtual bulletin boards http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/dress-forms/

Lori recorded a Sew Forth Now podcast episode on dress forms. I tried not to duplicate anything she already talked about in this great show

http://sewforthnow.blogspot.com/2008/05/episode-28-dress-forms.html

Dress forms are a popular theme with sewing bloggers 

http://makingitwell.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/i-made-my-own-dress-form.html

"Threads" Magazine has many articles related to dress forms

Quick and Easy Duct-Tape Dress Form

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3630/quick-and-easy-duct-tape-dress-form/page/all

Some people think Paper Tape works better than duct tape. Haven't tried it myself, but I'd be game!

      http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3633/paper-tape-dress-form Paper Tape Dress Form

Kenneth King make an extra body to use for two people  in Threads issue 161

 June/July 2012

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/31229/make-your-dress-form-work-for-multiple-figures

I looked in the Threads Magazine Archive to find different articles. You can find that at...

http://www.tauntonstore.com/threads-magazine-issues.html  You can buy individual Threads back issues, if you or your public library doesn't have them on the shelf.

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/29304/dress-forms-can-be-a-sewing-room-essential

1) "Fit for Everyone" by Kenneth D. King in issue #161. This describes how to sew removable covers to make your dress form work for multiple figures.

A. "Tip: Meet Madeline" by Sandy Moeckel in issue #153. This tip describes how Sandy inexpensively made her dress form suitable for herself as well as her daughter.

1) "Tip: Identical Body Double" by Anne K. Brenz in issue #144. This tip describes the way Anne made her dress form fit her every curve.

• "The Dress Form–A Sewer's Best Friend" by Carol Fresia in issue #123. Described below.

• "Make An Arm for Your Dress Form" by Shirley Botsford in issue #90.

• "Clone Yourself a Fitting Assistant" by David Page Coffin in issue #75. This article explains how to make a dress form from scratch.

~ ~ ~

Things I might try out for arty fun and practice with my dress form 

Making a newspaper dress on a dress form. Fun way to learn draping?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlHmzXCWEh4

A tutu might also be a fun way to experiment with draping on a dress form too "How to make a tutu out of paper" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6nKpzd0eI

Squeezing in the Sewing - Personal Project Kits (Organizing)

Kit 3 - My Duct Tape Dummy, Helen, has
been such a help as I learn about fitting.
Here, she's hanging out on her chair as
I fit  the
Hot Patterns Weekend Sunshine Top 
to her physique.
I'm taking a dress-form making class in
summer school, which is why I haven't concerned
myself with improving Helen's filling or
figured out some kind of stand for her.

I've been making myself the gift that keeps giving- several sewing kits.

Our household has been going back and forth when it comes to time for favorite activities, mostly on the negative side for sewing. Yet, by dint of staying up  really late a couple of different nights, I managed to get a couple of different pattern fitting projects in along with putting in a little more time on jeans techniques sample sewing.

It was tempting to simply cut one thing out from my fitting work, and sew it, for sheer satisfaction, but instead I made myself a bunch of ready-to-go sewing kits, because I know I've just got a short lull  before things get super busy in the house. Bet you know the difference it makes to have a project all ready to sew and go when you have twenty or thirty minutes to squeeze in some precious sewing time.

I made four kits so far, and am hoping to squeeze in one more before I put away all the fabric and patterns I dug out. That' something I have to do, since I share my sewing zones with other folks. The other residents of the household have needs too, and none of them involve stiching!

My kits are just zip lock bags - the gallon size (I think). There the same ones that hold a pattern and all it's pieces so handily. Do you have a big tote bag of those that you recycle from sewing project to sewing project like I do?

Kit # 1: B5526 Shirt - a.k.a. my No. 1 Lady's Detective Agency Shirt cut out in lavender Robert Kaufman gingham with a half meter of Liberty of London Tana Lawn for cuffs, collar and other contrast/highlight areas.

Kit # 2:  B5526 Shirt - a.k.a. my No. 1 Lady's Detective Agency Shirt cut out of 1 and 1/2 meters (Woof! how did I squeeze that one out!) of a green and cream Liberty of London Tana Lawn print with a half meter of Tana Lawn in purple background Strawberry Thief print for cuffs, collar and other contrast/highlight areas.

Kit # 3: New (to me) tee shirt, the Hot Patterns Weekend Sunshine Top . I've had this half-muslined since last fall (!). It's now fitted (thanks to my Duct Tape Dummy Helen) and cut out in a pink jersey knit (rayon/poly from Fabric.com) with white pin dots. I sure hope I see that note in the zip lock bag reminding me to use a streeetttcccchhh needle when I go to sew. If I don't use one of those needles with jersey knits I definitely get holes.

Kit # 4: A test garment tee from my standard most-basic tee shirt pattern (B3383). This is the kind of thing I'll get some use out of (assuming I'm happy with the actual fit) but not a long-term commitment garment. I cut out the shirt from two commercial tees that I bought on a trip to Vancouver Canada last summer. Inexpensive tees are my favorite way to get a test garment going on a tee shirt pattern, and I can always use another basic tee.

Kit # 5: Butcher's Apron-  In progress. About a yard of very appealing "Dick and Jane" fabric I've been holding onto for too long (I don't want to see my fabric inventory get stale!) , in combination with another remnant - a kind of stiff black cotton with white dots - and some red bias binding is going to form an addition to my wardrobe of much-used household aprons.

Organizing personal project sewing kits is a gift to myself. 

It keeps me enchanted by sewing.

Fitting the Tee - Every Knit is Different - Duct Tape Dress Form

What do I love most?
 The embroidered hummingbirds?
The under-bust tucks?
The fringy bits I created from knit scraps?
The deconstructed neckline?

I've been squeezing in a little time here and a little time there on this simple rose pink tee with the embroidered hummingbirds. It's been one of those life-is-sometimes-like-that times. Bet you know how that goes :-)

It's a funny thing, I'm using a tee pattern I've altered in the past and sewn several times, but this time through the tee just didn't hang right on me. I'm so glad Lori addressed the variable character of knits so many times in different Sew Forth Now podcasts. Now I know it's not just me who has these challenges. You just never know with knits, they each have their own drape and stretch.

In this case, I admit that I was working with a very flimsy knit. I cut this shirt out of two rose pink commercial tee shirts. I keep them around more as muslins then for my regular wardrobe. But.... they were a pretty color and I just wanted a quick tee fix.

That's where the front detail came from. After doing the machine embroidery (I posted about those dragonflies last time) I just didn't love the way the shirt hung, so I added a little hang of my own.

Don't you love that elegant view of the
old newspapers coming out of the neckline of
my Duct Tape Dummy (DTD)?
It's not glamorous, but it helps her keep her shape for now
I'm not worried about filling her up properly, 'cuz
I'm actually taking a Dress Form Making class !
So, no, my little DTD is never going to be properly filled.

Hey, you knew I was going to show off the value of my Duct Tape Dummy again, right?

I first got out my lovely Dummy after I tried on the shirt and found I didn't like the typical fabric neckband. I did the slight stretch and fold over fabric neckband thing and no matter how much or how little I stretched the neckband/trim, the shirt  reminded me of something Beaver Cleaver wore. So I unpinned and unabasted (never commit the stitches till I'm sure!) and created this deconstructed neckband instead. It's simply a strip of black knit I cut off the bottom of another tee and then twisted and pinned, twisted and pinned all the way around. It's actually still pinned (as is the decorative bit in the front) waiting for sometime soon when I get a chance to sit and do a little hand stitching. The under bust strip is the original unsuccessful  neckband (which was shorter than the new deconstructed one), pinned in place over some tucks (or would you call them darts?) I just pulled in place by hand and safety pinned. I twisted that strip in the same way that I did the deconstructed neckband. 

I created the fringed bits in the front  from
- The ends of that strip hanging down
- Additional strips I added in and braided a little bit at the top
- Scraps of the rose pink I bound around that 
- Cutting each strip in half or thirds to make more and thinner pieces
Entonces... Finally I hung onto the top of each strip and pulled on the opposite end to get a longer, narrower rolled , dangly, fringy piece

Filling in the time gaps with my rose and  black tee shirt , adorned with hummingbirds and creative scrap embellishment really keeps me enchanted by sewing.

Duct Tape Dummy Stands Up (fitting/duct tape dress form)

My Duct Tape Dummy (DTD) isn't exciting
But she Stands Up to Sample Sewing
This is fleece scrap I used to test some of the
 basic concepts I'm altering

I've been working on a fleece jacket, with sleeves that button off and on. I haven't had the heart to blog about the project, though I've been spending an awful lot of my recreation time muslining and altering a fleece jacket pattern I've made successfully in the past. I'm using a combination of home dec fabric for the button'y parts and fleece for the majority of the jacket.  I'm still at the just-don't-know stage. I would not recommend doing button on/off with fleece at this stage!

This project has given me an opportunity to use my Duct Tape Dummy (DTD) that Susan and I made over spring break. Actually, Susan did all the work on me. The one I attempted to make on her, was not a success. Yes, I do owe her, and plan to drive back over the hill one day very soon to strap her up. I didn't do the tape tight enough on her. Watch out for that if you are planning a similar project.

Though my actual DTD isn't nearly as elegant as my lovely tree-maiden vision (Did you see that posting? http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/03/dtd-planning-duct-tape-dummy-fitting.html) she does her duty. 

Yes, that is Hello Kitty duct tape. I also learned that you don't get nearly as much duct tape when you buy decorative duct tape, as when you get the basic macho version. That's what's underneath the kitties. Also I think we went through at least 2 rolls of the macho-duct tape, just in the bottom two layers (3 layers of duct taping in the whole thing). To be safe, I'd recommend 3 rolls of the macho duct tape (the kind you might actually use for duct work) and 2 rolls of decorative for the top layer. 

I still haven't fully stuffed my DTD. For the time being, she's partially filled with plastic newspaper bags, regular recycled newspaper and an old sheet. When I use her, she sits on the table, then goes to bed in a big plastic garbage bag (but well hidden so that nobody will toss her by mistake).

That DTD of mine is a kind of frowzy gal, but she knows her job.

DTD: Planning the Duct Tape Dummy (fitting)

Do you think my DTD could
possibly be as stunning as
this naturally woman-formed tree
I happened to see on a
neighborhood walk?

Since I wrote this posting...I've created both a duct tape dress form (aka my duct tape dummy - affectionately known as Helen)  and a Uniquely You Dress Form. My September "Enchanted by Sewing Podcast" will be devoted to what I've learned about making and using dress forms to date. Signup to be notified when this episode, and other monthly episodes, are published by visiting http://EnchantedBySewing.blogspot.com
I'm excited to begin planning to make a duct tape dress form over spring break, in early April. Just think I will be able to try things on my gal pal instead of ...

* Continuously pulling off my clothes in front of the sewing machine
* Running to the bathroom  mirror with a dish of pins
* Having the pins spill all over the bathroom counter. 

Well, yes that is how I currently do my a lot of my fitting, when I'm not in sewing lab begging somebody else for help. 

Of course I hope to work on this project with my sewing buddy, Susan. You remember Susan, she's the one who put her heart and soul into fitting my B5526 shirt pattern, which, (Hooray!), has indeed been altered to fit me because of all her hard work!!!!

 I don't know where I picked up the idea that this kind of project is also called a 'duct tape dummy' . I realize the Duct Tape Dummy(DTD) will be quite far down on the scale compared to the real deal, cool dress form that you can purchase or manufacture from specialty plastics, but I'm still jazzed about my DTD.

Wish me luck!