Lonely Heart - Martha's Hats

No 1949-1950 setting is complete without hats. Wearing hats, for both men and women, is one of the things that distinguishes the earlier 20th C from the last few decades. If we leave them out of this show then most people would not notice, but they may have a sense of it being "not quite put together" and unfinished.
Ray has a grey fedora that he is rarely going to wear as most shots are interior, but having one in his hands is an important anchor. I just hope that Nick has been rehearsing with it.
Martha has two hats, both made my moi, partly because it is really hard to find hats that old, but also because I love making hats and they don't take all that long to do.

Hat 1: Navy heart shaped hat. This shape was really popular around the time of our play. Whether the brim was heart shaped or round, the effect of a halo rising behind the head was very popular. The crown is made from a commercial hat shape given to me, the brim out of buckram. Whole thing covered in cotton jersey knit (so easy to shape and its dull, thickish texture is reminiscent of felt) and the method an adaptation of my wide brim hat tutorial. The bow is from a scrap of shower curtain nylon I bought at the opshop for 20 cents, as I have no blue in my stash! Trimmed with ivory satin and navy cotton commercial bias bindings.

Hat 2: Red leaf hat. This cloche style hat hugs the back of the head and I love it. I made the base from buckram - cutting a big leaf shape, snipping the long edges and stitching little overlaps all the way around to give it shape. I then covered the outer side with thin cotton quilting batting to soften the shaping lines, then shaped the ruched, bias cut fabric over it. Sew around the edge, trim and sew bias around it to finish it off. The three loops are straight cut fabric with stiff net inside so as to keep their shape.
Small error - the ruching should fan upwards, not downward, but I realised I liked the loops better along the topline not the bottom so it is actually upside down. Such is millinery experimentation.
Thankyou Madame Ornata for modelling. Madame O has been such a great help with this show - coming over for hours to unpick, resew, make me laugh, try things on, make cups of tea, you name it!
Update: it's dress rehearsal this evening which is why it's taken me a few days to get this post completed. And the things I have to tell you about...I don't have time to tell you about! I will very soon, however... :)