Millinery at Midnight: "Midnight Sun"

A while back I wrote about creating a hat at midnight, using a 3 minute rose technique, on a straw hat I blocked on a bowl I got at Ross out in San Diego.


I promised pictures, so here you go!

I've named it "Midnight Sun", as the rose looks like a sunset sun to me. I used my newly acquired gold stamen while making the flower.
Love stamen!

The hat is held on by the hat pin, slid though a bun, or a pin curl (a lock of hair in a pin curl, then the hat pin goes through the curl, locking the hat down).

There is a scarf tied in the back. I love that the hat just sits on top of your head, light and cool, providing shade.

I wore it to work, and had someone stop me in the parking lot, asking where I got my hat!

No horses stampeded either.


(Notes on bowl blocking: Get blank, unblocked hat. Judith M. or Hats By Leko, on the web, have a good, reasonably priced selection.

Look for bowls at Ross, Marshalls, Ikea, or Nordstoms, if you've got the bucks and the guts.

Look at the bowls upside down. The BOWLS upside down, NOT you upside down. Try the bowls on as hats, tipping them in saucy styles.

Ignore the people who are staring at you.

Once you have decide on great bowl, pay for the bowl quickly, before the store has a chance to call for the people who bring the straight jackets.

Once home, cover the bowl with saran wrap. Dunk the hat in water with plain gelatin mixed into it. Stretch the hat over the bowl until smooth. Pinch designs into the straw as desired. That's how I got the pagoda design on top. Fold the edge of the hat over the edge of the bowl to make a hem. Then clamp the hat to the edge of the bowl using clothes pins. Let dry. Remove from bowl. Using millinery wire (Judith, Leko... again) create a circle. Stitch the wire in the hem.

Decorate as desired!

A tip of the hat to Kate, who pioneered this method, and who now lives with the Swiss overseas. I am told that these two facts are unrelated.