Millinary: Not right the first time.

Remember the other day when I was gleefully blocking four hats in one day?
The blue one turned out great!





The pink one...well, it has turned into one of those "if first you don't succeed..." projects.

The first blocking I thought the little raised bumps in the straw weave were cute. A nice textural detail. So I put them on the outside when I blocked the hat.

Then I was just stumped with what to do with the excess brim. I wanted a wider brim but the shape would only allow so much distance. So I just pleated the excess under. That looked great, on the block, but when I tried it on....em, well, I'm not so sure this is such a great idea. But dang it, maybe if I just fold the brim up into the hat and stitch it to the crown. Using a chain stitch so it will come out easy if it is not quite right.

The thread caught on each bump. Worse, when the folded inside the VERY raw prickly spikes of straw ends were against the head and forehead skin. OUCH!
I considered a heavy sweat band. Then thought probably everyone will wonder why I made the hat inside out. Not everyone appreciates texture.

So I ripped out the chain stitch, stitch by stitch, as it didn't pull out at all!

And have re-blocked. Made the crown taller, and rolled the edge of the brim.

Today I will head out to the fabric store to figure out a band fabric, as the tacks left dark gray marks around the hat. You can see the marks if you look closely above the pins in the last photo.

PS: I just finished Fanny Flagg's new book "Can't Wait to Get To Heaven". Put on a straw hat, pour yourself some pink lemonade, pull up a lawn chair under a tree, grab that book and give yourself a summertime treat.