Cloche Hat Part 3: Fin.

Brace yourself.  This is a long, picture filled post.

Once I was done sewing in the wire for the brim I folded the extra felt over it and sewed it in place.  Then I cut the extra felt off.

Normally the next step would have been to add the embellishments and be finished.  But the hat had some wonky ridges in it that were pissing me off.  Because the hat had to be perfect, you see.  I've inherited a terrible gene from my mother, the family perfectionist.  So, even though this was my first attempt at making something fairly intricate, it still had to be perfect.  Or at least better.

It's a terrible thing to put those kinds of expectations on yourself.  It makes no sense.  But that's the way I'm wired so I did something drastic.  I doused the hat in boiling water again and reblocked it.

It did the trick.  I have to say that the felt hat stiffener DOES NOT MESS AROUND.  When the hat dried the stiffener was still doing its job.  Crazy.

 Once it dried I added a thin strip of burgundy felt around it and a flower I made.  That flower took FOREVER.  But oh, it was worth it!

And now the final product, modeled.

 

Side view.

Just being goofy.

Yes, I'm very happy with it!

Now it's on to the second hat.  This time I'm going to use a fur felt hood made from rabbit fur.  Don't worry, no rabbits were harmed in the making of the hood.  Well, except if the person collecting the fur pulled too hard on the rabbit.  Have you ever heard a rabbit scream?!?  FREAKY.