Wise from my previous try at millinery, I ordered a pattern without even trying to draft my own for my sister 1860s hat.  Lynn McMasters “1860s summer hat”

I drafted and cut the pattern for a medium sized hat and got to work on the buckram.

Stitching the millinery wire to the buckram.

Then I taped and sewed the top and side piece together by hand.

I covered the edges with bias tape.

Then it was time to cut the fabric.
Knowing my sisters fondness for blue, and having just recently finished my 18th century Redingote in a lovely blue wool, I decided to use the scraps for her hat.
Cutting the wool.

I also cut the pieces in cotton thin bathing for interlining, and white linen for lining.left to right: Buckram, bathing, blue wool, pattern piece and linen lining.

I carefully covered the buckram base with first bathing and then wool.

Then it was time for the lining. The piece underneath the brim was pleated, pinned and stitched on.

And the crown part was covered in two steps – first the top, and then the sides.

Then I stitched the brim and the crown part together.

And flipped it over to sew the lining together.

The finished (un-trimmed) hat:

 

But no hat is complete without some decoration…

I cut stripes of white chiffon to put on the hat. Looking pretty good.

I also wanted to ad a lace veil… ..But decided not to since it looked so stupid, and I doubt my sister would want to wear it like that.

I pinned and sewed the chiffon to the hat in a shape of a bow with long tails.
To get some more interest to the look, I also added a bit of lace to the bow.

And that was that.

The finished hat

The facts:

What: a 1860s hat

Pattern: Lynn McMasters 1860s summer hat

Fabric & Notions: scraps of blue wool, white linnen and cotton bathing, 30cm buckram, 2m millenery wire, thread, 30cm polyester chiffong and 10cm polyester lace for decoration.

Time: About 20 hours.

Cost: ca 200 Sek (32 Usd) – all fabric from stash.

Final thoughts: I think it look really good and I hope my sister likes it – because I do.