Make Your Own Hats | Page 2

than with it off, it is not as good a model for you as it might be.
In planning or choosing a hat we unconsciously decide upon those colors and outlines which are an outward expression of ourselves. A hat, as well as any article of clothing, may express many things--dejection, happiness, decision, indecision, gayety, dignity, graciousness, a trained or an untrained mind, forethought, refinement, generosity, cruelty, or recklessness. How often we hear some one say, "That hat looks just like Mrs. Blank!" Clothing of any kind is an index to the personality of the wearer. A friend once said in my presence to a saleswoman who was trying to sell her a hat, "But I do not feel like that hat!" The saleswoman replied, "That's just it--you refuse to buy it because you do not feel like it, while I tell you that it is most becoming." All of which showed that this saleswoman had not the most remote idea of what was meant, and had a total lack of understanding.
Clothes should be a matter of "feeling," and this same feeling is something vital and should be catered to if our garments are to help set our spirits free. Why should we wear anything which is misleading in regard to ourselves? Let us look in the mirror each day and ask ourselves whether we look to be what we wish others to think we are.
It is important in planning a hat to see it in broad daylight as well as under artificial light. It should also be tried on in a good light while standing before a mirror, as a hat which may seem becoming while sitting may not be so while standing, with the whole figure taken into consideration.
To make one's own hats, using up old materials, stimulates originality and gives opportunity for expression. It is amazing to see how many new ideas are born when we start out to do something which we have thought quite impossible. It all helps to give added zest to life. Making one's own hats appeals to the constructive instinct of every woman aside from the matter of thrift, which should always be taken into consideration. Some one will say, "I would not wear any hat I might make." How often have we worn unbecoming hats, poor in workmanship, besides paying some one handsomely for the privilege. Let us try to form some standard by which to judge of the worth of a hat instead of the maker's name.
Before making a hat, the entire wardrobe should be carefully looked over to see with what the hat must be worn, and the kind of service we are going to expect from it. Every article of a costume should be related and harmonious as to color, outline, and suitability. The result should be a perfect whole without a single discord. How often we see a green skirt, mustard-colored coat, and a bright blue hat--each article pleasing by itself, but atrocious when worn collectively. Bright, gay little hats are pleasing when seen seldom, but we soon tire of one if it must be worn daily.
Time and our best thought are well spent in planning our apparel. The proper clothing gives us confidence and self-respect, and the respect of others. To be well dressed is to be free from the thought of clothes. We judge and are judged by the clothes we wear--they are an outward expression of ourselves, and speak for us, while we must remain silent.
"Simplicity is the keynote of beauty"--no one article of clothing should stand out too conspicuously, unless it is the hat. Nature uses bright colors sparingly. If you look at a plant, you find it dark near the ground, growing lighter near the top with its green leaves, and then the blossom; the glory is at the top. Everything in nature teaches us to look up. So the hat should be the crowning glory of a costume, the center of interest, and should receive the most careful attention as to becomingness, suitability, and workmanship.

CONTENTS
I. EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS 1
II. COVERING FRAME WITH VELVET 15
III. FRAMES OF NETEEN AND CRINOLINE 31
IV. WIRE FRAMES 35
V. ROUND CROWN OF WIRE 44
VI. HAT COVERINGS 54
VII. TRIMMINGS 68
VIII. HAND-MADE FLOWERS 78
IX. REMODELING AND RENOVATING 100

ILLUSTRATIONS
SHOWING SHAPED BRIM OF NETEEN WITH RIBBON-WIRE BRACES BASTED IN PLACE 4
SHOWING METHOD OF FITTING FABRIC TO SHAPED BRIM 16
SHOWING UNDER FACING OF BRIM PINNED OVER WIRE READY TO SEW IN PLACE 16
VARIOUS PROCESSES 36
FANCY CROWN-TIP OF BRAID 44
ROLLING WIRE BRIM 44
ROUND CROWN OF WIRE 44
ONE METHOD OF STARTING THE BRAID ON CROWN AND SEWING IN PLACE 54
SHOWING METHOD OF COVERING CROWN WITH TWO-INCH WIDE BIAS SATIN 64
RIBBON TRIMMINGS 72
HAND-MADE FLOWERS 78

MAKE YOUR OWN HAT
CHAPTER I
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
EQUIPMENT
Thimble Thread Needles Tape-measure Pins Tailor's chalk or pencil Milliner's pliers or wire cutters Scissors, large