Make Your Own Hats | Page 6

down with a hot iron. If done quickly and lightly, it will not show on the right side.
[Illustration: SHOWING METHOD OF FITTING FABRIC TO SHAPED BRIM]
TO FACE UNDER SIDE OF BRIM--
Pin velvet on under side, using same method in pinning as that on top of brim. This must be pinned very carefully. Cut off velvet all around edge, leaving a little less than one-fourth inch to turn under. Facings are usually finished at the edge with a wire. Cut a piece of frame wire the exact circumference of the brim, plus one inch for lap. Bend to shape of brim and pin under edge of velvet, beginning at the center back. Roll velvet over wire and bring out to edge. Pin in place all the way around before beginning to sew. Place pins in at right angles to brim. A piece of velvet held in the left hand will prevent finger marks from showing on the velvet. Begin to sew at left of wire joining, while holding underside of brim towards you. Bring needle through from back close under wire. With the head of the needle press velvet along under wire to make a crease or sort of bed for the thread of the next stitch. Take nearly a half-inch stitch by placing needle close under the wire and coming through between the wire and the upper facing. Come back under the wire with a very small back stitch, being careful to adjust the wire as you sew, and to catch a little of the upper covering with each back stitch. When wire joining is reached, treat the lapped ends as one wire. Fasten ends securely by taking several small back stitches. Lace wire, being smaller than frame wire, is sometimes used to finish the edge of facing. It does not look as heavy, but is somewhat more difficult for a beginner to handle.
[Illustration: SHOWING UNDER FACING OF BRIM PINNED OVER WIRE READY TO SEW IN PLACE]
TO COVER CROWN TOP--
To cover the top, cut a piece of velvet with the bias at the front, same shape as top of crown plus one inch all around. Gather one-fourth inch from edge, place over top, equalize the gathers, pin in place, and sew with stab stitch over line of gathering. Make the edge lie as flat as possible and do not draw velvet too tight across the top.
TO COVER SIDE CROWN--
Cut a piece of velvet on a true bias two and one-half inches wider than height of crown. Pin this strip wrong side out around side crown to find length and to locate seam. Draw it snugly and pin seam on straight of material with warp thread. (Warp thread is parallel with selvage.) Remove velvet and stitch seam. Open it and press by drawing it over the edge of a hot iron.
TO SEW CROWN ON BRIM--
The simplest way to proceed is to sew the crown on the brim before adjusting the side crown covering. Pin back, front, and each side of crown to brim, placing seams at back. Sew through upturned flaps of brim and crown one-fourth inch from bottom wire. Stretch the velvet strip for side crown on the crown, placing seam at back, unless trimming has been planned which will cover the seam better if it is placed at some other point. Turn top and bottom edges under to fit the side crown, and press bottom fold down close to brim. If this band has been fitted tight enough, it will not be found necessary to sew it.
EDGE OF BRIM FACING, WHEN FINISHED WITHOUT WIRE--
A brim covered with velvet or any fabric may also be finished underneath without a wire, the edges being slipstitched together. In this case, the underfacing would be turned under one-fourth inch and pinned in place all the way around before beginning to sew. Bring the needle through from underside of facing to the very edge of fold. Place point of needle directly opposite this stitch and take a small stitch in upper facing, then take a small stitch in underfacing. Each stitch always begins just opposite the ending of preceding stitch, so that the thread between the two facings crosses the seam at right angles to edge of brim. This method makes the work look smooth, and also it will not pull out of place; however, this style of finishing an edge is not popular and requires much practice.
TO COVER NARROW BRIM SAILOR WITHOUT AN EDGE SEAM--
This method can be used satisfactorily only when the brim is narrow, and the fabric pliable. For convenience we will give measurements as for a two and one-half inch brim, flat sailor, outside edge measuring forty inches. Cut a bias piece of velvet forty inches long and seven inches wide. Fold this velvet through center lengthwise and stick pins