born again hats

remember this tapestry? Well, I said I saved it to make a hat out of. Shortly after, I washed it in my parents' washing machine and their washer effectively shredded it. Sometimes their washer does that. It also reduced a pair of my dad's jeans to fringe. This is one of the lesser risks inherent in visiting my parents. My hatsmanship, already limited in its own right, was further limited to the shreds of the tapestry. Last week I was finally inspired to make good on my promise. Which is to say- keep it. The end result was a disappointment. The hat appeared to be flawless until the final stages. Then, as is most often the case with my novice sewing projects, the truth became apparent. The lumpy misaligned truth. I stuck it on my gumball machine for the picture because my head made its flaws all too evident. The style is supposed to be a cloche, not a gumball cozy.


While I was at it, I made another hat. Out of upholstery I cut off a random discarded chair with a utility knife. I know. I also think it sounds like a bad idea. Cat piss, cheetos crumbs, hairs of all pedigree, etc. I thought of all those things. But it really wasn't like that. The upholstery was striking. It is true that the cushion and arms were worn to nothing but the back side of the chair was practically untouched. I snuck outside with my utility knife and harvested as much as I could before the garbage man showed up. It was over a year ago that I acquired the fabric and did the requisite triple wash of it. The cloth lost so much dye that I thought my sink would be red forever. Which lends itself to an appropriate biblical metaphor. Washed all the sins right out of it...I hope. Here's my born again newsboy. Fully lined, just in case.



I used Eugenia Kim's book for all of my patterns. I highly recommend it.