5/2/2014
I decided to update my hat this year and will show off the new photo. It is impossible to take a selfie wearing a rather large hat with a lot of stuff happening on it so here is what it looks like now.
I cut out the large feathers that were sticking out the back. I looped the long tulle and ribbons back in and glued them. I also added a lot more loops of ribbon. I plan on wearing the ribbon part in the front...without naming names, think "Her Royal Highness" style.
And on with the old blog. I call it a tutorial but I did not take photos when making this hat in 2011, but I do explain the process.
4/29/2012
Yeah, it is another one of my blog posts about making a crazy hat - but the Kentucky Derby is less than a week away so it is necessary!You know if you are going anyplace that is showing the race (party, racetrack, wagering establishment, your living room, etc.) you secretly want to wear one of those big crazy hats.
Well, fear not! They are super easy to make and really not that expensive. (even less expensive if you hoard all of your leftovers from previous crafts as I do)
I was planning on being super cheap so I started by looking at the items I had on hand and went from there. I had white ostrich feathers and several kinds of black and white ribbon as well as tulle in black and white.
So it was settled. My hat would be black and white. Great, because I had a zebra print top that was just screaming VEGAS.
I started out by finding a large hat. (since the Derby falls on Cinco de Mayo this year, how fun would it be to make a hat using one of those big straw sombreros you get from Chevy's? You know you have one or know someone who was unfortunate enough to be at Chevy's on their birthday)
Anyway, I knew I did not want to invest a lot of money so I went to Burlington. They had a very nice selection of large hats. I chose the largest cheapest hat that I could get. So far I am at $7.99 plus tax on my hat. Don't worry if it is not the color you want, that can easily be fixed with spray paint. Mine started out the natural color and I had black spray paint on hand to make my hat base black. Once you have your hat the color you want, then heat up that glue gun because it is time to get to work.
I had several ostrich feathers left over from my wedding so I learned that if you used an exacto knife, you could split them down the middle to get two pieces of feathery fringe. Beings that my hat was going to Vegas, I glued that feathery fringe around the brim to make it pimp style.
Then I glued ribbon around the edge to hide where the feathers were glued on. Then it is time to decorate the rest of the hat. I used more feathers to stick off the hat and added ribbon and tulle around the band as well as bows and tails out the back. (see above picture for the back view)
The below pictures were from Vegas last year. You know the previous night was good when I end up with a picture of my hat with a tall drink. Somehow though I was still up and ready to go and watch the Derby in the sports bet area at the Hilton.