Flapper Hat from Vogue 8844

Have you heard that 1920's fashions are making a comeback?  I have always romanticized the roaring 20's and especially love the fashions from that era.

Somebody said that my recently made coat looked like a flapper coat, so that reminded me of a hat pattern- Vogue 8844 that I bought specifically for View B, which looked like a flapper hat to me.   I had some leftover fabric from my last two projects- the black camelhair and mocha melton, so I decided to do a colorblock version.  

Vogue 8844 View B.

The pattern called for sew-in interfacing, which I didn't have on hand.  I wish that they would have given a little more guidance on the interfacing weight, but they didn't so I had to wing it.  Maybe someone reading this can chime in with some good information on this subject.  I don't know a lot about hat making, but I do know that choosing the right weight interfacing is essential.  I wanted the brim to be stiff, so I used fusible Timtex on that piece.  I was a little worried that the Timtex might be too stiff for the crown, so I used a fusible fleece for the top and crown pieces. 

You can see that the crown on mine does hollow a bit more than the one on the model, but I think that it's okay.  A lighter fabric would probably be better with the Timtex all over.

An interesting story about the bow.  I had some beautiful wool pants in winter white.  For some reason, I thought that they were washable wool.  They weren't.  They shrunk about 8 inches in length, but left the fabric nice and soft.  I knew someday I would have an application for a piece of white wool, and this was the day!

The hat really needs a head inside of it to look like much.  It seems to me that it looks longer in the crown than I would have suspected, but the bottom hits me right at the nape of the neck, and it seems like it would stay on during a windy day, so I think that the length is correct.

I used the same lavender gold lining that I used for the coat.  Here's what it looks like from the inside.  It was really very easy to make.  The pattern did call for you to use a grosgrain ribbon to cover the lining/brim connection.  It would look nice, but I skipped that step.

I think that it is important to get a good measurement of your head before you begin to get a good fit.  Whenever I've tried on hats in stores, they are usually too small, so I was guessing I would need a Large, but measured at a Medium.  The size that matched my head measurement fit me perfectly. 

Other views in Vogue 8844

There are 3 other versions of this pattern- each with a different brim width. I might play around with some of the other versions.  We'll see how much I wear this one.

If you like 20's fashion, you have got to check out this article on fashionising.com for  some GREAT inspiration from the current runway shows. They show a lot of styles of hats.  Do you hope that hats make a comeback some day?  I will be ready when they do!

Happy sewing!

Ann