I made the 19th century bonnet. The pattern was very straightforward and went together easily but I didn’t exactly follow the instructions to the letter. For example, the pattern asks you to glue the wire to the buckram. I sewed it down with a zig zag stitch. The pattern also asks you to glue the brim binding to the hat but I elected to sew it to the brim instead. I also got a little creative with the lining and the trim. It is a very good basic pattern. Wearing it proved to be more of a challenge as it kept slipping back but once I shoved a nice long hat pin along the crown it stayed on all day just fine.
Rated 4 out of 5
Frannie Germeshausen –
I love the way this turned out, but there are a couple of major issues. The instructions call for the crown to be glued together and the crown to be glued into the brim. Since the covering has been fused to the buckram, there’s no way to hand sew it. Through the course of a day in which the hat was on and off a few times, with large hatpins being stuck back through, part of the crown did come unglued. Also, diameter of the crown was larger than the diameter of the opening in the brim to receive it. By a bunch. It was pretty easy to fix (just outlining the crown in chalk on the brim and re-cutting) but why should it have been that way??? Also, it wobbles. At Lynne’s bonnet class, I learned I should have doubled the buckram. Always glad to provide a bad example. The instructions for decorating the hat involve piles of drapery and flowers and feathers and stuff. While this is legit, I went for a simpler Gainsborough look – hat band and giant bow, and 3 huge feathers. Yeah, simpler.
Rated 3 out of 5
Margaret Vallas –
View B – This was the first bonnet I ever made. It was easy to make and makes a very pretty bonnet. However all it did for the whole day was fall off my head – it wouldn’t stay up for barely a second. Very disappointed. If you choose to make this pattern, you better have hat pins, lots of hair in which to pin them, and be indoors away from any kind of wind!
Katie Vardijan –
I made the 19th century bonnet. The pattern was very straightforward and went together easily but I didn’t exactly follow the instructions to the letter. For example, the pattern asks you to glue the wire to the buckram. I sewed it down with a zig zag stitch. The pattern also asks you to glue the brim binding to the hat but I elected to sew it to the brim instead. I also got a little creative with the lining and the trim. It is a very good basic pattern. Wearing it proved to be more of a challenge as it kept slipping back but once I shoved a nice long hat pin along the crown it stayed on all day just fine.
Frannie Germeshausen –
I love the way this turned out, but there are a couple of major issues. The instructions call for the crown to be glued together and the crown to be glued into the brim. Since the covering has been fused to the buckram, there’s no way to hand sew it. Through the course of a day in which the hat was on and off a few times, with large hatpins being stuck back through, part of the crown did come unglued. Also, diameter of the crown was larger than the diameter of the opening in the brim to receive it. By a bunch. It was pretty easy to fix (just outlining the crown in chalk on the brim and re-cutting) but why should it have been that way??? Also, it wobbles. At Lynne’s bonnet class, I learned I should have doubled the buckram. Always glad to provide a bad example. The instructions for decorating the hat involve piles of drapery and flowers and feathers and stuff. While this is legit, I went for a simpler Gainsborough look – hat band and giant bow, and 3 huge feathers. Yeah, simpler.
Margaret Vallas –
View B – This was the first bonnet I ever made. It was easy to make and makes a very pretty bonnet. However all it did for the whole day was fall off my head – it wouldn’t stay up for barely a second. Very disappointed. If you choose to make this pattern, you better have hat pins, lots of hair in which to pin them, and be indoors away from any kind of wind!