A bespoke hat project: Making a hat for Sir Walter Raleigh

A bespoke hat project: Making a hat for Sir Walter Raleigh

"I’d like to have a hat made like the one worn by Sir Walter Raleigh. Can you help me?"

Yes!  I wanna help! But wait, I'd better do some research first to make sure I have the blocks to make this hat. And there wasn't a picture, so I'd better make sure we are both thinking about the same hat.

First I check my trusty book collection, an eclectic mix of history coffee table books, art books and secondary source millinery references.  Nope, not there.

So, I take to the internet, specifically looking for a contemporary portrait of Sir Walter, wearing an actual hat.  There's a ton of secondary sources, Victorian era reproduction portraits and other art works of fiction.  Don't get me started on finding a primary source via Pinterest.  Luckily, most museums have extensive online libraries. The National Portrait Gallery delivered.  

Now for analyzing the shape and trim using my decades+ millinery experience.  The shape appears to be a tall, flat crown with a slightly upturned brim.  Zooming in, the front brim appears to be pinned back with the pearl and feather brooch.  This detail is hard to see, and really doesn't make sense on the Victorian portraits. Though I do appreciate their color story.

So, I have several sizes of tall flat crowns (the upper part of the hat) some vintage and some replicas made for me by Hat Blocks Australia.  The slight upturn brim can be made with a standard hatters flange brim, of which I have several sizes.  The front will be pinned back with a focal brooch.

The tricky part is the brooch.  I'm not a metal worker as such, so making a special enamel piece would be too expensive and time consuming.  So I will make it.  I plan to use a drop pearl, a head pin, 2 1/2" filigree cone, which I will fill with peacock flu or rooster hackle.  Looking at the original, those might be egret feathers which are illegal to use in millinery.  It's a little difficult to find peacock flu in black, but I have some antique in my stash that would be perfect.

So, challenge accepted!  I reviewed the material options, confirmed the size and quoted my customer based on materials and labor.  I then sent a custom hat listing via Etsy, which was promptly paid.  

It'll take me 6-8 weeks to gather the supplies, get the blocks ready, block, dry, finish and trim the hat.  Huzzah!

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