Monday 8 August 2011

A review on Vintage Vogue V7464, hat B


This review is solely for hat B, not any of the other hats you get when you purchase this pattern. I have not tried to make the other hats and have no idea if the instructions for them are good or bad.

Before I started this hat I had heard a lot on how bad the instructions were for it. I decided to give it a try anyway, as it is a cool hat. Unfortunately every bad thing I have heard proved to be true. The instruction for this hat is the worst I have ever encountered. For a start, the black and white drawing seems to be of a completely different hat. You get no help for figuring the pattern out by looking at that, so don’t. There are two nice photos of the finished hat, but they are both from the front. As the hat is asymmetrical it would have helped if there had been a back view as well.





The pattern pieces could have used better markings of what is front and back. It’s not clear from the beginning what is what, which makes a confusing pattern even more confusing. It’s also unclear at times to where you should attach various pattern pieces to each other.

The instructions are scant to say the least. I read them carefully before I started as well as several times when working with the hat and had to mull over every step carefully. Especially since some steps are all but left out and only by looking at the drawings and the photos did I manage to put it together. I still made a mistake that I didn’t realize was a mistake until much further on, as the instructions gave no clue to what was right and I tried to do what the drawing looked like- which was wrong.

The buckram piece is much too large for the hat and needs to be cut down. There are, however, no instructions on how much. A bit nit-picky, I admit, is that you are instructed to shape the buckram over a Styrofoam ball. That is, of course, an excellent suggestion if you don’t have a hat stock (and not many has), but I would have liked at least a mention of a hat stock.

Finally, the last necessary steps for finishing the hat are completely left out. After following all the instructions I was left with a hat that looked like this from the front:



Back:



Not much like the original and that is because you need to do a final step to finish it and given the shape of the hat, that step wasn’t exactly easy to spot. It took me some time to figure it out and now the hat is finally done! As I have photographed every step I took when making this hat, there will be an additional post on how I put the hat together- hopefully that can be of help to someone else.

The conclusion is that the pattern is quite bad and I can’t really recommend it. However, if you are ready to improvise and accept that the hat you make get touches that you don’t find in the original hat, then it IS a pretty cool hat, after all, which I guess is why people wants to make it.. It’s definitely not a beginner’s pattern. I’m quite sure that I will never use it again. I should add that I have used Vintage Vogue patterns several times and always found the instructions good, so I’m quite surprised over the particular instructions for this hat.

15 comments:

Katrin said...

Such a beautfil hat. I must admit, although I´m one of those girls that want to make everything themselves, I would never try to make my own felt hats I think. Knitting, yes. Sewing, ok. But making a felt hat? I already have trouble bringing my old hats back into their original shape. So I´ve got much respect for what you are doing there.Can´t wait to see the finished hat!

Kate said...

Goodness, that must have been infuriating! I admire your patience, though. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece :)

Rowenna said...

I hate poorly laid out instructions but what really gets me are badly marked pattern bits! With a good pattern you can usually ferret out what goes where even if the instructions are iffy. So frustrating. But can't wait to see the step-by step!

Auntie said...

OOOooops, I read this too late. I just ordered the pattern on Sunday. I'll look forward to seeing your finished product and perhaps you will blaze a trail for the rest of us.

Isis said...

Katrin: I find felt rather forgiving to work with. Though I guess it helps that I went to a millinery course once upon time. :)

Kate O: Actually, I had to let this hat rest for several months to stop me from cutting it to shreds... So not so pattient, perhaps... ;)

Rowenna: Terribly annoying! Now when I'm done it alls seems pretty easy, so I hope my guide will help someone else!

Auntie: Oh, tehre are four other hats too, perhaps they have better instructions. And perhaps you will find mt guide helpful for this one. :)

Sewingadicta said...

I love hats and I was thinking of getting this ... now I have to think ... I'll wait to see your finished hat to decide ... thanks for all this information, this is great help.

Emma Litton said...

Oh my, how frustrating.

xo,
Em

Isis said...

Rosy: It IS a nice hat, so it may very well be worth doing, despite the frustration.

Emma: Very! :)

Second Hand Rose said...

Thanks so much on doing this review! I was jsut about to buy this pattern, but now I'm having second thoughts! XxxX
http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.com/

Second Hand Rose said...

Due to your fabulous instructions I have now decided to go ahead and attempt to make this hat! The pattern comes to around £9, which I will just end up not using. Could you possibly send me the measurements from the pattern for the bits of material and all the materials needed? If you could scan it and e-mail it to me, it would be fabulous. I will of course mention you in my blog when I do a post about it once I've made it and will highly recommend your blog. You can find my e-mail address on the left hand side of my blog. Thanks so much! XxxX http://thesecondhandrose.blogspot.co.uk/

Isis said...

Second Hand Rose: I could, but I think you can find that information online. If you check out teh pattern att Vogue's webpage you can find yardage and addtitional material if you scroll down a bit. :)

I hope you made it- I'd love to see your version!

Second Hand Rose said...

Thanks so much, I've looked at the website and now know what to get, I'm a bit apprehensive with this! I'm going by your amazing instructions so you may be getting stalked by me within the next few weeks! Sadly the web doesn't tell you the measurements of the pieces you cut out, I suppose that's why they want you to buy the pattern! I think I'm going to have to go ahead and buy it. Have you tried any of the other hats in the pattern? Thanks for your help! XxxX

Isis said...

Second Hand Rose: stalk away. :) Perhaps you should try a search on Etsy for it? I have had good luck finding Vintage Vogue patterns for half the price there. :) And no, so far I have only tried this pattern.

Patrick_the_Costumer said...

I was shocked at how bad the printed instructions were for this pattern, but I was glad that I wasn't the only one to think so! You took a lot of time to put this together and help others out - thanks very much for doing so!

Isis said...

Patrick_the_Costumer: I'm very happy that you found it useful!

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