A tutorial for a 40's style tilt hat

About this hat
I made the hat without a precise plan to where I was heeding and it wasn't until I was halfway done that it dawned on me that others might find the process interesting. That's the reason to why there aren't many pictures from the early stages and you have to make do with some me-made drawings. The hat is not a copy of an existing hat, but rather draws on numerous pictures of tilt hats as inspiration. I don't claim any historical authenticity at all.

Consider this tutorial as more of a template for making a tilt hat of your choice rather than for one specific design. That is why there aren't any exact measurement and often more than one suggestion to how to treat a certain step. I hope I will manage to explain clearly what I mean, but if there is something that seems unclear, please ask! It is surprisingly difficult to write tutorials, so I hope I have managed to write something that is understandable. Hat making is surrounded by an air of mystique, but making hat is actually not hard at all. Being, by it's very nature, a rather small project, making it doesn't take long and if you make a mistake you don't loose so much if you have to start all over again.

Supplies
1 hat capeline/hood in felt.
Millinery wire
Sharp needles
Thread
Grosgrain/Petersham ribbon
Optional: Extra decoration of your choice.

Tips on retro make up

I don't usually go in for make up tutorials on video, but I was very recently tipped about Lisa Elridge and I think it's worth spreading. She's a professional make up artist and she has several excellent videos on basic make up and more festive one as well. She also has an interest in vintage make up and many of the videos touch that subject.

A history of make up, Victorian era to the 1930's.

A 1940's updo tutorial

I was asked how I did my hair here and as that may interest more people, here is a little how-to. My hair is cut in a middy that is quite long- soon it will be a femme fatale. The longest part is a little below my shoulders and the shortest layer reach me to my chin. It's also rather thick. You can do this style with both shorter and longer hair, if shorter it needs to be long enough to roll and with longer hair your rolls will be bigger.

What you need is booby pins, pomade, hair spray and some patience.

You also need to know a few things to start out. First you need to curl your hair. I always do my standing pin curls, but you can curl you hair any way you like best.

The best pin curls

The best for me, that is. I’ve been doing pin curls for a couple of years and read up on tutorials all over the web and in every book I could find. There are a lot of opinions on how to do them the best way and I don’t think any of those are wrong. They just didn’t work so well for me. I came up on the way that suited me best quite by chance and perhaps some of you will find it useful too. It depends, of course, how you want your final “do” to look. You may not like the effect that I prefer. Hair quality is another factor. My hair is fairly thick and with a natural wave and reaches just below my shoulders in the back. It is also cut in a middy- the best haircut I ever had and one that really makes it easier to curl your hair.

I start with my hair wet, but again, that is a matter of preference. My hair dries overnight, but you may have better result with only damp hair. I don’t use any setting lotion, but that’s because I never get around buying some. I probably will one day and be converted, but with this method my curls lasts three days, which I’m fine with. I use a rat-tail comb, booby pins, hairclips, a brush and some pomade. Setting and lotion and hairspray could be used too, even if I don't.

An illustrated guide for making Vintage Vogue V7464, hat B, part 2

The second and last part. The first one can be seen here.

There are actually no markings on D to tell where you are supposed to attach it, but trust me, it is supposed to wrap around the gathered bit on B. The instructions said to stitch it to the inside first, but I did it the other way around, as I found it easier to place. Just stitch it down at the ends.

An illustrated guide for making Vintage Vogue V7464, hat B, part 1

Due to all the images I break this guide up in two parts. I hope you will find it helpful. Now when I know all the steps, the hat isn't so hard to sew- I just wish I had known them before I started...

It’s meant to compliment the original instructions, so you need those too to get all the information you need. I made my hat in green wool felt that probably is a bit on the thin side. I starched it heavily before I started to sew and I think it will hold up well enough, as long as I don't get it wet. I used ordinary heavy wire when I made it, but have since found my millinery wire in a box where it wasn’t supposed to be and replaced it.

Here are all the parts cut and thread traced. I really recommend you to thread trace here. It doesn’t take long and you need to be able to see the marks on both sides. Pattern piece A is the front and the curved end is the one that curves down toward the face when you wear it. And though it wasn’t clear to me when I started, the opposite, pointy, end is one part of the “bow” on the finished hat.

My birthday hair

I’m a child of April, so I celebrated my birthday recently. I was mightily pleased with my hair, but none of the pictures came out very clear, so I have been debating with myself if I should show them or not. Obviously I decided to inflict them on you anyway, so here it is, my birthday hair:

Felt flower tutorial

I was asked how I did my felt flowers, so here is a little tutorial. It is very easy, you just need scraps of felt, needle and thread, a few pearls and something to mount the flowers on. Paper and pen are practical too.