Make your own hats

A lot of people find the idea of hat making completely daunting, but in reality it isn't so hard. True, some models demand a hat block, but it is also possible to construct hats with the help of wire, sewing them from a pattern or crochet. At the  University of Wisconsin Digital Collections website I found several books on millinery, ready to be read and learned from. My absolute favourite is this little gem; How to make and trim your own hats by Vee Walker Powell, published in 1944. It's not overly in depth, but it gives a clear overview with lots of helpful suggestions and diagrams. And the illustrations are just darling!

The content:

 And I love that on the subjects of what hat that fits you, the book tells us; "No rules, just common sense"!

If you want more, then complement Your Millinery by Winifred Reiser, 1949, a much denser volume with a lot of instructions and explanations!

As I know many of you are interested in other epoques as well, the website also contain these books on millinery:

Millinery: Theoretical and Practical by Clare Hill, 1909

The Art of Millinery: A Complete Series of Practical Lessons For the Artiste and the Amateur by Anna Ben Yûsuf, 1909

Millinery as A Trade For Women by Lorinda Perry, 1916

Make Your Own Hats by Mrs. Gene Allen Martin, 1921

Millinery by Charlotte Rankin Aiken, 1922

Straw Hats, Their History and Manufacture by Harry Inwards, 1922

Practical Millinery by Florence Anslow, 1922

A century of hats and the hats of the century by Edward Mott Wooley, 1923

Millinery by Jane Loewen, 1925

How To Make Hats; A Method of Self-instruction Using Job Sheets by Rosalind Weiss, 1931

A new Swedish vintage forum

As you may know I'm Swedish, so of course I was delighted when Betty of Rags of Time opened a forum for vintage lovers in Sweden:

Vintage Swedish Models

It is a newborn forum, just a few days old, but I am sure it has great potentials and have a void to fill. So if you are Swedish, or understand Swedish, then I urge you to go an join!

A tea party (for mad hatters?)

Pretty as a picture? Well, at least I didn’t pull a silly face. The event was a truly magnificent tea party at a store called Alla tiders handelsbod (A convenience store for all times). If you visit Stockholm, then I urge you to visit this very charming shop located in Gamla stan (Old town). It is, as the name suggest, a store for all sorts of useful things, all in an atmosphere of the early 20th century.

A review of WWII Era Flight Cap from Mrs Depew

As I told you recently I bought a few pdf-patterns from Mrs Depew Vintage & Notions and the first I tried was the WWII Era Flight Cap. The very short review is that I have only good things to say about the pattern.

Mrs Depew's patterns

I am sure many of you have already heard about Mrs Deprew Vintage & Notions at Etsy. I have known about her for some time, but only recently bought a few patters, and though I haven’t really finished anything, I’m delighted enough to point the store out for you. Apart from vintage patterns and a few notions, like a reproduction bra buckle.

I read blogs

I’m in a bit of a forties funk at the moment, as you may have noticed. Partly because I’m packing, there are going to be extensive renovation of the plumbing in our house and we can’t live at home for five weeks, starting on Monday. I’m not very happy about that. And partly because I started to read up on makeup history and got a bit submerged in the subject. I will try to pull myself together and write something interesting soon. Meanwhile I would like to point you to my friend Eva’s blog: Evas liv, med sömsmån. You may have seen her previous blog, Om stil, though it was only in Swedish. This one has both Swedish and English text.

Eva is a doctor in history with a special interest in fashion, both very old and not so old. She has a wonderful sense of style and I’m constantly in awe over her sewing productivity, especially considering all the other things in life she has to juggle with. She is also a very nice person and writes very well, so go and have a look!



(The name of the blog is a pun; liv in Swedish means both bodice and life, so the title can be read either as Eva’s bodice pattern with seam allowance, or Eva’s life.)

Guest blogging at Rose Water

Earlier this summer I was asked by the lady who runs the blog Rose Water if I wanted to guest blog in a feature called “Exceptional Vintage Ladies”. I have known her for years on LiveJournal and I was very happy to say yes. It is the first time I have guest blogged and it was great fun writing the post. So I urge you to pop over there and get a little glimpse into my home. Make Rose Water happy and leave a little comment. Go back and read about the exceptional lady for July, Eva Dress!