I’ve never made a hat using a hat block to shape it on. The time has come! I haven’t purchased anything for the previous 5 challenges and I wanted to keep “shopping in my stash”. So this was the Kentucky Derby Hat challenge.

Supplies I used:

• wash away stabilizer
• odds & ends of rayon, metallic and other decorative threads
• tyvek mailers
• leftover acrylic fabric paints
• found turkey feathers
• natural dyed silk cocoons
• scrap of silk charmeuse from the dress I made and wore at my son’s wedding

I sandwiched threads between 2 pieces of the wash away stabilizer.

And machine quilted the thread sandwich to hold everything together.

My makeshift hat block – a bird bath and bowl taped together.

The wash away was partially rinsed out and the gooey threads were shaped on the “hat block” to dry.

After it was completely dry , I popped it off the bowl hat block and sprayed it with clear acrylic sealer.

I painted a few tyvek mailers with acrylic paints and shrunk with a shot of steam from my iron.

Embellishing and decorating! Everything was sewn on. No hot glue! Turkey feathers, tyvek flowers, silk cocoons and a silk band made from a scrap leftover from my dress.

My finished hat! It’s very lightweight and I’m surprised how well it fits.

The bias cut silk dress is designed and constructed using Madeleine Vionnet’s pattern #28.