Review - Studio Secrets Millinery by Estelle Ramousse and Fabienne Gambrelle
The title exaggerates, but this is quite a nice book for someone interested in finding out a bit about Millinery. It isn't a great book for someone wanting to learn millinery. It's a bit shallow, but it isn't exactly a huge book and it has got lots of pictures.
The beginning of the book has a bit about the history of millinery in France and about Ramousse's own background. Then it goes into "materials and tools". Which is less what you need and how to use it and more, here is some stuff in Estelle's studio.
There are 10 projects that they show you to make.
1) Crown of Flowers - a fabric headband (elastic at back). Has you using iron on interfacing/webbing as support and cutting out flower details from the fashion fabric to use as decoration. Pretty straightforward, good beginner project. You are expected to have a sewing machine for this and they even tell you to do a "finishing-off stich, i.e. sew back and forth to prevent the thread from unravelling". So, they aren't expecting the reader to be an experienced sewer, but then they tell you to pin the head band on your dolly to check trim placement so they are expecting you to have a dolly/head for that.
2) Chinese style cap - a fabric hat. This is a very cute hat and they show you a picture of the pattern required, but not a good enough picture that you can just enlarge it and they don't tell you how to make it either. It's a cute hat and the instructions for making it up are clear, but if you are intimidated by pattern drafting, you won't be making this up! Even if you aren't intimidated, you could still spend a fair amount of time drafting it. Not a great beginner project. I like how they really spell out how to line it though. It also inspired me to draft a paper hat pattern for my daughter's playcentre.
3) Beret - a fabric hat. Again it falls down because they ask you to use the same pattern as the chinese-style cap. Hmmm. It would seriously have not been hard for them to include a half size pattern that you photocopy and enlarge. It isn't what I would call a standard beret shape, but it looks cute in the one picture they show of it waaay at the back of the book. It looks like it is made of felt, but that isn't specified. Again the hat is fully lined.
4) Bibi - a pill box. Here you are expected to have a source of hat frames. Hmmm. Not so useful. She shows you how to cover it with fabric and it is cute. I will always have to make a hat frame however as NZ isn't exactly brimming with millinery suppliers. She does not tell you how to make one. Sigh.
5) Wide-brimmed hat -
Baby has woken, will continue later
Continuing under cut
Okay, this time they give you some more instructions on how to draft a pattern, but they aren't the clearest. The language doesn't help. I'm assuming this was originally a french language book. The milliner is based in France anyway. eg they keep suggesting you use adhesive webbing to stiffen fabric. Um, normally that would be referred to as iron-on interfacing. You'd also specify weight. Most hats have to have heavy interfacing otherwise they'll be too floppy. People trying to find "adhesive webbing" may well find that noone knows what it is. Sigh.
Otherwise the instructions are pretty wordy, but they are detailed. Might be a good idea to buy a pattern like http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8405-products-8423.php?page_id=181 and then use the book to help you sew it up (vogue instructions can be a tad vague).
6) Wooly hat - this is in the "customisation" section, so they don't even tell you how to sew or make the woolen hat, they just suggest ways to decorate it. Not even exciting ways either.
7) Remodelling a fedora - take an existing fedora, cut circles into it, glue leather patches behind it so they show through. Meh.
8) Cap made from a denim shirt - or jeans. I thought this was ugly so didn't really look at it very hard.
9) Chignon cap in felt - In this a felt hat is blocked on a hat frame she has made, but does not tell you how to make. Instead she suggests using a bowl. Which will give you a round (pill box) shape and not the one she is making. Sigh. You also need a fair amount of specialist equipment for this, a felt manchon (not sure what that is) or hood, alcohol based sizing (hat/fabric stiffener)
10) Cloche - but not as I know it. The finished product looks a bit like a helmet. Anyway, I think cloche, refers to a bell shaped hat, so it probably is one. Here she gets you to make the frame/base and shows you how, but you apparently use "gummed cloth , i.e. stiffened jute". I have never seen this. I've read 4 millinery books now and never come across this. I guess you could try doing it with buckram? Okay, I had a google. Buckram *is* a form of this. It also appears to be something used in carpet lining and curtains? Must research later (you can def get buckram at Spotlight in the craft area).
Anyway, this appears to be a really hard project requiring specialist stuff and I don't even like how the finished one looks.
SO, in summary, book is nice to look at. A bit on the history of millinery and a look at what a milliners studio may look like. Lots of photos and words to accompany the projects, although can still be unclear. Not many photos of the finished items. No patterns.
Have a look. If it inspires you, buy a hat pattern, make a hat.
The beginning of the book has a bit about the history of millinery in France and about Ramousse's own background. Then it goes into "materials and tools". Which is less what you need and how to use it and more, here is some stuff in Estelle's studio.
There are 10 projects that they show you to make.
1) Crown of Flowers - a fabric headband (elastic at back). Has you using iron on interfacing/webbing as support and cutting out flower details from the fashion fabric to use as decoration. Pretty straightforward, good beginner project. You are expected to have a sewing machine for this and they even tell you to do a "finishing-off stich, i.e. sew back and forth to prevent the thread from unravelling". So, they aren't expecting the reader to be an experienced sewer, but then they tell you to pin the head band on your dolly to check trim placement so they are expecting you to have a dolly/head for that.
2) Chinese style cap - a fabric hat. This is a very cute hat and they show you a picture of the pattern required, but not a good enough picture that you can just enlarge it and they don't tell you how to make it either. It's a cute hat and the instructions for making it up are clear, but if you are intimidated by pattern drafting, you won't be making this up! Even if you aren't intimidated, you could still spend a fair amount of time drafting it. Not a great beginner project. I like how they really spell out how to line it though. It also inspired me to draft a paper hat pattern for my daughter's playcentre.
3) Beret - a fabric hat. Again it falls down because they ask you to use the same pattern as the chinese-style cap. Hmmm. It would seriously have not been hard for them to include a half size pattern that you photocopy and enlarge. It isn't what I would call a standard beret shape, but it looks cute in the one picture they show of it waaay at the back of the book. It looks like it is made of felt, but that isn't specified. Again the hat is fully lined.
4) Bibi - a pill box. Here you are expected to have a source of hat frames. Hmmm. Not so useful. She shows you how to cover it with fabric and it is cute. I will always have to make a hat frame however as NZ isn't exactly brimming with millinery suppliers. She does not tell you how to make one. Sigh.
5) Wide-brimmed hat -
Baby has woken, will continue later
Continuing under cut
Okay, this time they give you some more instructions on how to draft a pattern, but they aren't the clearest. The language doesn't help. I'm assuming this was originally a french language book. The milliner is based in France anyway. eg they keep suggesting you use adhesive webbing to stiffen fabric. Um, normally that would be referred to as iron-on interfacing. You'd also specify weight. Most hats have to have heavy interfacing otherwise they'll be too floppy. People trying to find "adhesive webbing" may well find that noone knows what it is. Sigh.
Otherwise the instructions are pretty wordy, but they are detailed. Might be a good idea to buy a pattern like http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8405-products-8423.php?page_id=181 and then use the book to help you sew it up (vogue instructions can be a tad vague).
6) Wooly hat - this is in the "customisation" section, so they don't even tell you how to sew or make the woolen hat, they just suggest ways to decorate it. Not even exciting ways either.
7) Remodelling a fedora - take an existing fedora, cut circles into it, glue leather patches behind it so they show through. Meh.
8) Cap made from a denim shirt - or jeans. I thought this was ugly so didn't really look at it very hard.
9) Chignon cap in felt - In this a felt hat is blocked on a hat frame she has made, but does not tell you how to make. Instead she suggests using a bowl. Which will give you a round (pill box) shape and not the one she is making. Sigh. You also need a fair amount of specialist equipment for this, a felt manchon (not sure what that is) or hood, alcohol based sizing (hat/fabric stiffener)
10) Cloche - but not as I know it. The finished product looks a bit like a helmet. Anyway, I think cloche, refers to a bell shaped hat, so it probably is one. Here she gets you to make the frame/base and shows you how, but you apparently use "gummed cloth , i.e. stiffened jute". I have never seen this. I've read 4 millinery books now and never come across this. I guess you could try doing it with buckram? Okay, I had a google. Buckram *is* a form of this. It also appears to be something used in carpet lining and curtains? Must research later (you can def get buckram at Spotlight in the craft area).
Anyway, this appears to be a really hard project requiring specialist stuff and I don't even like how the finished one looks.
SO, in summary, book is nice to look at. A bit on the history of millinery and a look at what a milliners studio may look like. Lots of photos and words to accompany the projects, although can still be unclear. Not many photos of the finished items. No patterns.
Have a look. If it inspires you, buy a hat pattern, make a hat.