Regency hats
Last fall I spent a lot of time making several Regency hats for a number of friends. In essence these are all the same pattern - Timely Tresses "The Camillia" 1790-1810 pattern with variations. In some of the bonnets the brim size or shape was changed, while in others the size or shaping of the crown was changed. Decoration is simply a matter of personal choice and since there are a multitude of millinery fashion plates from the regency period available for inspiration, there is lots to choose from.
As a general rule I always use silk taffeta as my fabric of choice, This is not to say that other fabrics could not be used, that taffeta is just my personal preference. However having said that this first bonnet actually is constructed using a silk cotton. The inspiration for this bonnet is:
and this is the hat I created:
Laura wanted a bonnet that would be useable from about 1780 through to Regency period and it needed to be fairly plain in order to cover that large a time period and so I created this bonnet:
and it has lots of inspiration:
For Robbie we needed a bonnet that would shade her eyes and go with her purple day dress:
which was inspired by this fashion plate
Vicki's bonnet request was for a white bonnet. My original inspiration for her bonnet is found in Vintage Hats and Bonnets 1770-1970 by Susan Langley ( page 36. I later found this bonnet which has some similarities to the one I created for her:
Her bonnet has a bit more military influence, since all things military were in vogue during the lead up to as well as during the War of 1812-14:
These were a lot of fun to create and I already have plans for my next bonnets.. one for Dianne - a Regency tall hat similar to this
and one for myself. This bonnet just is such a challenge for me in its construction, that I think it will be great fun to do.
As a general rule I always use silk taffeta as my fabric of choice, This is not to say that other fabrics could not be used, that taffeta is just my personal preference. However having said that this first bonnet actually is constructed using a silk cotton. The inspiration for this bonnet is:
and this is the hat I created:
Laura wanted a bonnet that would be useable from about 1780 through to Regency period and it needed to be fairly plain in order to cover that large a time period and so I created this bonnet:
and it has lots of inspiration:
For Robbie we needed a bonnet that would shade her eyes and go with her purple day dress:
which was inspired by this fashion plate
Vicki's bonnet request was for a white bonnet. My original inspiration for her bonnet is found in Vintage Hats and Bonnets 1770-1970 by Susan Langley ( page 36. I later found this bonnet which has some similarities to the one I created for her:
Her bonnet has a bit more military influence, since all things military were in vogue during the lead up to as well as during the War of 1812-14:
These were a lot of fun to create and I already have plans for my next bonnets.. one for Dianne - a Regency tall hat similar to this
and one for myself. This bonnet just is such a challenge for me in its construction, that I think it will be great fun to do.