Post the Eighth: A Cap-tivating Conundrum

 Apparently the thing that was stressing me out the most was the hat. Alright then. Let's start on that.

Meow.

 

  First up is this piece of costume jewelry I found that would make a great accessory. Let's hear it for your local junk vintage shop! Despite the size of it, it's extremely light. Very easily bendable too, which makes me think it's made of tin. Not a big deal. Though it makes me a little nervous it'll get broken.

No idea what that "19" is about. Rest assured, it did not cost $19.

  First step is to get rid of the loop up top. We're not going to hang this like a necklace, so we don't need it. The pendant is indeed tin, so snipping of off and sanding the edges smooth takes half a jiff.

 

  "So how are you going to attach it then?" Hush, I'm getting to that. This thing long ago lost whatever (probably plastic) widget went in the center. So we're going to remake that widget and embed a shank button into it.

For example, the ristra this mini is holding was sculpted out epoxy putty.

  Epoxy putty works great for this. There are dozens of varieties, but I typically use The Green Stuff variety. It's not too hard to work with and comes in a nice tube for storage. Hard as a rock when you start, but it softens up as they mix together. I swear.

No idea what that "19" is about. Rest assured, it did not cost $19.

  And now that has to set until it cures, which should be about a day or so?

IN THE MEANTIME. THE ACTUAL HAT.

 

  A red mage hat (any red mage hat) is a mishmash. FFXIV's version in particular looks like it has a bit of cavalier (pattern C below, although the brim isn't always pinned up), bycocket (Robin Hood's pointed hat), and cowboy* (yeeehaw). Along with a fair dash of it's own thing.

*Sometimes called a Stetson. Although Stetson is technically a brand name that makes several types of hats--fedoras, driver caps, even trucker hats.

  Next major step is deciding the shape of the crown. That's where the cowboy DNA comes in. Basically a slightly scaled down sombrero, cowboy hats come in a variety of shapes categorized by the dents in the crown--usually called the "pinch"--and go by names that sometimes border on cute.

 

L to R: Cattleman, Dakota, Pinched Front, w/e the heck is going on with X'rhun's hat.

  Ignore the brim for the moment. It's mostly spoken for anyway. But I've narrowed it down to the above designs and just need to pick one. 

  Now that I look at it, with a simplified brim X'rhun's is basically a 10 gal with an incredible V-shaped pinch right down the middle.

 

  10 gallon hat is a ridiculous name that has confused me for years. It obviously can't hold 10 gallons. One story I've heard says the name is an anglicisation of the Spanish phrase tan galán--or "very handsome."

 

  I don't know. That kind of sounds like something a cowboy would say to puff himself up in front of a lady. On the other hand, the hats do look very stylish, so maybe there is something to it.

That cabbie cap though.

  Anyway, using pattern C as the base and then hopefully modify it into the proper shape. This is a physical pattern so that means wrestling with tissue paper. This is also a discontinued pattern, so I don't want to cut the tissue. Which means the time honored, super- dignified technique of "tape it to a window and trace it like like we're in primary school".

PDFs are the way of the future you say?

  Arm gets very tired after a while, but we have our pieces. 

"I'm helping."

  Cutting it out and roughly putting it together to get a general idea what it will look like. Emphasis on rough. But it fits and the brim size is roughly as big as it needs to be. From here it's just tweaking the shape. Then the pattern will really be ready to go.

Whelp. Nowhere to go but up.

  Also picked up a hat box. Which will be great to store the finished thing in, but in the meantime is a handy place to store all the stuff separate from the rest of the costume.

No crushed hat for me, thanks.

 

  Next time: While I sit and stew over design choices, I'm going to get started on the cape. Because, frankly, there's no pattern for that. Should be fun. That'll be fun, right?

 

Qué galán.

Material Directory

Simplicity 8317: Out of Print. You'll have to find it off individual sellers on eBay, Etsy, etc.
Medium Hat Box: Judith M Millinery Supply House (www.judithm.com)

Current background music: Anamanaguchi. "Endless Fantasy." Endless Fantasy.

Time until deadline: 111 days