Topping Off

I spent more time that I should anguishing over this hat. In my mind, it had to be teeny tiny, like many of the Schiap hats I saw. The trouble is, I'm not a milliner, so this would have to be sewn, rather than felt blocked, made from straw, or other milliner tricks. It didn't help that for ages I couldn't find a decent pattern.

Bleuette to the rescue! I found a 1930 Bleuette hat pattern that I enlarged, pinned, and tried on Kozu, in a plain wig for optimum streamlining. Initially she looked like an owl:

I took it in, raised the hem, an tried that hat again.

And again. She still looks a bit like an owl.

When I was finally satisfied, I sewed it from the same cloth as the hakama. I added a layered butterfly bow inspired by this hat, and added a butterfly button just off the center of the bow, where it looked more interesting.