Yes, we are making hats now

The new design from Pattern Fantastique, the Lucent Visor is #sodamncool I #superloveit!

Here in the largest brim size, winter tweed version. Being a big-hair friendly hat, naturally I'm sold. Wont get in the way of my hair reaching up to God.

The creativity of Nita-Jane at Pattern Fantastique continues left of center with this completely unexpected offering: a hat! Or more properly, a VISOR!  A fashion forward visor with a majestic swoop to the oversize bill; cool stuff.

A hat like this is special from the start - that brim! - and I had a hard time deciding on fabric to use on this, most uncharacteristic of me; usually I know exactly what fabric to match a pattern against...so I committed to tweed and committed hard... So much so that I also now have a matching dress...

There was a fun sense of adventure associated with making this visor, it being a new sewing experience (millinery!)  and because I felt so cool even doing it...like a dawg, yo, I got a VISOR, yo.

Ok not really. Butterfly brooch from Liberty.

Making this seemed daunting going in, there are 20+ pages of instruction, but its little bit by little bit, holding hands all the way, and then, somehow quickly and easily, I had a VISOR! And felt approximately 8000 times cooler even if I'm not a dawg.

Pics at various stages of manufacture below, one thing I would say about using a heavier wool woven, I had to trim the seam allowance around the brim quite a lot after sewing it on the first side, just to get the binding covering over completely. This was probably the most time consuming part of the making. This is the biggest brim size of the pattern & this tweed is a bit heavy for it maybe...Nita Jane suggests next time I should try creasing the wire at the crown seam panel to lift the brim up so I'll keep that in mind. I also have to take more care so the top of the brim doesn't bubble, I didn't have a smooth contact all over on this one but that's an easy fix. I'll be paying close attention in the future.

I a bit was nervous of the wire & crimps etc (why? I make things all the time so I'm baffled why this daunted me at all) as I'd never done anything like this before but it was almost a let down how quickly & easily it worked out, seriously.  I can do millinery! Bada bing bada boom, vizzzzzor.

I love the way there's a lot of coverage on the crown with the large brim,  great for fair skin and theres something very subterfuge going on when wearing it, like I'm set for dodging paparazzi. So I'd better up my huge sunglasses game to match my big hair when a visor wearing occasion finds me, like, yo, glamour in Woolworths.

My friend Blogless Anna has covered the nuts and bolts far better than I could, see her's here. She chose a brilliant Japanese fabric for it & was similarly delighted with the whole concept and makes the pertinent points: expecting lots of requests (orders) from her girls come summertime and as the head band is custom fitted to the size of the intended's head so its a fantasticly giftable item. Brim is in small, medium or laaarge like mine.

My dress is New Look 6145, which fits really well but there's no stretch in the tweed & I've got a kind of rule now that ALL DRESS FABRICS MUST HAVE STRETCH in them so it wont get worn too often but tweed dress. I do like it.

Oh the possibilities. This fabric is actually the most conservative of the options I was choosing from, I'm thinking an eye popping silk or cotton geometric print for the next one, maybe, with a contrast binding. Or maybe an embroidered fabric, keeping an open mind on those embellishments. Or a fabric of my own design. Not sure yet but there will definitely be another one! I find Pattern Fantastique's designs very inspiring, for me there's no one else out there in sewing pattern land that brings such a strong sense of individuality to every release.

Some next-time inspirations:

Visor mastery, Balenciaga:

More Balenciaga:

Above: Marni, Marni, Oracle Fox, Verner (puffy Alice band because puffy Alice band)

Above: Fleet Ilya, Fleet Ilya, Rouda, UV Paparazzi Visors , more Marni, and Carolyn Murphy in Vogue. Pinterest is loaded with visoratude