Here is another of Mr. Sam's steampunk leather hats. This one was made specially for a friend who'd requested one over a year ago.
He'd promised to make her a hat, but had a difficulty finding inspiration on what style to make. Then, she'd purchased a dress just before the Steampunk Invasion of TRF, and we brainstormed what would look nice with it without being too frilly. After that, the hat came together fairly quickly.
While he was finishing up, I started planning a hat box to store it in. Sorry, I forgot to get some better pics of the box. It's pieced together out of cereal box carboard, paper mached, covered in tissue paper and painted, much like the cardboard hats I've posted about in the past. I lined the inside with gold satin with a bit of padding to protect the hat. There is a decorative gear on the center top.
Yeah, I've been goofing around with photoshop, again. I'm looking for new ways to antique photos. There are so many effects to be tried.
I helped decorate the hat by making a quick hatband with bow and feathers. The hatband is removable by velcro, so she can change it up to suit her style. And the bow and feathers were just pinned on. This way it will fit in the smaller box when packed away.
I think it looks great on her with her dress. Hope she gets a lot of enjoyment and compliments from it.
We had to buy a fairly large piece of leather for this, and there was a big brand on one section that he decided to incorporate into a tall top hat. Here is Mr. Sam, himself, in his "Onery Abe" hat. I think the brim still needs a bit of shaping. It's a softer leather. I've heard boiling it might stiffen it, but I think adding a casing with wire in it might be better. He also has plans to make a few more hats and other things with the leftover leather when he gets inspired again.
Thanks for looking. Feel free to stop by anytime! I'll try to have some new stuff up.
9 hours ago