I had made an ‘experiment bonnet’ a long time ago. I wasn’t very happy about it though. I mean, sure, it was alright, but just between you and me, I think I looked a bit like a mushroom wearing it.
So I decided to take it apart and change it.

This is what it looked like at first.

I just used a basic straw-hat to make it out of. I had changed the shape of the hat slightly to get it more ‘bonnety’ looking by placing it over a pot of boiling water, letting it soak up the steam and then shaping it. But I hadn’t cut in it, because I didn’t quite dare. And I didn’t know what to do with the cut edge. But after some browsing of different bonnets from movies and pictures of old original ones I had an idea of how to do it.

I cut a piece away, leaving it looking like this.

Next I cut out a rectangular piece of fabric the same length as around the brim. I forgot to get a picture of the next step, but what I did was I pinned the fabric to the brim of the hat, right sides together, and stitched all the way around. Then I folded the fabric over the edge of the brim, leaving about a border of about a couple of cm (ca 1 inch).

Next step was to pleat the access fabric on the inside to fit the hat. Like this.

After having done that with all of it and stitched it in place I attached a ribbon to cover the raw edges.

The whole inside of the hat completed.

Next came the outside. I cut another long rectangular piece of fabric (I used another fabric for this). This I pleated around the crown, like this.

I then gathered the loose edge of it and pinned it to the top.

Next step, I attached two ribbons to the side of the crown to tie it with. Then another ribbon around the crown, and a pretty bow.

To cover up the ugly hole at the top I took a button and covered it with some lace, and placed that over the hole.

And that was it really. This is what it looks like completed.

I got the inspiration for this from two different bonnets in particular. The first one is Gerogiana Darcy’s that she is wearing here.

The other one is one that Dorothea wears in Middlemarch, so not a true Regency film, but I’ve seen other bonnets in this style too.

I am much more pleased with the way it looks now than the way it was before! Now I can’t wait till I get o use it! It’s less than 10 days left now!