My bonnet number 2
Yes that is right, the answer to my little guessing-game is a bonnet.
I wanted to make another bonnet, but I didn’t have anything to make it out of, or so I thought… I searched through the house to see if I could find anything that could possibly work, and I did.
I found this old place mat that I showed you, and the idea struck me that maybe I could use that. So I gave it a try. (I’m sorry these pictures are not very good, I snapped them all while I was working with this and didn’t have a lot of patience for arranging nicer pictures. But I wanted something to illustrate with to better be able to explain.)
First I cut it in half.
Then I pulled out some plastic boning that I had and cut a piece of that long enough to go around my head.
I rounded off two of the corners on the place mat like this.
And stapled the two pieces together.
Doesn’t it look pretty?! ;P
Next I cut out some fabric. For this I just used a plain brown cotton, as it was mostly an experiment and I didn’t want to use some expensive or special fabric, in case it wouldn’t work
I took the round piece and pinned it on to the ring around the back.
And stitched it in place.
Then I took the other fabric piece and covered the brim,
making little pleats all along the way. One pleat…
…and another one in to meet it…
…continuing all the way.
This is what it looks like at this stage.
I then lined the brim.
And once that was done there was basically only the decoration part left. I took some velvet (the same as is in my Spencer) and some brown lace to decorate with.
And lastly I added a wide brown ribbon to tie it with.
Finished result!
And then some pictures with me modeling it. Front.
Back.
And side.
As I said, this was very much an experiment, so I had no idea how it would turn out really. And considering that, I am actually rather pleased with the result. I probably could have made it better, and I know things I would change slightly if I were to do it again. But yes, I am rather pleased with it. And I especially like how well it matches my Spencer!
The bonnet I used as my inspiration was this one below, the red one Elizabeth wears in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. I like that one. 
Thanks for looking!
Wow! I am so impressed! Great job! No one could every guess it used to be a placemat!
Yay! I was right the first time! What also works very well are cheap straw hats… you can trim off whatever you need to create the brim you want; and what’s even better, if you want a straw look, you don’t have to cover. Here are some examples:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2276/2430778661_63f5e0ea10.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3179/3072930061_08ccc6a3a6.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/2511639534_3c1e9d16d2.jpg
I love your spencer by the way.
How creative! I love the lace you used for the edges.
Yes how creative and splendid Aurora! I love it! I always loved lizzie’s bonnet in that version of P&P! Great job!
Great job! That turned out very well, and does match your spencer very well.
Gillar verkligen den där sista bilden på dig i bonneten! Söt!
How very creative!
you have inspired me to try making a bonnet:)
Thank you all very much!
The Hungarican Chick – yes you were right, good job!
Cheap straw hats are indeed much better to work with, and I made my last one using on of those. But I have had such problems finding ANY straw hats at all here in Sweden, and cheap ones are even harder! But I’m always on the look-out for any! 
Thank you for the links, those bonnets are all so pretty! I especially liked the two last ones!
Oh wow, Aurora, that’s an absolutely gorgeous bonnet! I’ll make a post about it on my website, as an example of how to make your own bonnet. I am going to give it a try as well!
Nice work! That’s really creative, I like how you took all those unrelated pieces and made such a nicely put together project out of it all!
Aurora,
That is lovely!! I especailly like how you made something useful and pretty out of scraps. Great job! I am inspired.
~Alyssa
Thank you so much! I am happy to hear that I have inspired people!
Karin, that is so sweet of you! Thank you!
[...] een stuk kunststof balein, een nietmachine en wat stof, heeft Aurora deze bonnet nagemaakt. Op haar website kun je stap voor stap zien hoe zij tot dit geweldige resultaat is gekomen: De bonnet die Aurora [...]
Very pretty bonnet, Aurora. You are so creative and resourceful!
I really, really love your bonnet and outfit! Very nice!