STEAMPUNK MAD HATTER WEEK!

I am devoting this week to breaking down my outfit for That Book Place's Author Fair - the reason I have been lax in my Kharmic Chaos blogging.  It took a great deal of time to put this together but I am proud of the outcome and look forward to continuing to add to it.

This is my personal version of a Steampunk Mad Hatter:

I've given the break down of my potion bottles before, and as you can see they really added to the outfit.  So here is the breakdown of what I made/repurposed from head to toe and when each will be spotlighted this week.

Hat - I am doing this first as it was the most challenging, time consuming, and rewarding.  I will be selling versions of this hat at future appearances.

Necklace & Belt - Tuesday

Shrug & Pants - Wednesday

Corset - Thursday

Overskirt - Friday

The Hat.  Perhaps the most important part of the entire ensemble and I knew I had to get it right.  I've researched how others have made these types of hats and I ended up doing a hybrid of some of the suggestions - essentially, I did it my way.

Supplies

Posterboard

Fabric (I used an iridescent taffeta-type material)

Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Embellishments of your choosing

Hair Clips

First I cut the posterboard in the the sizes and shapesr I wanted.  I experimented for a bit before I got the right design for this style.  Since I wanted the top to be comically large in comparison to the brim I made the brim a solid oval shape.  My pieces were somewhat like this:

I covered the two ovals and the circle with fabric using the glue gun.  The rectangle required some work including a bit of trimming but I eventually got the shape I wanted and taped it closed before covering it with fabric as well.  

Then came the construction part.  Wrong sides together, I attached the two large ovals to make the brim. Next came the tube, centered on the largest oval and finally, I attached the smallest oval to the top to finish it off and then the fun began!

What I used to embellish: Buttons, jewelry chains, knitting scraps, charms, and ribbon.  Lastly, I attached hair clips to the bottom to secure it to my hair.  Here is the finished product:

This was so much fun!  I intend to make several more variations!