I did another little crafting project for my Victorian LARP event. Because creating things gives my mind some peace, in between all the home optimization after moving house. This time I made a ‘spoon bonnet’, or a Victorian hat from around 1860.
Many people are familiar with the bonnet through Dickensian scenes. But those bonnets come from an earlier era, when the hat also served as protection against the sun (read: against tanning). Around 1860, parasols were in fashion and the bonnet was worn only as an accessory to the outfit. Therefore, the large brim became narrower, revealing more of the face. That variant is called the spoon bonnet, because it is somewhat spoon-shaped.
Some authentic examples:
At a store I found fake hair flowers for just a few euros that match the color of my Victorian summer dress well. But otherwise, I only used items I already had lying around.
As a base for the hat, I used an old summer hat that I bought during a way-too-hot holiday in Tenerife. It has completely collapsed by now, because it once got thoroughly soaked in a rain shower. I assume it is made of paper instead of real straw, but it looks good enough and appears natural.
Step 1: Cut a piece out of the hat. Scary!! Start small, you can always make it bigger. In the end, I still cut the sides too short, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
Step 2 : Add flowers to the inside.
Step 3: Measure how wide you want the edge to be, so you can cut it to size. No judgments please; clothespins turn out to be a very suitable tool for this! 🤪
Step 4: Finish the edges so they do not fray.
Step 5: Reinforce the edge with metal wire. This is necessary, since this hat is made from floppy material instead of sturdy reed.
Step 6: Gather a strip of lace (a leftover from my parasol) and sew it into the neck opening. You don’t want to show that part of your neck in public, of course!
Step 7: More is more. So also add a strip of lace to the inside.
Step 8: Sew a long strip of lace onto the outside as well. (More lace; because we can!)
Step 9: There is no such thing as too much lace. Aim for even more.
Step 10: There also is no such thing as too many flowers. When in doubt, keep adding.
Step 11: Done!!
Although the shape and material of the hat is not entirely true to that of the original Victorian spoon bonnets, I am still very satisfied with the result!
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