Instructions for the Emanjay Bonnet
Emanjay bonnets are replicas of Victorian hats from the late 1840s through the 1860s. Today, these bonnets are created to outfit period dolls or for vintage costumes. The bonnets were designed to hide much of the wearer's face from the side. They were known for their extravagance and generally featured numerous flowers on the outside of the bonnet and beneath the brim. Also characteristic of this style is the long flowing ribbons that wrap around the bonnet and hang at the sides of the face, to be tied under the chin.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Paper
- 1 piece cardstock paper
- 1 yard cotton buckram
- Fabric shears
- 2 yards cotton sateen
- Sewing machine
- 1 spool millinery wire
- 3 yards satin (any color)
- 2 feet ribbon (any color)
- Fabric glue
- Fake flowers
Instructions
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1
Measure the side of your head from just behind your eye to 1 inch past your ear. Add 1 inch to this number, and write it down. Measure around your face from one side of your chin, around your forehead to the other. Add 1 inch, and note this number.
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2
Sketch a rectangle that matches your measurements onto the a piece of cardstock paper, and cut it out with shears. Place the cardstock form onto the cotton buckram. Cut around the rectangle.
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3
Mold the buckram around your head. Mark two straight lines on either side, originating from the corners by your chin, and extending to the base of the back of your head. Take the buckram off and cut along those lines, so that your rectangle becomes a trapezoid. Do the same with the cardstock form.
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4
Place the cardstock form over the cotton sateen. Cut around the form so that you have a matching sateen shape. Make two of the sateen trapezoids.
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5
Sew the ends of the short side of the trapezoid together using a sewing machine. Sew millinery wire to all edges of the cotton buckram rectangle. Sew one piece of cotton sateen to one side of the buckram and the other piece to the other side.
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6
Place the cardstock form over the satin. Cut out around it with fabric shears. Repeat to cut out two pieces of satin.
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7
Sew one piece of satin to one side of the bonnet and the other to the other side. Tuck the edges of the second piece of satin in as you sew, so that the seams will not look ragged.
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8
Measure the diameter of the circle at the back of the bonnet, and add 3 inches. Draw two intersecting lines, each equal to this measurement on the back of the satin. Draw a circle around them. Cut out the circle, and sew it to the back of the bonnet.
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9
Glue the middle of the ribbon to the top-front of the bonnet, with fabric glue. Glue fake flowers under the brim and to the top of the bonnet.
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References
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
