On Bonnets
☆ July 14, 2010
A few people have messaged me regarding the sunbonnet I mentioned I was going to make, wondering if I had. I have not, though not for lack of trying! I hit the internet looking for a bonnet pattern and found very few, and I was reluctant to shell out nine or eleven bucks on something I wasn’t even sure would fit or function properly. So I devised my own.
I made this prototype pattern with a scrap of cotton and stitched it together by hand, it did not take long while sitting outside on one of those beautiful late-spring-early-summer mornings. I was pleased, and excited to make one my size! I cut the fabric, lugged out my sewing machine, and alas! I cannot find my sewing machine foot anywhere. I still can’t find it. Which is exceedingly frustrating, I had so much sewing I hoped to do this fall……
When I realized my sewing machine was temporarily non-functional, I set in on stitching my bonnet together by hand, but, since my pattern itself was just a rough guess, I found, after each step, several small alterations which needed to be made ~ things that would have been little trouble with a sewing machine but which took ridiculous amounts of time and effort to redo by hand. I got fed up and stuffed it all in a basket, and there it sits until I find my foot. Wherefore art thou, foot???
But not all is lost. I can leave you with a gem. While I was scouring the internet for bonnet patterns, I came upon this BRILLIANCE. This genius. You must visit this blog post: Dwarven Battle Bonnets by Sally of Wicked Woollens in Wales. Amazing.
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31 Responses to “On Bonnets”
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July 14th, 2010 @ 8:21 am
Did you check on the floor? For your foot?
July 14th, 2010 @ 8:38 am
i would bet now that everyone knows your dilema, you will get many bonnet patterns. good try!!
July 14th, 2010 @ 9:42 am
I suggest Amy Carole’s pattern:
http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2009/03/easter-bonnet.html
Yeah, you have to pay for it, but she’s a reliably awesome, hippy crafter :D
July 14th, 2010 @ 9:57 am
When I was a little girl, my hero was Laura Wilder on Little House on the Prairie. I wanted to be JUST like her. Well my sweet mother made me a sunbonnet and (actually a whole matching outfit for my school’s halloween party). I found them the other day in the closet. I tried it on…my husband laughed, and I did too. I thought I was so lucky to have a sunbonnet when I was 8.
July 14th, 2010 @ 9:58 am
One of the other places I’ve seen bonnets regularly is on Emily Falonbridge’s site. Her daughters wear them. She is the very definition of hippy crafter as well :-) She might have a pattern.
http://embers.typepad.com/e/
July 14th, 2010 @ 9:58 am
Your zipper foot will do in a pinch. Still have your zipper foot?
July 14th, 2010 @ 11:39 am
those dwarven bonnets are fantastic! hehe thanks for sharing :) Hope you find your foot!
July 14th, 2010 @ 11:44 am
This must be like having a foot ache !
July 14th, 2010 @ 11:52 am
Do you think Charlie hid your foot?
Until I read this post, I forgot all about having to make a bonnet in grade school. Wonder where it ever went…
July 14th, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
OH MY GOSH.
Those Dwarven bonnets………………….
July 14th, 2010 @ 12:49 pm
Oh, to continue my career as language geek - wherefore means why.
(That girl knew where Romeo was,
she was just pissed
that he was on the other team:
“Deny thy father and refuse thy name.”)
OK, now I’ll shut up.
July 14th, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
wherefore is why… wow! I very much like your explanation, too. thankyou!
and foot @ Deanna - perhaps I used the wrong word there, as well, as I mean the thing on the ground that runs the machine, not the metal thing around the needle…….
July 14th, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
You might want to make a ruffle hanging down the bottom in the back to protect the back of your neck. It can be done with elastic or a drawstring.
I probably have a pattern somewhere. Probably as an accessory for one of the folkwear patterns I have.
July 14th, 2010 @ 3:18 pm
I’d just use the little prototype bonnet. it’s already done and looks great! all you have to do is shrink your head to fit.
July 14th, 2010 @ 3:23 pm
This is where having more than one machine comes in handy. Like a treadle. No electricity needed.
I also have a hand crank I can attach to one of my machines. (Yes, I have more than one sewing machine. I’m obsessed.)
July 14th, 2010 @ 3:25 pm
I think my links got lost.
Here is the one that is all text:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2077833_sew-sunbonnet.html
July 14th, 2010 @ 3:26 pm
Here is the one with a picture of the shape of the patterns. This one has the ruffle that shades your neck:
http://tipnut.com/sunbonnet-pattern/
July 14th, 2010 @ 7:27 pm
Maybe it’s time sunbonnets come back into fashion. The poofed out back is cooler than a baseball cap, and the peak keeps the sun out of your eyes. Plus you can run a bit of fabric down the back to avoid neck burn.
Hey…all you need is one good idea. The pioneers got their reputation for a reason.
July 14th, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
My grandmother wore them in the yard everyday, here had cardboard inserts in panels to keep the shape. I have one somewhere…..
July 14th, 2010 @ 7:45 pm
You can get the same effect as cardboard with buckram. The use it for hats. Both you pretty much can throw in the laundry. But you can get a pretty stiff brim with several layers of the heaviest iron on pellon. After laundering you iron it and it’s back to it’s stiff self.
July 14th, 2010 @ 10:42 pm
My grandmother used to make those for us to wear in the cotton fields. She put paste board fromm cereal boxes in the front part to make it stiff so it would stand our straight in front. They were realy hot and I hated wearing mine.
July 15th, 2010 @ 8:12 am
When I was a child, my mom made me an entire little house on the prairie outfit including the bonnet. There use to be patterns in the 70s.
July 15th, 2010 @ 9:01 am
I’ve made one of those dwarven helmets for my son’s halloween costume. So fun! Good luck finding your sewing machine foot!
July 15th, 2010 @ 9:55 am
RE: Dwarven Battle Bonnets
How freakin’ AWESOME are those!!!!!
I NEED one! *LOL*
LOVE!
July 16th, 2010 @ 8:33 pm
The battle bonnets bring me a truckload of joy.
July 18th, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
I raised a daughter as a single dad. She fell in love with the “Little House on the Prarie” books and wanted to wear a scooner dress and bonnet for Hallowean. I actually found a pattern at the first yardage store I went to. Maybe there is a yardage store in a near by town? Don’t assume they don’t have it. We made the dress and bonnet out of heavy crepe paper, staples, and rubber cement. I was amazed how long it lasted and how much fun she had wearing it. It was a great way to introduce her to sewing.
July 20th, 2010 @ 1:16 pm
How funny about the battle bonnets. I found those just last week on a jaunt through Ravelry.com It has knitting and crocheting patterns by the thousands, and many are free. Watch out, though–both crafts are addictive. Useful, though. Hope you find your sewing machine foot soon. I would offer you my old one, but I imagine the odds are slim that you have a 1963 Necchi.”Julia”.
July 20th, 2010 @ 1:18 pm
PS–there are lots of online stores that sell cheap, yet good, yarn.
July 20th, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
i like the bonnet idea - great for keeping the sun off yr face! hope you’ve found yr sewing machine part by now - but i’d second the idea of a treadle machine as backup - i’ve an electric machine plus my grandmother’s 1898 singer treadle - i love it! takes a bit of learning but once you get it, it’s really fun!
July 21st, 2010 @ 9:25 am
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Colonial-Style-Dress-Night-Gown–3-Bonnets-6469987.html
check out these bonnets for sale on the goodwill auction site. This auction ends in 9 hrs from now.
August 17th, 2010 @ 11:28 am
Shreve,
Not sure if you’ve found a pattern yet but here is a link to a site that give a free pattern and explicit directions and you don’t need a sewing machine! http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1978-07-01/Make-Your-Own-Sunbonnet-in-Less-Than-Two-Hours.aspx
Click on the image gallery and keep hitting next to get to the pattern.
You will post pics of the finished product I hope!