Historical costuming BUDGET HACK | 18th-century hat from PLACEMATS!

Are you doing #historicalcostuming on a budget? Try this simple, inexpensive way to make an #18thcentury hat!
I made this hat using materials I already had, but you can buy everything you need for this project for less than $10.
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You can also follow me on Instagram (@crmarble), where I post regular updates between videos.

[@evelyneca7454]

Lovely! Can't wait for the full outfit! And the flowers tucked at the back of the hat are so nice! A real pop of color!

[@ColleenMarble]

Thank you so much!! I am hoping to do a photo shoot soon, and will post the images on my Instagram account (@crmarble).

[@thesavingsorceress]

This is such a clever idea! I love your process too. Thank you for the tutorial. I'm definitely going to have to try this myself!

[@ColleenMarble]

Thanks! I wish I could take credit for the idea. :-) There are lots of great variations online. You can fold the placemats lots of different ways for historical or modern hats.

[@mdksailormoon]

This is genius! I've been needing a hat for my costumes, and this is a perfect way to make one! Yours came out gorgeous!

[@ColleenMarble]

Yes! It's perfect and inexpensive, which makes it easy to create lots of hats in different colors and styles! Look around online, and you'll see lots of variations. Thanks for watching!

[@meine1379]

Love your ideas! Thanks for sharing! Hope you didn't stop projects and the low cost ideas👍 Best wishes from Germany!

[@ColleenMarble]

Thank you for watching and taking time to comment! Life has been a little difficult lately for our family and my attention has been turned elsewhere, but I plan to get back to making videos very soon!

[@AnnieofBlueGables]

Awesome! I no longer sing in groups like this, but this is brilliant!

[@ColleenMarble]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@maryschiff9580]

I love this and it looks great on you. 🥰

[@ColleenMarble]

Thanks!

[@amauryy4417]

Clever and effective!As a french , the expression "playing thread chicken" seems very funny to me: where does the chicken come from...? Thank you for your videos!

[@ColleenMarble]

Thanks for watching! And thanks for asking about 'chicken.' It's funny how we can use our native language in ways that make complete sense to us, but when asked to define it for a non-native speaker, it's very difficult to do. I had to think about it for a bit! 'Playing chicken' originally described a game where two people are heading toward each other on a collision course (or facing off in some other way), and the first to swerve or stop is playfully labeled "chicken" - they are being weak or fearful. But now 'playing chicken' has been adapted to describe any light-hearted situation where you're fearful about something or someone getting the better of you. So I was 'playing chicken' with the thread because I knew there was a high risk I would run out, and I lost. Lots of sewists talk about 'thread chicken' in this way - either the spool or the bobbin has very little thread on it, but they sew anyway and try to win the game of chicken. I hope that helps?

[@amauryy4417]

@@ColleenMarble thank you so much for your explanation,the sight of a collision course between me and a spool of thread is hilarious, you have made my day with your hat and the challenging chicken!

[@marthabenner6528]

I just tried a new thing with my stays. Even though I got the bosom big enough I was still having trouble with the waist and underbust being too big. So I put a tiny pleat in, in where you might put it in a fitted bodice and an inch or two from the center going all the way down. This also gives me an extra boning channel. And I also moved the front side panel forward just a half inch forward of where your under wire would sit in a bra, doing it in such a way that the bone in the seam would curve around and under the bosom, pushing it to the front and curving down to stop just forward of the hip bone at the bottom, this helps keep my tummy in and my hips back.

[@ColleenMarble]

Sounds like a good solution!

[@marthabenner6528]

@@ColleenMarble it was surprisingly easy and simple, I'm surprised I never thought or heard about it before.

[@carmenm.4091]

Excellent 👍🏼

[@ColleenMarble]

Thank you 👍

[@cherrylee1103]

I love this! I am making a chemise a la Reine and need a hat!!

[@ColleenMarble]

Glad to be of help! I hope to make a chemise a la Reine soon. I have so many projects on the list. LOL!

[@DavidCollinsRivera]

Well, that was quick and clever, and had a really lovely result. Great job! Question: while it's clear the wires also help combat any "floppiness" in the hat, do you find that you are able to shape the edges the way you were anticipating? In other words, do they hold the shape you give them, or would a stiffer wire do better for something like that?

[@ColleenMarble]

That's a simple question with a complex answer. The wire doesn't let me really shape the hat. It will hold a mild curve, but not an extreme curve. A heavier wire would have been better for that. The wire IS somewhat helpful for keeping the back flipped up. But that back curve also stayed in place a little on its own simply because it's turned up in the opposite direction of the other curves of the hat - and that's just physics, not really the wire. When I tried to flip up one side, it wouldn't stay without tying it up with the ribbon. So the wire was a mild success, I guess, but next time I'll use better wire. Thanks for asking!

[@DawnDavidson]

Yes, having worked with actual millinery wire, I thought that wouldn’t be stiff enough. I was going to say try multiple rows, but I see you did do 2 and it wasn’t enough. I think that wire just isn’t strong enough. You might fine something in a stiff electrical wire. Or possibly a very cheap plastic coated wire hanger. Most wire hangers would be TOO stiff. Congrats! It looks great!