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Tools
and Materials
¼ yd of 1/8” straw
Sharp scissors
Rayon, silk or other narrow ribbon
in several colors
Ruler
Tacky glue and glue syringe or fine tipped glue bottle
Small piece of crinoline
Needle and thread to match ribbon &
straw
Miniature clothespins, duck clips or
smooth jaw alligator clips
Rosemaker tool or needle tool
Traditionally, straw hats were made by plaiting or braiding and weaving using natural fibers such as wheat or rye
straw and cellulose from the stems or leaves of flax, jute, ramie, palm, hemp and other plants. Modern straw hats are also made of synthetics like viscose rayon, cellophane, nylon and various other materials.
Styles include the Leghorn, made from finely plaited Italian wheat straw, the Panama, from the leaf fibers of the
jipijapa plant and the Cartwheel, with a very wide stiff brim and low crown. The
18th century milkmaid hat was a garden hat with a low crown, which was worn over a lingerie cap and tied down with
a ribbon under the chin. Sailors or boaters are flat crowned straight brimmed
hats with a grosgrain headband trimmed with a flat bow at the side. Various types
of bonnets, popular in the 19th century, could also be made of straw. Today we think of a bonnet as having a crown
(the top part of the hat) and a brim (the projecting rim or edge. The brim is
usually curving around the face and is held by ribbons tied under the chin. During
the 1870’s the distinction between hats and bonnets was small. If it tied
under the chin it was a bonnet; if under the chignon, a hat. Headgear was more
elaborate in this decade than in any other of the 19th century. The
hat or bonnet had to be either tipped forward in front of the mass of elaborately styled false hair that was commonly worn
in excessively complicated styles, or to be clamped on behind all that regalia in whatever position could be managed. Bonnets were often decked with bows, feathers, flowers, ribbons, lace, jewels, enameled
insects, and even dead birds.
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Cut a piece of straw 9” long. Find
the end of the cord that runs along an edge on one of the cut ends. Pull the
end of the cord out from inside the channel which holds it in the straw just a little – 1/8” or so.
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Put some glue on the cord
and the surrounding straw so that when you pull the other end of the cord to gather it does not pull out of the straw.
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When the glue has dried, pull the free end of the cord in the same edge of the straw (at the
opposite end from the glued string).
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Pull the string to draw the straw up to about 6”.
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Tightly draw in the opposite
end of the straw to form a circle or an oval, making certain that any small hole in the center is reduced in size by
the end piece of the straw
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Overlapping the straw
only slightly, spiral the straw into ever-widening circles, attaching the rounds together by either gluing or sewing; attaching
less than an inch at a time. (If you are sewing, you must leave a gap to insert the ribbon ties in the outside round - see
© below.
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Allow the underside to
cup slightly, adjusting the gathers as you work. Join to a diameter of approximately
¾” – 1”.
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End by cutting the straw
at an angle with the short side of the cut facing the hat. Overlap so that the
edge makes a smooth, continuous final round.
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Note the cut end. The
angle at which the straw has been cut faces the center of the hat and overlaps the previous round to make a smooth edge.
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If necessary, iron ribbon
to remove any wrinkles. Decide which part of the hat will be the front. Cut
a piece of ribbon 5" - 6" long, cutting the ends at an angle, and seal the edges for the bonnet ties.
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On both sides of the hat,
a little behind center, separate the outside round from the next round just enough to run the ribbon through the hole. (©
If you are sewing the
straw, leave a gap on each side by knotting off, skipping an appropriate size space and attaching the thread again.)
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Thread one end of the ribbon from the inside through one slit, run it over the top of the
hat and down through the slit on the other side.
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When you decorate the top of the bonnet, you may either hide this ribbon under the decorations
or allow it to show as a
part of the trimming.
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Decide how large an area
you want to decorate on the top of the bonnet. Cut a piece of crinoline to that
size and trim so that the edges are rounded. Make the individual hat trimmings
that you choose and then attach them to the piece of crinoline. After the arrangement
of trimmings is complete, sew or glue the underside of the crinoline to the hat.
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Trimming the Bonnet
There are two general rules which must be
adhered to in ribbon work, even in miniature. The wider the ribbon, the bigger
the stitch must be and the thicker the ribbon, (not too thick or you won’t be in scale), the bigger the stitch required. This helps to reduce the bulk of the material at any gathering point.
Tips:
- Always seal the cut edges of ribbons with a thin line
of glue so that they don’t unravel.
- To secure a knot, put the needle through the ribbon and
backstitch around the knot. If you are beginning near a selvedge, backstitch
over the selvedge.
- When drawing petals or a ruffle together into a circle,
finish the last stitch, and then backstitch. Knot the thread but don’t
cut it. Go back through your beginning knot.
Tug tight, bringing the knots together. Hold the ribbon together, backstitch, knot again and then cut the thread.
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SIMPLE LEAFY GREEN BACKGROUND FOR FLOWERS.Cut a length of silk or rayon ribbon a couple
of inches long, depending on how large an area you need to cover. (You can add
additional pieces if you do not have enough). Wet the ribbon and randomly crinkle
it up into a small wad.
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Clip this wad with a miniature clothespin, smooth jawed alligator clip or duck clip (hair clip). Let this dry. (You can speed up the drying process with a hand-held hair dryer.)
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When it’s dry, uncrumple
the ribbon, arrange in a bed (like lettuce in a salad), covering whatever area you wish on the piece of crinoline and attach
either by gluing or sewing.
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TINY ROSETTES Ombre ribbon was often used for flowers and rosettes. You may also use solid color ribbons if you choose. Cut a
piece of narrow ribbon 2 ¼” long and seal the cut ends with white glue.
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Thread a needle with a
short length of matching thread and anchor the thread by pulling it through and backstitching over the edge of the ribbon
about 1/8” in from one cut end and near the selvedge of the ribbon. (Please note that I have used a strongly contrasting
thread color so that the stitches will show up clearly in the photograph.)
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Make short running stitches;
sewing up one short end, curving around and hugging the opposite long edge, then curving around and back down to the first
side.
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Tightly draw down the
gathers, backstitch and knot. Don’t cut the thread.
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Arrange the gathers in
a circle. Overlap the two gathered edges of the ribbon and secure through both
layers with a stitch where they overlap in the center. Hide the stitch in a fold,
knot and cut the thread.
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To make a more ruffled
rosette, use a piece of ribbon 2 ¾” to 3 ¾ “ long. Use slightly longer
stitches to gather so the centers of the flowers will pull more tightly together.
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RIBBON
ROSESRibbon roses can be easily made in miniature using any ribbon that glues well. While traditional sewn ribbon techniques can be adapted to miniature size, glued roses work at least as
well and it is probably easier to keep them in scale when you glue. Please Click the link below to go to the Ribbon Roses Page for instructions
Ribbon Roses
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