The Hat.. Unfortunately the shots I took during the sewing of the hats themselves did not come out (still figuring out why) I made two hats, one standard traditional hat which is basically a cone with a circumference of 650mm (26"), and a height of 600mm (24"). The second hat was a experimental model which will be described soon.
Each hat comprised of a velour outer, a red poly-cotton liner, and fur trim at the brim, and a fur trim pompom at the top.
Figure 1 - hats - Experimental, and Traditional
The liner was simply a truncated cone of similar dimensions to the traditional hat (circumference of 650mm, and a height cut down to 300mm. If worn by itself, it would resemble an oversized cap.
The outer was sewn along the edge (right sides facing, then turn inside out to conceal the stitching), and then the fur trim stitched to the outer so the stitching was facing inwards. The liner was then placed inside, pinned and stitched into place to cover the seams for the attachment of the fur trim at the brim.
The pompom at the apex of the cone was handstitched on.
The experimental hat (combination hat and scarf) was patterned on the traditional conical pattern, but then at the 350mm height, the cone was changed to it had a total height of 1800mm (72"). This meant that the hat resembled a long tube of approximately 100mm (4") diameter for most of it's length, with a flare at the end which took the diameter out to 200mm (8") for the last 350mm (14"). All other aspects of the hat (including the liner) were unaltered from the traditional pattern.
Figure 2 - Pompom making - material, and octagon
So the pompom would match the fur trim used elsewhere in the costume, I made the pompoms from the fur trim. A square of fabric was cut - approximately 150 x 150mm (6" x 6") and the corners folded inwards to form an octagon. A heavy thread was loosely stitched in at each corner, and then around again bisecting each side making 16 points evenly spaced around the octagon. the thread was gently pulled up so the corners and sides pulled in, and the resulting hollow space was filled with assorted offcuts from the fur trim.
Figure 3 - Hollow created in pompom by pulling threads up
It was then pulled up tight and tied off resulting in a pompom which was about 65mm (2.5") in diameter. The heavy thread used to make the pompom and tie it off was left threaded to the hand needle during the previous steps, and then used to stitch the pompom to the hat's apex.
Figure 4- Pompom hand stitched to hat
Other accessories and costume tips.
A couple of shots of the bag which attaches to the belt for holding keys, mobile phone, lollies (candy), etc. Simply a bag made of velour offcuts, and lined in poly cotton - simple belt loops on the back for attachment
Figure 5 shows the interior view of the pouch with a mobile phone, and some car keys in it for the test.
Figure 5- Pouch on belt - interior view
Figure 6 - Pouch on belt, exterior view
The wig/ beard I purchased off Ebay for the costume - 100% polyester, and quite good fit, and shape. It cost about $30 to buy including shipping.
Figure 7 - polyester wig and beard set.
And lastly, some white zinc sunscreen paint... I've played Santa before for various groups (Church, charities, clubs) and seen many others play the part.. I have fairly thick dark eyebrows which show through on most wigs. If I apply a smear of the white zinc to my eyebrows, they whiten out as if I've aged 50+ years, and they don't look out of place. - It beats my old trick of gluing threads from cotton balls to my eyebrows with PVA (White) glue.
Figure 8 - White zinc sunscreen paint (with other unused colours)
Unfortunately we were unable to find a local source of the white zinc paint without buying it in a triple pack with the other bright colours... they'll get fobbed off at some future date, since we're not big fans of running around with fluro blue, or pink faces.
Next project things to document... MOT spotwelder progress, reviewing books, and progress on other projects.
When selecting Santa suits from BuyCostumes, you should never forget the signature hat!
ReplyDelete