Tuesday 28 May 2013

another word on boaters...


Chloe in Chloe
Ever since I saw Chloe Sevigny rocking the boater look a few years ago, I’ve been on the hunt. In fact this whole outfit is just gorgeous. I have finally hit that stage in life where the summer months have been transformed into a procession of weddings, christenings and various other hat worthy occasions. I found a boater in Scarlet Vintage in Bath, not bad to find one to fit my head, but i wanted to lower the crown and get it perching at a jaunty angle, a bit more like Chloe.

You will need
  • Boater
  • Scalpel
  • All purpose glue
  • Paper scissors
  • 1m broad black and white striped grosgrain ribbon
  • 1m black bias binding
  • Glue gun
  • Cream fake flowers
  • Sewing machine
  • Black thread
  • Leather needle
How to do it
  1. Remove any ribbon or decoration on the boater
  2. Measure 2 cm up from the brim and slice around the crown
  3. Cut 2cm off the crown
  4. Run some all purpose glue around the inside edge of the crown and slot it back on to the brim
  5. Turn the hat over and fold down the band, add a line of hot glue over the join, fold the band back up to cover the join
  6. To decorate, wrap the ribbon around the crown and fashion in a bow on the side. secure with hot glue. (for tips on how to make the perfect bow, check out my older post on boater revamping)
  7. To copy chloe’s look completely, add flowers to the crown
  8. If you are keen to add bias binding, fit your sewing machine with a leather needle. Pin the binding in place, making sure the join is at the back and carefully sew around the brim. The machine will be fine with a straw boater that is not too thick and stiff.







Types of stitch:

Running stitch 

Fabric and provider
Bias binding and ribbon from Sew n Sew St Nick’s Market

Garment Details:
Boater from Scarlet Vintage


I got the chance to try it out at Cori and Robert's beautiful wedding at Radford Mill Farm this weekend.

Blazer and jumpsuit Comptoir Des Cottoniers; bag vintage; shoes Kurt Geiger; necklace my own

home is where the art is...


Dressing table from set of 'Then, Voyager' short film


Dining table: Step Dad's old work bench
William Morris arm chair: a wonderful addition from a wonderful housemate

I thought the best way to get to know me is to have a look at the home I've made over 4 years. It is a result of theatre and film design cast offs, a bit of healthy skip diving (becoming an unhealthy obsession now I own a van) and some very well-travelled parents who see my flat as free storage.

summer sun hats

I am hunting down a vintage boater to wear to weddings this Summer. In the meantime, here is a quick project to transform the summer staple. These boaters started life with a boring black ribbon… this very simple project will bring out some old school charm.
Photography Amanda Thomas

You will need:


  • Straw boater
  • Glue gun or all purpose glue
  • 1 metre of 1 inch width canvas ribbon
  • 1 metre of 1/2 inch width canvas ribbon
  • scissors

How to do it:
  1. Make sure the boater is free of any old ribbon. Starting halfway round the side of the hat, fix the 1 inch width canvas ribbon around the hat with a glue gun.
  2. Repeat with the 1/2 inch width ribbon making sure it finishes at the same point as the wider ribbon. To cover the join take a 15 cm of the wider ribbon, fold the ends in to the middle and secure with the glue gun. 
  3. Take 5 cm of the thinner ribbon and glue the end centrally perpendicular to the underside of this fold of wide ribbon, pinch the wide ribbon as you wind the thinner ribbon around once to give the impression of a bow. Secure the thinner ribbon with the glue gun on the underside. Trim any excess ribbon
  4. Place it over the join and glue into position.
Remember...the glue gun is VERY hot, handle with care and ask for assistance!




cloth's summer sunshine issue

Cloth Issue 17. Photography Amanda Thomas


Cloth were celebrating all tones citrus, ochre and golden in their sunshine Issue (17) where you can find  a few of my and Ros's upcycles: a yellow chequerboard jumper inspired by Louis Vuittton Spring/Summer collections, a dip dye ombre shirt, neon woven bracelet to name but a few...











mellow yellow



Caitlin Moran once said that yellow shoes go with everything. I bought these banana skins a few years ago and quickly accepted that I was not the kind of person to coordinate a yellow outfit, so they have had no choice but to footnote any number of mismatched outfits...complete with gorgeous gold elephants processing around the heels.