More Hat Details

Here are a few details for the finer points of this hat.

In theses first picture you can see where the ties to keep the hat cocked go through the brim and into the crown. The ties are made from 1/4 inch worsted tape, which forms the very prominent "11" shape that you see on the front and back of the hat.

I set the bottom hole for the 11s 3/4 inch from the bottom of the hat, and the top hole 2 inches above the bottom. The 11s are about 1 1/4 inch apart from each other. These are my measurements, but you can change them depending on the look you are going for.

To cock the sides, I tack the brim to the crown with a few stitches in the middle of where I want the brim to stay. I mark my holes and then punch the holes with an awe. Thread from the inside bottom to the outside of the brim then back in through the top to the inside and tie with a square knot. Leave some extra tape if you plan to take out the 11s at any point.

Much of the same is done with the back of the hat to make the fantial. Many of the extant hats that I have seen do not have the top part of the worsted tape for the fantial returning back into the crown. Instead the worsted tape at the top of the fantail only goes through the brim, and the tape is tied inside the crown at the bottom part by the brim.

If you follow this method, you may find that the top of the fantail pulls away from the crown. To make sure everything stays in place, I hid a few stitches of black linen thread under each of the 11s higher up on the crown. You can see the stitches with the worsted tape pulled aside in the second picture.

The lining is made from a rectangular piece of simple linen the circumference of your head plust 1/2 inch, and about 3 1/2 inches wide. The lining will not go all the way to the top of the crown so that you can undo the worsted tape if you choose to create a fantail on sunny days. If you don't want to have that option, you can take a piece of linen to the lining on the top of the crown to give you felt some extra protection.

Fold over 1/4 on one of the long sides and finish the raw edge with a whip stitch, then sew the strip into a band using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Next, fold over 1/4 inch on the remaining unfinished long edge and ease the lining into place and sew in with a whip stitch. You do not need to go through the entire hat, just enough to keep everything secure.

The cockade band is simpler than you think. This one is made from 1/2 inch worsted tape that is simply tied in place to the 11s and hooked to a pewter button.

First, decide where you want your button to be, untie the worsted tapes cocking up this portion of the brim, and then sew the button to the brim securely. You need to make this nice and tight or the button will move and throw off the aesthetics.

Cut a piece of tape that is longer than you need and tie a knot on the inside of the brim to make a loop that will go around the button and under the worsted tape that is between the brim and crown of that hat. You can see where the band goes in the last picture.

You will need to experiment the the length of this band because you want it tight, but still loose enough that you can undo the button and insert a cockade without affecting the brim shape. It's very tempting to make the band loose, but if you do that the button won't look right, and your cockade will not hold a nice shape and turn into a sad piece of fabric attached to your brim from lack of pressure on the center of the of it.