The fabric used in these photos is silk, I used 1 metre of it however, it should be noted that this was slightly less than would have been desirable I would recommend 1.5m to ensure enough. Straw cloth (liase) would also be a good alternative.

The base fabric used in the class for the turban was semac this is available from Mimi Millinery in Australia, I am unsure of where is can be purchased anywhere else if you know please leave a comment on this post. Semac is sort of like 20/20 or buckram but without all the glue and stickiness. It was extremely easy to mold, we used a jiffy steamer and it only took a few seconds to mold onto the block.  An extremely versatile base fabric. Buckram or 20/20 could be used but it would take a lot longer.

When blocking the semac or alternative fabric ensure that the grain of the fabric matches up at the centre back.

The block used to shape the turban was a special made block for turbans. It was hollow inside and the shape of the finished hat. The block was about 1cm thick and rounded on the edges. This is important as the bottom edge of the turban is rounded not a straight edge… such that the semac was shaped around the bottom edge (I have tried to show this rounded bottom edge in the picture). This means that the block size needs to be taken from the inside not the outside of the block (although given my big head I shaped my semac and then brought out the back seam to fit my head size).  The block was also shaped at the bottom edge so it followed a natural hat line (covered the forhead at the front and down at the back) and the dropped down over the ears (I have attempted to capture this in one of the photos).

This photo shows the edge of the turban it is soft and rounded rather than the normal straight edge of a hat...

It is important when blocking the semac to ensure the curve on the bottom edge on the block is maintained as this adds softness to the edge and on the face line.

The semac was blocked in two pieces the band (around the head) (this was sewn at the back using feather stitch) and then the tip was added on the top.

Picture shows centre back seam with separate crown piece

Once the base has been blocked the base can be covered with a thin wadding to add a bit of softness to the finished product.

The turban was then wrapped using two pieces of fabric. The first one goes across the top and is pleated to look like the fabric is all one piece. This is then sewn on (under pleats and along the edge where the stitching will not show). The second piece is then draped around starting at the centre back and paying particular attention to the front of the turban.

The pleats at the top of the turban

The turban once finished can then be completed with embellishments at the front of the hat such at a flower or a decoration at the side near the ear for a 1920′s type of look. Or any other type of look you want.

A picture of the turban nearly finished just in need of a few more stitches and some embellishment.

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• Millinery Forum (makinghats.com.au)

Image via Wikipedia

I just thought I would put up a quick post to share with you my favorite website for Millinery information. This is a vintage sewing: http://vintagesewing.info

This site contains a number of different vintage millinery books. The books have been copied and indexed onto the site. These books are from the 1920′s, 30′s and 50′s, times when wearing hats was still popular and as such more was known about the art. These books are a great source of inspiration and provide great instructions on how some classic hat making techniques.

Image via Wikipedia

I have been researching better ways to put together tutorials on making hats… The ones that I like the best are on the Instructables website… Here are two I found on hats.

A girl pirate hat – I think this is quite a good design and the way the instructions are set out it would make it easy to make Girl Pirate Hat .

A brimmed beanie – this is a simple hat that could be worn by males or females. How To Make a Brimmed Beenie.

I will have to work a bit to make my instructions as easy to read as these. I have just found my camera cord (which had been packed away in some obscure box) so will download the photos for the rest of my cocktail base hat in the next few days.

Image by wallyg via Flickr

•  A dome hat block – a block stand would also be useful – I don’t have one so I used a can of soup for my stand.
• Cling wrap, scissors and tape (to cover and protect the hat block).
• 2 pieces of elastic sewn into a circle such that it fits onto hat block.
• 2 pieces of 20/20 fabric cut into a square approximately 25cm x 25cm.

Step 1: Cover the hat block with cling wrap…. cut where necessary to make smooth and tape to attach to block.

• Step 2: Wet one piece of 20/20 with warm water (it may take around a minute for the water to soak in and make the 20/20 easy to manipulate).

• Step 3: Put 20/20 on block – I pull it down at the corners first. Then I put my hand on top and pull down the sides.
• Step 4: put elastic onto the block to hold the 20/20 in place. Then smooth the 20/20 above the elastic, pull to remove any bumps.
•   Step 4: repeat step 3 and 4 with the second piece of 20/20.

• Step 5: Allow to dry.  

Note: do not use your good sewing scissors for cutting 20/20 unless you want to blunt them – I use the kitchen scissors (that are designed to cut chicken).