March 15, 2012

Altering Vintage Hats


It's so easy and fun to alter vintage hats 
 I sell a lot of hats in my booth at Orange Tree once I get them all fancied up!



The key, is to find plain hats that are inexpensive  
No one wants unadorned vintage hats......But me!


And now maybe you...With very little effort and skills you can fancy them all up!



I gather up my supplies, hat netting (Purchased from Jo-Annes Fabric), Various trims, velvet ribbon, and vintage jewelry.


I also use fabric flowers, the tutorial is HERE


I altered this plain white hat by removing the tattered vintage netting and reattaching it under a vintage earring...Easy!


I added one of my fabric flowers, netting, leaves and a vintage earring...This is one of my favorites


This pink hat had great bones, I added a fabric flower and vintage pearl pin


This is another of my favorite transformations.  I added ruffled trim around the top of the hat then added netting, a fabric flower, and rhinestone pin


Oh, I like this one too!   I hand stiched a shinny trim around the front rim and a black fabric flower


Here I added a velvet ribbon and vintage rhinestone buckle


Sometimes adding matching vintage pins is all a hat needs


The back of this cute vintage straw hat got a bow of vintage lace and a vintage earring


I usually price my hats between $15-$20.  There is so much you can add to plain vintage hats, I added some feather to a couple of them before I packed them up


I am taking all of these hats to the Fancy Flea, a show I'm doing April 28th in Lakeland florida

Oh, look what I found to transport my hats to the show....


...Fabulous vintage hat boxes I'm going to sell too

There you have it, a few ideas to get your wheels turning

It's easy and fun  

 Everyone can be a Hat Milliner!

Happy Creating!
Carol

Joining the party at BrambleBerry Cottage

42 comments:

Rona Gregory said...

beautiful! BTW are you hiring a U Haul to take all this to the fancy Flea? There seems to be an awful lot haha! Hope you do well!

Ro xx

Debbiedoos said...

I actually have a few vintage hats myself Carol. At one time I started collected them and had them hanging on a coat rack in our entrance of our home in Florida. They looked really cool too. I still have them. Of course yours are much cuter all embellished up.

A Whole Lotta Magic said...

Oh, my! They are all soooo beautiful. I LOVE HATS!

S
xo

Anita said...

BEAUTIFUL...You are so creative. Your booth will be so fun.

Little Susie Home Maker said...

Those hats are very pretty. Wish women still wore hats to town, wouldn't that be fun? I think the hat boxes are so perfect! I can't wait to see pictures of your booth!
Blessings,
Susie

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! I love them! Hats are hard to come by here though. I will keep my eyes peeled though! Traci

NanaDiana said...

Those are just gorgeous. When my hubby's grandmother died she had 67 hats (that matched dresses and shoes). We all took several of them and I still have a few. They were just wonderful examples of a bygone era. You do a great job on yours. I love those old hatboxes and have never seen any like them. xo Diana

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Beautiful, Carol! That straw hat looks like it would be perfect for the Kentucky Derby!

The Altered Bee said...

So beautiful! Reminds me of my Grandmother. She wore the most beautiful hats.

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

Aren't you the clever one! I see old plain-jane hats all the time and never thought of embellishing one myself. But I will now! ;)

I would love to have you share your creative talents at my weekly linky party - Time Travel Thursday. Just click the button in the sidebar to go straight there.

Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage

Dawnll said...

I have been on the search for the perfect hat for my mannequin-she looks so naked without one! lol
I could just say she lost her hat during the last ball and hope it shows up!
lol
Love the hats and the cases all of them are so much fun and real great display pieces.
Thanks for sharing

Patty said...

what a lovely post! I love your photos and what's in them! I would never have thought to fix up old hats but they are beautiful. My wheels are turning...hmmm

Elizabeth said...

Very nice! I am only about 4 hrs. from Lakeland,I may have to plan a trip!

Sam I Am...... said...

You are TOO cool for words! I love everything you do and I don't even like hats! LOL! I do now though! I also read your flower tutorial and that is wonderful! Who knew? I learn so much from you! I wish I could use some of my cotton fabrics for flowers but I'm thinking those wouldn't work. It looked like you need more delicate fabrics to get them to curl in the heat. Since we're in the South (you much farther than me) maybe we could just set them out in the sun in the summer and they would curl up! LOL! I know I do in the heat! Thanks again so much! You're an amazing woman!

Roxanne Reinhart said...

I love those hats!!! You are sooooo creative. I love, love, love the fabric flower.

Angela said...

I love the transformation of all your hats, they would do great for the Dubai horse races at the end of this month.
All the ladies are encouraged to wear hats, and they all do.
Hugs,
Angela.

Gypsy Heart said...

Oh my, you are so talented! These hat "afters" are just gorgeous. I'm sure you will be very successful in selling them. I've never seen this type of hat box ~ very interesting. I think I'll review the fabric flowers and see if I 'might' be successful in making them. :-)

xo
Pat

Unknown said...

thanks so much! I've been seeing these things and wondering and I knew that Carol would eventually help me out with them. Of course its not hard but seeing them helps a lot. I hope you sell EVERYTHING you bring to the fancy flea and wish I could visit myself. Do they know what a good job you are doing of adverting for them?

camp and cottage living said...

Carol
You have such great imagination!
I bet you just love doing what you do. I think you've definitely found your niche.
I think it goes without saying that I love your hats!

Shabby chic Sandy said...

I love your hats! I want to make one (first I have to find an old hat!) and then I want to get one of those 1/2 body dress forms and do that up with the hat. I am going to pin this for inspiration. Is that okay? I want to make sure when I pin now:)

Createology said...

Carol Dear you have done it again! Over the moon gorgeous with your elegant touches to these fabulous vintage hats. I grew my hair long this past year just to wear my hats and enjoy them. Ahh the days of dressing nicely for everything...

Gina said...

Oh Carol, now you're a milliner too! LOL These are stunning! So very creative. That pink hat is divine!

Unknown said...

Carol, they are so lovely! Who are we kidding? You are so talented; I don't think I'd be able to be that creative. I'm one of those who would stop in and buy one! I think you have them priced very fairly.

Have a great night!

Nancy

Anonymous said...

Carol, you are going to be the big hit of the Fancy Flea.....I just know it! I was looking today for vintage floral hats for my booth for Easter but found nothing for resale. Yard sale tomorrow....maybe I'll get lucky xoxo

C'est moi Claudette said...

Hi Carol
I LOVE all of them, but especially the pink one. I'm a pink girl all the way. WOW and you only sell them for $20.00, all boxed up like that too??? WOW.
I'm from Canada, and NEVER see anything like this, EVER... more specific, Ontario, Canada.
I would buy your pretty hats in a heart beat. I don't wear them, but I do love them.
Thank you for the great idea, you are one smart lady.
xoxoxoxo

Debbie said...

Carol, I love these. Not only are they beautiful creations, but you just gave me a walk down memory lane. So many of the styles are hats that I see my mom, aunt, and grandmother wearing in my mind's eye.

I wish really badly that women still wore hats (and gloves) today. I would just love that. Just think: Pretty camouflage for bad hair days.

Ruby Jean said...

Oh Hello Auntie Carol....
I am BACK!!!!! I have FINALLY just revealed my New Sewing Room and Can now take a DEEP Breath... I am thinking I could of used some of your Vintage Hats in my Sewing Room.. :)

Heart Vintage Design said...

This is a great post. Now I'll be picking up some plain Jane hats too : )

Holly Loves Art said...

You've made them so beautiful! I just love vintage hats. I used to have a black and white collection during the 80's but sold them. Luckily I still have all my other vintage collections that I wasn't silly enough to get rid of. I so wish I had those hats now.

Thanks for sharing the pretty pictures!
Take care,
Holly

debi said...

Your hats are absolutely gorgeous Carol! You have a wonderful collection there.

Bonnie said...

I need one of the heads your beautiful hats are perched on! Love, love, love them!

Ellie said...

Once again, I am truly amazed with your creative muses.

Received the water decals I ordered. They will work well on my projects. Thanks.

Thanks for sharing.

Savannah Granny said...

Carol, what wonderful hats and boxes. I believe each is your favorite! I felt that way too, as I scrolled through the post. I remember wearing those hats. I still have a couple. I probable should display them. You give us the best ideas.
Love you girl, Ginger

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Carol,
Now you know that I would be loving all of these including the Hat stands, don't you?
Joe got a big head when I told him that you were amazed that he remembered the date of our first date and brought me flowers!! LOL!

Hugs,
Debbie

Rhissanna said...

You do the most amazing stuff! This is exactly what I needed to see. I bought some cheap (in both senses of the word) summer chip straw hats last year and I want to tart them up to hang on the wall for an Easter decoration. Thank you for the inspiration. You're a Star!

Anonymous said...

I've always loved hats of any kind. Never bought old ones since some of the ones I find at antique stores are rather nasty, but I certainly would snatch your pretty ones up. I've been looking for some of that netting, but have been unable to find any. Next time I'm at JoAnn's have have to look. Is it on a bolt with the fabric?

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

They are so pretty! Love the hat boxes too!
How are the wedding plans coming along?
Do you have a "trailer" full of goodies to sell for the Flea, yet?!
Warmly,
deb

Heart Vintage Design said...

Carol, it was so inspirational to meet you this weekend. You're way ahead of the curve when it comes to making something grand out of something very plain. Thanks for reminding me about this post. I have it saved in my e-mail but my head is crammed with so much I forgot about it. What a gift you have!

Bonnie said...

Oh, I love these hats. But what I really love is your de'coupage head. My favorite quilt fabric store has a wall of hats that belonged to the owner's grandmother. I am so jealous.

Cindy The Victorian Journey said...

I see your blog and learn so much. I am inspired..

Annesphamily said...

Oooohhh...I so love hats! What a happy hatter you are!

MONSIEUR LE CHAT ET MOI said...

Love so much your post, because I do the same thing for my Venetian costumes. creating hasts. But I never thouht of small hats with millenery for decoration !
xoxo from PARIS
Joëlle