7 Hat Projects for Recycling Clothes and Using up Scraps

Most hats require smaller quantities of fabric than garments, so they are a great way to use up scrap fabric or refashion garments. After reading Nicole's excellent post on 12 Ways to Recycle Used Clothing and Textiles, I decided to have a think about some specific hat projects that make great scrap-busters and refashion ideas. Here are some of my favourites.

1. A 1954 Butterfly Cap

Intended for velvet or velveteen, and beautiful in those, I have also made this in other fabrics (and intend to again). It takes a small amount of fabric and with clever layout can use multiple smaller scraps. It does require a buckram foundation and wire as well.

I've reviewed and given some tips for this original (and free) 1954 pattern.

2. A 40s-style fabric snood

Whether it's to go with a hat or wear by itself, a snood gives a fun 40s feel to an outfit, and if you can't crochet, you can still make one! Perfect for any fabric with a good drape, super easy to make, and only needing the fabric and a bit of elastic.

All the instructions are here from the Snoodtember Snood-a-long.

3. A classic multi-era beret

My very first beret made with the pattern that would become my Grevillea beret was made from a sleeve of my old favourite coat. Because of the sectioned layout and multiple band width options, you can really make this work out of some odd shaped scraps or old garments. It's great for coats, jackets, and nice trousers as well as project scraps, of course.

You can get the Grevillea beret pattern here.

4. 1939 "Doll's Hat"

Another one for the velvets, but I think it would have a lot of potential in other fabrics, and takes a very small amount to make. It does need wire and buckram for the foundation, but not a lot of those either. The veiling is optional and all sorts of trim could be used.

Read my thoughts on this free vintage pattern.

5. Beach Hat

This one is particularly special because it's intended for regular cotton fabrics, so can use up some cute plain or printed fabrics, and only takes about a fat quarter of material. It's also a really simple pattern, quick to make, and can be decorated for further personalisation.

Another free vintage pattern, I've reviewed and given advice on this beach hat here.

Of course, making a hat from scratch is not the only option. All kinds of trims can be made from small amounts of fabric, and sometimes all a tired hat needs is a little revamp.

6. Retrim an old hat

For this straw hat I've used leftover fabric from a garment sewing project to create the band and the brim binding, and I love the extra colour it adds. In this case the straw was new but the principle applies and it's a great way to freshen up an older and plain hat. Similarly, it's easy to add fabric bows and other special touches, with pretty small amounts of material.

7. Fabric flowers (also ribbon flowers)

While French flower making is pretty complex and requires special (and expensive) tools, there are plenty of quicker and easier ways to make flowers. Ribbon flowers have whole books written on them, and ideas for both ribbon and fabric flowers appear in vintage publications quite often (not always with good instructions though!).

There are many more great hat projects out there for recycling fabrics and using up small scraps (see the rest of the patterns in the Trove Pattern Project as a starting point) but these are some of my favourites.

Have any of these sparked your imagination? Are there any other hat projects you have tried for using fabric scraps or recycling clothes?

To keep up with hat-making tips and millinery information, sign up for the email newsletter here.

Ethical Millinery: Where Do Hats Fit In To Ethical Fashion?

Following on from my post about vintage fashion and ethical shopping, I want to explore how these ideas apply to millinery.

I will state up front that I am not setting myself up as an expert and that I am far from perfect in my own habits and choices. I often consider the ethical side of my making, but I do not always act on it in what I feel is the best way, and I think of myself as still exploring what ethical millinery means to me. This post is a way of sharing some of my current thoughts as I undertake that exploration.

Hats and Ethical Fashion: Made For Each Other

Firstly, I think that there are some qualities of hats that make them inherently inclined towards having an ethical place in our wardrobe.

1. You can wear a hat for life

Once you are an adult, your head size remains more or less the same. Thus, a hat can be a lifetime fashion investment, reducing wasted buys. This also means that buying a really high quality handmade hat is a more manageable expense - you won't have to do it too often.

2. Hats can almost always be mended, re-shaped, re-trimmed or salvaged for parts

Whether you do this yourself or get a milliner to do it, there is an AWFUL lot that can be done with an old hat. Although the idea of making changes to a vintage hat might be sacrilegious to you, many can be re-blocked to their original shape and cleaned up to give them a longer lasting life, seriously repaired, or have the size changed a small amount without any damage to them.

A more modern hat you may have fewer qualms about, and then all sorts of things can be done. Felts and straws, in particular, can be reworked in minor or major ways pretty much ad infinitum. And they should be, in my opinion. A hat should never have to be binned. When it comes to embracing "make do and mend" hats are the ideal candidate, and if you want to do this yourself, many of the old millinery texts available (second hand, reprinted or scanned online) have sections on these arts. If this is beyond your interest, most milliners would be thrilled to be a part of a project to keep an old hat alive and kicking.

A number of times I have spoken to people who have been clearing the estates of loved ones, and although they are giving away or selling some vintage hats, they have told me that they threw some out that they thought were beyond rescue. Now there may be some cases where this is true, but I think they are far fewer than these people think. Please at least try to find someone who wants to save them, or parts of them. (I can assure you that I will always lovingly accept such donations!)

3. A large proportion of hats are handmade 

Although there are plenty of cheap mass-manufactured hats out there, they don't outnumber the handmade creations by the same vast majority that exists with clothing. Buying hats that are made by small local industry can therefore be easier for hats than for clothes. Even the hats you buy from department stores (at least here in Australia) are often made by Australian milliners, and there are many individuals and old traditional manufacturers still in operation.

Making Ethical Choices

There are also a number of things you can actively choose to do, to keep your hat adventures nice to people and the planet.

1. Buy vintage or handmade

As with clothes, it is clear that buying vintage or second hand removes our supply chain worries and promotes the mindset in ourselves and in society that these items are not to be thrown away.

As mentioned above, milliners and hat makers are around and not hard to find. Their work is diverse and impressive, and you are bound to be able to find the styles you are looking for, or have hats custom made.

2.  Buy to suit your lifestyle, taste and wardrobe

For everyday hats, think about the clothes you actually own and wear, and the activities you do. Think in winter about something warm and practical, and in summer something that will shield your face and eyes. But think beyond caps and beanies, and use hats as a way to add practical elegance to your wardrobe. Unless you have a very coordinated wardrobe or a strong signature colour, picking the most versatile hat colour can be hard, but for winter you can match it to your favourite coat (or gloves or scarf) to make sure it will get wear, and in summer natural straw is a neutral that goes with everything.

For occasion hats, you may not wear them too often, but make sure you will at least get to wear them once! Don't just randomly buy a pretty hat, select one or have a hat custom-made that matches a dress you can wear for evenings out to dinner or the theatre, or to weddings and other special events.

3. Select ethical materials

When buying new, consider where the material has come from. I'm not going to go into the issues with fur and leather, because, frankly, thinking about it makes me sick. But be aware that many felt hats are made of fur felt, and consider whether that is something you want to get behind. I still find feathers a tricky choice to navigate, but personally I am moving away from them.

I want to research the manufacture of other millinery materials further, but in general it is easier, if not necessarily the actual case, for plant-based materials like straw and sinamay, as well as wool and fabrics to be sourced in an ethical way. Consider looking for milliners who are working with reclaimed or recycled materials as well.

4. Look after your hats

 
Store them carefully, keep them clean and in shape. There are many ways to do this, and your choices will depend on how often you wear them and the space you have. Find a way that suits your lifestyle, and take into account protection from sunlight, insects, dust and physical damage.

And wear them. I'm pretty sure hats need love too :)

5 At the end, give your hat another life

Although a hat might fit for life, it won't necessarily suit your tastes and lifestyle for life.

Vintage hats can be resold, donated or given to friends. Hats can be reworked to suit your current needs better (as mentioned above). Hats can be donated to friendly milliners who like to recycle, or your local charity shop.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one! Do you find that you keep hats longer than clothes? Have you tried your hand at mending or re-working a hat?

7 Reasons Wearing Vintage Clothing can make you a more Ethical Shopper (And 3 reasons it might not)

Four years ago, I read Lucy Siegle's "To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World" and my exploration of ethical fashion began. I haven't talked much about this on my blog, although you may have gotten a sense of my passion for recycling materials through my hat makeovers and use of old clothing for fabric.

Recently I re-read "To Die For", and then watched the documentary "The True Cost", and I have strengthened my resolve to change the way I relate to my clothes.

I'm not going to argue the importance of ethical fashion. That would be beyond the scope of my entire blog, let alone one post. If you need convincing, read To Die For (or I believe "Overdressed" by Elizabeth L. Cline is a very similar book with an American viewpoint), or watch "The True Cost."

What I am going to talk about are some specific thoughts I had about how vintage fashion fits in.

Having an ethical approach to your wardrobe comes down to how you shop, how you look after your clothes, and how you dispose of them. Wearing genuine vintage clothing and being a part of the vintage fashion scene doesn't automatically convert you into an ethical fashion hero, but it can provide you with skills that allow and even encourage you in ethical fashion habits.

Here are my suggestions for 7 ways that this can happen:

1. You don't just buy new clothes

This is the obvious one, and the only one really discussed in the ethical fashion literature. Buying vintage means you aren't supporting the fast fashion machine. But it also gets you into the habit of looking beyond the shopping centre for your clothing purchases. You turn to vintage shops, online and in person, but also op/thrift/charity shops, Ebay, clothes swaps etc. Just being open to these options can make you a more ethical shopper, even when you aren't shopping for vintage.

2. You know your fabrics and fibres

Vintage shopping encourages an awareness of textiles. They tell you the quality of the item, the care it will require, how well it will last, and can help tell a genuine vintage item from a later item "in the style of".

This awareness can help you be an ethical shopper too. You know that there are both natural and man made fibres that have a similar appearance, and you know to check and find out which it is. You can make sensible decisions about buying a fabric that will wear well for many years, and that has a lower environmental impact.

3. You are willing to make a few minor mends...

Buying vintage often means that buttons need to be resewn or popped seams repaired. So you've probably gotten used to the idea, and it is an accepted part of your life. Sometimes clothes need to be mended.

This is an important part of an ethical approach to clothes in general. You are willing to make the effort to keep your clothes wearable, rather than just throwing them out as soon as there is anything wrong with them. Indeed, it may take a more serious flaw for you to consider something as really damaged, too, because you have gotten used to the idea that one small flaw or mark on an item isn't in fact the end of the world.

4. ...and maybe some serious alterations

Whether you do it yourself or pay to have it done, you have probably at least considered having some changes made to your clothes. Maybe a hem taken up, zipper replaced, size adjusted, or a new lining inserted.

Naturally, these same tactics can keep all of your clothes wearable for much longer, and help you get the most life out of them. You can also make the most use of your second hand shopping, clothes swaps or hand-me-downs this way too.

5. You are more likely to take up dressmaking

This may be a stretch, but compared to the average person, it seems like those involved in the vintage fashion scene are often very crafty. And the temptation to join those vintage lovers who are making their own amazing dresses, skirts, blouses and even jeans is very strong! And those patterns everyone keeps posting, with their swoon-worthy illustrations? You know you want to.

Which of course opens up a world of ethical options, and improves your ability to alter and mend your clothes too!

6. You know the value of clothes

You can appreciate the handiwork and you enjoy the specialness of clothes. They are not just a throwaway item for you. That detailed embroidery? You know how many hours it must have taken, and that it makes the item more valuable.

This opens the way for you to be aware of what clothing should really cost. When you see that detailed embroidery on a new item for $20, you might stop and think about how it got there for that price.

7. You don't throw your clothes in the bin

That clothing, especially wearable clothing, ends up in landfill, is an appalling part of our modern life. Being used to buying clothes that have worn before, you know that unless something is really really dead, someone else will probably want it!

By donating your clothes to charity, or selling them, you are stopping them ending up in landfill, and giving them the opportunity to keep being worn. (And if they really are dead, you can salvage nice material for craft projects, and use the rest as rags, right?)

But what are the possible downsides?

Again, these aren't necessarily true for every vintage fashionista, but they are things to be cautious about, or consider. And I'm not saying that you should change your behaviours, just make sure you've given these things some thought.

Here are 3 reasons that a love of vintage might steer you away from ethical fashion:

1. You don't buy new clothes

It's a plus and a possible minus. You may not be supporting the fast fashion machine, but you also may not be supporting the slow fashion makers and innovative eco and fairtrade companies.

That's ok, there are plenty of buyers to go around, I guess, and you certainly don't have to change the way you like to dress and shop. It might, however, be worth checking out some of the companies that are making big positive changes in the fashion world, just to see what they are doing. If you make your own clothes, you might get some serious inspiration!

2. It's easy to forget about the issues with fast fashion

If you are hardly ever buying new clothes, it might be easy just to say "Oh I wear vintage, so that isn't my problem." So when you do need something new (maybe underwear or sporting clothes or pyjamas or something else you don't buy vintage), you aren't aware of the ethical issues. Without facing them frequently, it is easier to remain ignorant of them.

3. Clothing lust

Ethical fashion isn't just about buying clothes with an ethical back-story. It's also about our unnecessarily high consumption. And we all know the blogging world is full of beautiful images of people wearing amazing clothes, and these images make us want ALL THE CLOTHES. All the pretty dresses we never need to wear. A totally new outfit no one has seen for our blog pictures.

Resist it!

I know that I personally love to see bloggers wearing the same clothes again, especially if they have changed up the combination of separates, the accessories, or the styling. It shows your readers the versatility of the items in a real way, and actual wardrobe inspiration that is more applicable to their lives than just a desire for more clothes (that maybe they can't afford anyway).

I would love to hear your thoughts on these points! Do you agree? Can you think of any other ways that a love of vintage inspires or helps a relationship with ethical fashion?

Don't forget the newsletter, if you haven't signed up already. There are new products going into my Etsy shop this week that you'll hear all about!