Monday, July 18, 2011

Another Topless Hat

If you've been keeping up with the last two posts on here, you'll know I'm making some items for a RMH charity auction held in Kentucky in August. This hat is the last of these items.



It's a "topless" hat similar to the green one I made my mom. I chose this style because it is practical and easy to wear everyday, even with a ponytail. And, it would be easier to ship, too. When mom occasionally wears her own hat about town, she gets many nice comments even before they realize what it is made of.



This hat is woven with blue, white and gray polar fleece remnants to match the bag and the cozy. If you're interested, the pattern for this hat is available in my Etsy store.Link


The crown is made using a mix of larger soup and fruit can tabs and the small square ones. I used a few small blue acrylic gems on the crown to go with the large blue gem on the purse.



Above is a pic of all the items I'm sending (minus the model, of course). I was going for a set that could all be used together, perhaps on a game day.



If you're curious, the "new" model wearing this hat is a styrofoam head I picked up with an old hat and hat box. Got the lot for $5! Never know what you'll come across secondhand bargain hunting. At close inspection, she looks a little care worn, but she suits her purpose just fine for me. It's great to be able to shoot pics once in awhile without bugging the family to play dress up. :)



I'll post any news I hear about how the auction went, if I hear any. Sure hope they like these pieces and they're a big hit there. Now back to finishing some tutorials I'm severely behind on.

Purse that doubles as a Lunchbox

Last post I mentioned that I was working on some items for a charity auction in Kentucky. Well, here is the purse/lunchbox I created almost entirely with can tabs. It expands to hold a six pack of cans!



The closure is one of the bottle cap jewels I've made for my other purse and some other items in the past.



They requested a blue/white color scheme to appeal the the University of Kentucky Fans. So, I used some blue/white and gray polar fleece I had on hand. It was strange, but the fleece appears to darken slightly when woven. No idea why that is.



As you can see the sides tuck in, which is common in many purse styles. I added a removable lining made from fused plastic grocery bags. Never ironed bags before. That was an interesting experiment I'll have to work with more in the future. It worked out rather nice for a lining. Since this is also a lunch box. It will be much easier to clean and keep condensation and other liquids from dripping out the bottom of the bag.



The base of this bag is really wide to accommodate the cans. I left a little space on top for those reusable frozen ice packs. Smaller tubes/cubes could possibly be inserted between the cans.



The closure will just reach even with the cans inside. I wanted to add a zipper around the top for better sealing, but I couldn't find a suitable one that would match and work properly.



I'll be posting about the hat next time. Until then, have a can-tab-u-lous time!