Day 2 of 7 days 7 hats

Hot pink braided slouchy beret embellished with a veil

Time required 30 minutes

For this second DIY veiled beanie from mesh produce bag of this transformation series, I chose to do something with a hot pink beret that is a perfect colour match to my favorite snow boots. Yes, I own a pair of hot pink boots… having a boisterous time in winter is a hard job and I am up to it ; )

I really liked constructing the veil for Day 1’s first hat transformation and I wanted to try making another veil. When I failed to find any pink veil material at my local fabric store I came back home and started making lunch while thinking which goods around my house could be used to make a veil. It was then that I reached for a package of onions…. that were stored in some type of woven plastic mesh…. Han???? Could this work?

The woven plastic mesh wasn’t rigid and the good part of being made out of polypropylene meant that the veil would be ice rain and snow resistant, great winter appropriate properties.

Both the red and the yellow bag were nice contrasting colours for the beret. Except that they were both damaged and it meant going out again which I did not want to do. I then went hunting in my cupboards for a proper item that would be ready to use because I loved the idea of a creative upcycle fashion project ….. and I found something.

My veil will be made out of a recycled rice noodle package!

This sleeve noodle package was not woven but made out of a perforated plastic panel. The finish was somewhat firm and waxy, but I was confident that I could make it work.

He-he, you might have understood my “modus operandi” by now. The importance for me is to realize the look I am aiming for; I have used ceramic paint on fabric, inserted vintage glassware within stained glass panels, painted buttons with nail polish, used hardware to make jewelry and I regularly apply eye shadow on my lips. I have no censorship when it comes to mixing medias; result is paramount.

Before we start, you could refer to my introductory post for a quick overview of the all the hats that will be revamped for this series and to read about my plan.

Let’s start!

I purchased the slouchy beret on eBay. The colour was pink.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I was satisfied with the item and I’m mentioning the seller for your convenience in case you wish to purchase the same item. The seller didn’t mention the hat composition but it’s probably made out of 100% acrylic yarn.

Hot pink braided crochet beret from eBay — SELLER NAME better-us818

This slouchy beret is loosely knit and could fit head sizes up to 24 – 25 inches (60.96 – 63.5 cm).

Let’s prepare the mesh bag.

Cut the bag open lenghtwise — THE RICE NOODLE PACKAGE CUT OPEN

I cut the closed end of the bag and I also cut it lengthwise. Once the bag was open I could measure how much material I had to work with. The bag length measured 13 inches (33.02 cm).

I measured the width of my face from ear to ear; 12.5 inches (31.75 cm).

Ouch! That left me with just enough space to square up both ends of the mesh.

Now let’s see what I can do with that piece of perforated plastic mesh;

This is how I want to position the mesh on the beret — THIS IS HOW I WANT TO WEAR THE SLOUCHY BERET

I am choosing to wear the beret behind my bangs. This way the veil will only be covering my forehead and not my eyes. This veil placement will also make the beret be more ….. how can I say this ….. more fit-to-a-normal-person’s-life correct!

On the good side, the plastic mesh was formed into a cylinder to create the sleeve package and it’s molded rounded shape fitted nicely over my head. The fit was even better once I decided to fold the back part of the veil inward onto itself, at the back of the veil.

SHAPING THE VEIL

To create the body and look I wanted for the veil, I decided to gather both sides of the mesh.

Thread the sides of the mesh to prepare for gathering — MAKE A SLIP KNOT AT ONE END OF THE MESH

To gather the veil I made a slip knot on one end of the mesh. I passed the thread in every hole of the mesh. This will give me nice even gathers.

Gathered both sides of the bag — THREAD THE NEEDLE IN EVERY HOLES

I passed the thread in the mesh holes for the entire length of the material. I kept the needle threaded. I will need it to pull on the thread to create the gathers.

Gather the sides down to 2 inches — PULL THE THREAD AND BRING THE GATHERS TO ABOUT 2 INCHES (5 CM)

I pulled the thread to gather the mesh. I reduced the length on each side to about 2 inches (5 cm).

I pinned the veil gatherings in an half-moon shape on each side of the beret and I was ready for a first trial.

A selfie of the DIY embellished beret by CardinalSewingNest.com — QUICK SELFIE TO APPRECIATE THE LOOK

I sent the picture to one of my sister’s and asked for her opinion.

She texted back writing that I was born to wear it!…. Now this comment coming from my youngest, trendiest, swankiest sister!

It was confirmed! The look was a hit; time to permanently sew the veil in place.

Sew the veil on each side of the beret — THE STITCHES ARE INVISIBLE

I matched the thread colour to the mesh and the result is quite impeccable.

it took about 4 minutes to sew each side of the mesh to the beret — VEIL HAND SEWN IN PLACE

What to do next? Should I leave it like that? It only took me 5 minutes to sew each side of the veil onto the hat…. Should I add a little shiny piece of something?