Holes in A Hat For Ribbons Dress 611

 

I wore my Union Jack hat as a prop in my speech about the English language for a humorous speech contest at Harrovians club in London. The hat had no retaining ribbon. The hat fell off when I leaned forward and was likely to be blown off in the wind, and it was a gusty day.

I needed a ribbon. I had known this for some time. I periodically thought about this when I looked at the hat, while the hat sat around unusued, waiting for an outing. But I hesitated to make a hole in the hat in case it split. 

However, on a windy day, I knew I needed to secure my hat. Especially as I was walking with a walking aid, and a heavy, bulky bag, and did not have a hand free to hold my hat.

The Ribbon

I have lots of reels of ribbon. I would have preferred red or blue. Less likely to show dirt or get stained. but the white was to hand already cut so I took that. I chose a wider ribbon, rather than a thinner piece. I  wanted it to be comfortable.

The Hole

Next, the hole. What could I use to make a hole? The obvious item would be an awl from a toolbox.

Scissors

However, I looked around my desk for something nearer and spied a pair of scissors. I could not fold the hat to cut it. It was too stiff. So I tried digging in with the end of the scissors. 

With the scissors closed, I had no sharp point. However, when I opened the scissors slightly, I could use the point on one blade.

I rotated the scissor blade tip and made a small hole. But it was too small to thread through a piece of white ribbon. I rotated some more and made a larger hole.

I had a long enough piece of ribbon to thread through a hole on both sides of the hat. That used up extra ribbon. And cut across above the brim below the dome.

I needed two holes on both sides of the hat, total four. Easily done, having made the first two.

 I cut the ribbon dead centre. In fact, to make a bow, you need one piece of ribbon slightly longer.

I threaded both piece of the ribbon through the back hole on each side. tied a knot inside the hat.

The other piece of ribbon went a short way around the point where the brim meets the dome of the hat. I considered cutting the ends of the ribbon either diagonally or with a serrated pinking sheers designed for fabric. I have the concentional A and V shape type. Also one with a series of smal arches.

The hat did not sit totally securely. But it did stay on my head with an occasional grab of the hand. Job done. I was very pleased with the result. Now I can secure any other hat which has no ribbon and might fly off. So can you!

 My hat has a base which feels like plastic, covered with a synthetic dyed second layer. You may have to act differently with a different kind of hat. For example, by using glue instead of making a hole. But at least you now know that you have an option to add ribbons to some hats.

Please share links to your favourite posts.