Kat the hat lady Millinery by Kat Hazelton

Here are a collection of my tutorials written for Dolls House and Miniature Scene.
I hope you all have fun reading and having a go at making your own miniatures. Please note these tutorials are covered by copyright and are for personal use only.


Brief History
In the 18th century wigs and hair pieces were very popular with the upper classes across most of Europe. During the 1770's rich ladies' hairstyles were built up to huge proportions, sometimes to three feet in height, and these where known as the pouf.
These huge hair creations were constructed on the lady's head using wire. The wire was covered with the wearers real hair. Then to add more height, extra human hair was added usually taken from the poor, who sold their hair to make some money. When human hair was unavailable or too expensive to buy, goats, yak or horse hair was used instead!
The wig took hours to create, the shaping and styling was helped by the addition of pomade, a greasy substance used to style hair and to help the hair powder to adhere to the wig. Hair powder came in a variety of colours including violet, blue, pink, white and grey, and was perfumed. It helped to disguise the differing colours of hair used, and kept the wig fresher longer. Ladies often wore their wigs for over a week before they were removed to be washed and restyled into the next latest fashion trend.
Some really rich ladies decorated their hair with birds, stuffed animals, pearls, flowers and plumage such as ostrich feathers. In history, Queen Marie Antionette of France once wore a model of a French frigate on top of her hair following a naval battle in 1778 with the British.
These outrageous wigs were only popular for a very short time. The French Revolution, the execution of Queen Marie Antionette and the 1795 tax of hair power all lead to the pouf wig loosing its appeal. Towards the end of the 18th century, elaborate hats started to replace the wigs, and soft natural hairstyles because more popular with mob caps and shepherdess style straw hats.

Materials Required to Make a Pouf Wig

• 1/12th scale doll or mannequin head
• Small piece of white leather 60 mm square
• 1 Polystyrene ball 70 mm diameter
• 1 small packet of white viscose doll hair
• 1 small packet of grey viscose doll hair
• White or grey cotton thread
• Metal knitting needles sizes 3 & 5 approx.
• Cling Film
• Tacky Glue
• Paint Brush
• Bowl of warm water
• Sharp scissors
• Selection of tiny elastic bands
• Assorted trims, beads, ribbons, feathers etc

Step 1

• Cover the doll head with clingfilm
• Cover the clingfilmed head with leather, suede side outwards.
• Pull the leather really tight and secure with an elastic band round the neck.
• Smooth out as many wrinkes as possible.

An easy dolls house project to make miniature ladies hats from cardboard and string. Kat has used hemp twine for these hats, a fantastic thread used in macrame, jewellery making and primitive craft. It is available in a wide variety of colours and thicknesses, and ideal for creating a great imitation 1/12th scale miniature straw hat. Cards and balls of this twine are readily available through most craft shops, and you can often get a ball of natural hemp at garden centres. Kat recommends using 1mm thickness for these hats.
MATERIALS REQUIRED

• A4 sheet of thin white card
• Scissors
• Ball of hemp twine, natural or coloured
• Tacky Glue
• Cocktail Stick

Step 1

• Cut a length of card 5/8" x 3".
• Gently bend the card around your finger/thumb to form a circle with about a 3/8" overlap.
• With a cocktail stick, apply glue to the overlap and leave to dry.

Step 2

• Cut a rough square slightly larger than the circular crown
• Run a bead of glue around one end of the crown and glue to the square
• Leave to dry, once dry, neatly cut around the edges.

Step 3

• Run a line of glue around the bottom edge of the crown, and glue on the hemp twine, rotating and pressing down as you go.
• Repeat, adding more glue, rotating and pressing until you reach the top.
• Next apply glue to the entire top, and continue spiraling until you reach the centre.
• Cut the twine and glue down the cut end.

Step 4

• Cut a circle with a 2" diameter from the card.
• Cut out a 3/4" circle from the middle of the brim
• As before, use glue to cover the card with twine until you reach the centre.
• Glue down the end. Trim the outer edges so that the card doesn't show. Leave to dry.
• Repeat with the underside of the brim.

Step 5

• Glue the crown to the brim & leave to dry.
• The hat is now ready to decorate.

This project was first published in Dolls House & Miniature Scene magazine. For more beginners projects why not order yourself a copy of the magazine, or better still, why not take out a subscription so that you never miss an issue.
Please take a moment once you've finished your hats to check out the beginners project to make flowers, leaves and feather trimmings for your miniature dolls house hats.


There is a wide range of wonderful trimmings available through various miniature suppliers, fairs and craft shops. You can buy tiny braids, patterned ribbons, silk and the prittiest of laces. You can buy readmade flowers too, but a great way is to create your own flowers from polymer clay and paper.
HOW TO CREATE PAPER FLOWERS
MATERIALS REQUIRED

• Coloured paper or thin card
• A small flower shaped punch
• Tiny flat-backed crystals approximately 3mm in diameter
• Tacky Glue
• Cocktail stick

1. Use a paper punch to cut out the flower shapes

2. Add a tiny dot of glue in the centre of each flower shape with a cocktail stick & glue a little crysal into the middle and leave to dry.

4. Alternatively paint a small dot of yellow paint in the centre to create a more natural looking flower

HOW TO CREATE POLYMER CLAY ROSES
MATERIALS REQUIRED

• Small pack of white/cream clay
• Tile or glass tray to work on
• Polymer clay rolling pin (optional)
• Selection of acrylic paints
• Paint brush

1. Roll out a circular shape of clay about 8mm in diameter.
2. Hold between your thumb and finger and pinch the bottom to create a circular rosebud shape
3. Roll out circular shapes about 5mm in diameter to make the petals.
4. Press to the side of the rosebud slightly pinching at the bottom.
5. Repeat rotating around the rosebud with about 6 or 7 petals.

6. Make as many as you need before baking as per the instructions on the packet of clay.
7. Once the roses are cool, paint with acrylic paint.
8. When dry, trim the stems to make them easier to glue to the hats.

Coloured clay can always be used instead of white, saves on painting, and uses up small amounts of left over clay.

LEAVES FOR MINIATURE HATS
MATERIALS REQUIRED

• Sheet of white A4 card painted green (or green card)
• Small leaf shaped punch
• Large sewing needle
• Aquatic plastic plants (optional)

1. Cut tiny leaves from various plastic plants like the ones in the photo.
2. Use the paper punch to cut out leaf shapes from the green card.
3. Use the large sewing needle to create veins and give shape to the leaves.

• A slection of coloured turkey feathers with flat ends
• Pair of blunt scissors

1. Feather Plumes - Select a feather and cut off the part where it turns from flat to fluffy.
2. Run the blade of the scissors along the back of the feather. Repeat several times until you have the desired curls.

3. Fluffy Feathers - Tip out all your feathers onto a tray and search for any that have a tiny fluffy feather at the bottom of the quill. If so, gently pull this off.
4. Snip the top off the fluffy feather too so you have two tiny fluffy feathers for your hat making.

5. Feather Curls - Select a feather and using scissors snip off the top.
6. Run the blade of the scissors along the back of the feather to create a curl. Repeat until you have the desired look.

To make the hats themselves please see the separate beginners project now available on our website.


LEATHER WIZARD'S HAT
You will need: PATTERN PIECE, SCRAP OF SOFT LEATHER, OLD PAINT BRUSH or WOODEN STICK, SHARP SCISSORS, TACKY GLUE, FLUFFY TRIM, CHARMS ETC TO DECORATE THE HAT.
Step 1

• Cut out the leather using the pattern below. Just in case you can't get the exact size of the pattern from this picture, the measurements are 2-1/14" from point to base, and also 2-1/4" wide from side to side at the widest part.

• Fold round so the ends meet and glue together into a cone shape, leave to dry.

• Run a line of glue around the bottom and glue on the fluffy trimming.

Step 2

• Dip the old paint brush or stick into tacky glue and line the inside of the top of the hat.
• With your fingers, gently crumple the hat until you are happy with the crumpled old hat shape.

Step 3

• Add some finishing touches.
• Gold charms on the fur trim, sequins, crystals or beads. The second photo shows different variations.

CREATING A WIZARD'S OR WITCH'S BROOM
You will need: BAMBOO KEBAB STICK, TACKY GLUE, BROWN FLORISTS TAPE, SECATEURS or WOOD CLIPPERS, OLD SCISSORS, COTTON THREAD, THATCHING MATERIAL.

• Cut the bamboo kebab stick in half and remove the point. You will have two slightly different sized sticks, perfect for making 2 brooms.

• Wind the brown florist's tape down the stick, completely covering the stick and both ends.

• Cut a piece of the coconut fibre thatching material about 3" long by about 1/2" diameter.
• Dip about 1/4" or 1 cm of the handle into tacky glue.
• Lay the handle on the bristles and gently bring the bristles around the handle.
• Use cotton thread to wind around the bristles 10 times before knotting and trimming.

• Carefully remove the existing cover from the book.
• Lay this cover onto a piece of leather and cut around.
• Glue the new leather cover to the blank book and leave to dry.

Step 2

• Neatly trim the leather around the book.
• Apply gold marker pen to the edges of the pages, leave to dry.
• Mark the book spines with the gold marker pen too.
• To age the books, fan the corners with your fingers.

CRYSTAL BALL
You will need: 2 METAL FILIGREE BEAD CAPS, PRETTY MARBLE, TACKY GLUE

• Glue the two metal filigree bead caps back to back, so you glue the rounded sides together. Leave to dry.
• Place your marble on the stand.
• Try using different bead caps and sizes of marble to create different looks.

• Cut the stick in half - this will make two wands.
• Paint with slightly watered down brown acrylic paint.
• Slide on your chosen beads, glue in place and leave to dry.

If you have enjoyed reading this project and making some of the items, why not treat yourself to a copy of the magazine for lots more DIY miniature projects. Or better still, why not take out a subscription so you never miss an issue.