Strawberries and Cream

Rachel Dunn

England

HATalk Issue 96: Make a Silk Strawberry with Bailey Tomlin

Having seen the silk strawberry tutorial with Bailey Tomlin I decided to create ‘Strawberries and Cream’ with a Devon cream tea in mind.

Firstly, I blocked a cream and ivory buntal mat to create a boater style hat. I believe this style replicates a traditional English garden party. This buntal mat was also the perfect colour to reflect cream and the soft floaty veiling helps to show that strawberries are mixed into the delicious cream.

The strawberries were created using Bridget baileys silk strawberry tutorial in issue 96. I have adapted these slightly by using green fabric instead of felt to produce the green leaves. The red silk that I used for the strawberries had a light spotted design, which I liked and thought it helped to give texture to the fruit. This fabric came from a second hand shirt that I bought on eBay. I like that I have been able to use recycled materials. The pips on the strawberries have been created using small stitches in yellow cotton.

Around the base of the crown I used ivory silk abaca, which helps to add a more luxurious feel to the hat.

An ivory Petersham ribbon has been added to the inside and elastic has been used to secure the hat.

• Buntal mat
• Millinery wire
• Silk abaca
• Straw stiffener
• Veiling
• Large beads
• Small beads
• Masking tape
• Red silk from a second hand shirt
• Green silk
• Red cotton
• Yellow cotton
• Cream cotton
• Ivory cotton
• Elastic

• Hand blocked the buntal mat
• Using a brim block & crown block
• Millinery wire was hand sewn around brim for stability & the ending was folded underneath
• Elastic was added
• Petersham ribbon was added for the hat band
• Silk abaca was sewn around base of the crown
• Veiling was stitched on 3/4 of brim
• The strawberries were created by joining small and large beads together and then covered with the red silk
• Yellow cotton was stitched onto the strawberries
• The green leaves were cut out, put into PVA to give stability and added to the top