Hat Making Project
Edwardian Style Hatpin
Recreate a vintage-inspired, hat-shaped, Edwardian hatpin and decorate it with rhinestones.
Hat Making Project
Edwardian Style Hatpin
Recreate a vintage-inspired, hat-shaped, Edwardian hatpin and decorate it with rhinestones.
Projects / Edwardian Style Hatpin
Project Overview
Making hatpins is an art in itself and this Edwardian style rhinestone-encrusted hatpin is definitely a beauty.
Decorative metal pins which were popular between 1850-1950 as a means of securing a hat to a woman’s hair, hatpins are typically around 6-8 inches long. Antique hatpins can be valuable collectible items and organisations like The American Hatpin Society are a great source of information if you are trying to value an old one.
Although hatpins were designed to be a functional fashion item, they were sometimes used for self-defense by Victorian women. The sharp point could cause so much damage that a 1908 law was passed in America to limit the length of hatpins so that suffragettes couldn’t use them as weapons!
In the Edwardian and Victorian eras, hatpins were often ornately decorated with beads and jewels. An antique family heirloom inspired American costume expert Lynn McMasters of Out of a Portrait to create this step-by-step hatpin tutorial.
“This wonderful Edwardian hatpin belonged to my husband’s Grandmother,” says Lynn. “She was born in 1901. At first I did not notice that it was made in the shape of a hat. Once I did, making a hat shaped hatpin to go with some of the Edwardian hats that I have been creating became a priority. Starting from scratch was necessary, because finding a vintage 11” hat pin to alter was not likely.”
Category: Hints and Tips, Trimmings
Get Full Access
HATalk Subscribers – sign in below to view the instructions for this project.
Not a Subscriber yet? Sign up to begin your free trial and get instant access to all of our projects and e-magazines.
What You Need
12” piece of 1.2 – 1.5mm spring steel OR brass rod – Unsharpened rods are available from online hardware stores and craft suppliers. Alternatively, you can get pre-sharpened stainless steel hatpin shanks from Judith M Millinery Supply House.
Wooden pieces to make a hat shaped base – You can use a vintage wooden button form, with the fabric removed, for the brim. These can be bought new from porcelain doll suppliers. For the crown, use the top half of a large wooden bead. Beads similar to the one pictured here can be found on Etsy. You will also need a tiny piece of thin wooden dowelling to fill the hole in the bead. Alternatively, you could sculpt a hat shape from a bakeable polymer clay like Sculpey.
- Drill
- Fine-tipped marker
- Small wood saw
- Cone bead
- Rondelle
- Alligator clip
- 1.5” stamped brass medallion
- Stick pin bottom clutch rubber stopper – Available from jewellery making stores.
- 1 yard of 2mm rhinestone trim, silver tone
- 5” of 4mm rhinestone trim, gold tone
- Craft scissors
- Wirecutter
- 3 pieces of wet or dry sandpaper: 150-grit,180-grit and 400-grit
- E6000 Craft Adhesive
- Beacon’s Fabri-Tac Glue
Project Overview
Making hatpins is an art in itself and this Edwardian style rhinestone-encrusted hatpin is definitely a beauty.
Decorative metal pins which were popular between 1850-1950 as a means of securing a hat to a woman’s hair, hatpins are typically around 6-8 inches long. Antique hatpins can be valuable collectible items and organisations like The American Hatpin Society are a great source of information if you are trying to value an old one.
Although hatpins were designed to be a functional fashion item, they were sometimes used for self-defense by Victorian women. The sharp point could cause so much damage that a 1908 law was passed in America to limit the length of hatpins so that suffragettes couldn’t use them as weapons!
In the Edwardian and Victorian eras, hatpins were often ornately decorated with beads and jewels. An antique family heirloom inspired American costume expert Lynn McMasters of Out of a Portrait to create this step-by-step hatpin tutorial.
“This wonderful Edwardian hatpin belonged to my husband’s Grandmother,” says Lynn. “She was born in 1901. At first I did not notice that it was made in the shape of a hat. Once I did, making a hat shaped hatpin to go with some of the Edwardian hats that I have been creating became a priority. Starting from scratch was necessary, because finding a vintage 11” hat pin to alter was not likely.”
Category: Hints and Tips, Trimmings
What You Need
12” piece of 1.2 – 1.5mm spring steel OR brass rod – Unsharpened rods are available from online hardware stores and craft suppliers. Alternatively, you can get pre-sharpened stainless steel hatpin shanks from Judith M Millinery Supply House.
Wooden pieces to make a hat shaped base – You can use a vintage wooden button form, with the fabric removed, for the brim. These can be bought new from porcelain doll suppliers. For the crown, use the top half of a large wooden bead. Beads similar to the one pictured here can be found on Etsy. You will also need a tiny piece of thin wooden dowelling to fill the hole in the bead. Alternatively, you could sculpt a hat shape from a bakeable polymer clay like Sculpey.
- Drill
- Fine-tipped marker
- Small wood saw
- Cone bead
- Rondelle
- Alligator clip
- 1.5” stamped brass medallion
- Stick pin bottom clutch rubber stopper – Available from jewellery making stores.
- 1 yard of 2mm rhinestone trim, silver tone
- 5” of 4mm rhinestone trim, gold tone
- Craft scissors
- Wirecutter
- 3 pieces of wet or dry sandpaper: 150-grit,180-grit and 400-grit
- E6000 Craft Adhesive
- Beacon’s Fabri-Tac Glue
Get Full Access
HATalk Subscribers – sign in below to view the full instructions for this project.
Not a Subscriber yet? Sign up to begin your free trial and get instant access to all of our hat making projects and e-magazines.
