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While shopping for various craft supplies, Anna came across these plain straw hats.
They would make marvelous bonnets once properly embellished, except for one problem. They are too small.
When I tried one on, it looked ridiculously tiny and they were too small for Yuna and Sakura as well.
What does one do with too small doll headwear? Anna had a idea.
Make bonnets, or more specifically half bonnets.
I came across a tutorial for them years ago on a Lolita fashion blog. They took a child size straw hat and made it into a pretty half bonnet. I thought, “why not make one for a ball jointed doll?”
It was easier than I expected and really fun. Enough to want to make a quick tutorial for these pretty little doll hats.
Straw Half Bonnets for Dolls Tutorial
Material needed:
I bought my hats from Bookman’s, but most craft stores sell tiny straw hats that will work. These hats from Hobby Lobby and these from Michael’s should work nicely.
My hats I used already had a bonnet-y shape which made it easy to use, but a regular plain straw hat is fine. That’s what they used in the original non-doll tutorial.
First you need to cut the hat straight down (or is it up?) at the the back and cut off the top part of the hat.
Trim a bit around the cut edges, adjusting it to fit nicely on your doll. It should fit much like a large headband or sun visor.
When finished cutting, it’s time to cover the edges. I used thin double fold bias tape, but ribbon can work too especially if you fold and iron it first, carefully though.
Anyway, carefully glue and cover the edges with the tape. I glued first on the inside side of the hat and then on the outer side.
Now the basic half bonnet is done.
It is ready for decorating. Ribbons, bows, flowerer, oh my!
Here are the three I made.
I glued on ribbons to tie on the bonnet, and small flowers and bows to cover the ends of the ribbon and make the bonnets pretty.
On the inside, I glued on wide ruffled lace along the edge. This frames the doll’s face nicely.
I hope these instructions were easy to understand and helpful. Enjoy!
End of tutorial.
As Anna stated, the lace does frame the face nicely. Doesn’t the bonnet look lovely on Yuna?
Of course it would have looked wonderful on me too, except Anna carelessly made this particular bonnet too small for me.
And I made two other bonnets that fit you just fine, so what’s the problem?
“..Miss Hikaru, that hat looks pretty on you too…”
Why thank you Yuna dear, and it’s called a bonnet.
Half bonnet, Hikaru.
Anyway, we shall greatly enjoy our fine new headwear. And I do wish that everyone found Anna’s little guide most helpful.
Be at peace my dear readers.
Totally sweet, and easy fix. It's a shame so many sources are hard to find to make your own doll items. Love this, will try and make some myself.
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