Replies

1. 
   Teaf5 | Oct 18, 2006 11:20pm | #1

   If you type in "Flying Nun Hat" in google, you'll get a halloween costume site that sells a terrific flying nun hat for $16.99. It's beautifully constructed and probably cheaper than you could make one half as effective (and that's coming from an experienced sewer & cheapo costumer!)

   The photo is so clear and well-explained that you might be able to draft your own pattern from it, in case you don't have the time/money to order it.

1. 
   user-51823 | Oct 19, 2006 04:41am | #2

   thanks. i did google, but got nowhere looking for a pattern, and not many good photos either. that's a very tempting price, but i have a rigid rule that with all the fabric i have stashed, i don't allow myself to actually purchase costumes or other rarely needed garments :-)ps- the photo you described for the $16.99 wimple is the same one i saw earlier. i figured the sides are formed by turning the back edge up and folding corners around to front, similar to a fortune cookie. but i still can't figure out how the piece is cut and assembled at the top. i'm obsessing a bit too much about getting it perfect.

   Edited 10/18/2006 10:59 pm ET by msm-s

1. 
   Becky-book | Oct 19, 2006 03:26pm | #3

   About 'obsessed with getting it perfect'  when I did a Google search and looked at the hats for sale none looked like the 'real thing';  look at the DVD of the show for sale at Amazon and see a picture of Sally Fields in The Hat!  Her hat looks like gull wings, turned down at the outer edges not turned up like the ones I saw for sale!

   I would get some 'craft fuse'  the stiffest I could find, fuse it to some white cloth and just try it out on some willing 'head' ; snip and tuck until it looks right.  Or mess around with stiff brown paper until I had a pattern, then cut the white, stiffened cloth.  Sorry I don't have a pattern to share.

   Becky 

1. 
   user-51823 | Oct 19, 2006 04:30pm | #4

   wow- you are right about the gull wings! smart move.
   yes, i was going to use a roll of craft paper to mess with as it has the right body; was just hoping for a pattern.

1. 
   Teaf5 | Oct 20, 2006 02:39am | #5

   Long ago, somewhere, in a dusty research library, I read a very serious historical costume book with a description of the origins of different nun's habits (Rainy day, very bored.)  Nearly all the headgear was based on rectangles and squares, as they were made of linen and starched stiffly and pressed flat until dried, then folded and pinned, buttoned, or tacked into shape. 

   Fascinated by this piece of trivia, that evening, I took a linen napkin and started folding it and holding it onto my head--very entertaining to my hubby!  Sure enough, a pilgrim's hat is just a square; a nun's is a rectangle, and so is a bucket bonnet. 

   Craft paper might be a little too stiff for experiementation; maybe try newsprint.  Or, you could practice with paper dinner napkins or paper toweling on a tennis ball, using tape or straight pins on your prototype. 

   I'm betting that you'll happen upon the authentic design much faster this way than by searching the internet, but I'll keep watching this thread just in case someone else has discovered a pattern somewhere!