Continuing work on the Steampunk Holiday ensemble.  The fridge hat form worked well -- I took the lid out to let it dry completely, covering the spinach bowl with foil in the meantime.

Since I couldn't put a rubber band around it to hold it tight, the buckram did buckle in a few small places.  I added more water to those places to smooth them down and then sprayed with Aleene's Stiffen Quik to reinforce the hold.  It worked for the most part, but there were still a couple of raised areas.  Nothing to worry about in the long run.

While researching hats and fascinators, I ran across this book called Hat Shop from the library.  It has a lovely linen fascinator that is roughly the idea of what I want.

I copied the pattern and taped the paper into a quick mockup. I tried it on and removed quite a bit of material around the edges.

Using a tracing pen (with disappearing ink), I traced the pattern onto the buckram.

I cut out the pattern.  It doesn't have a lot of curve to it, but it's just enough for what I need.

I added a strip of buckram cut on the diagonal to finish the outer edge.  I folded the strip in half and applied it to the edge, pinning it in place.

I wet the edging enough to smooth it out but was careful not to wet the main body.

I removed the pins just before it was dry completely.  It's not perfect, but it's a good base.

I added a quick basting stitch to hold the binding more securely.

I then attached the millinery wire to the outer edges.

I use curved quilting needles for hat making.

Why green thread?  No reason - I have a lot of it.  :]  This is rather fiddly to work with, so my stitches are all over the place.  For this part of assembly, it doesn't matter as long as the wire remains secured.

I lapped the wire along the side instead of at the tip.  Binding the wire ends at the tip wouldn't be as secure or uniform.

The hat form can now be manipulated into shape more easily with the wiring added.  Next up, covering the form with velvet.