MAKE YOUR OWN HATS 
 
 
wire crown and sewed in the same way. After re- 
moving it from the wire frame, it can be slightly 
pressed by holding it over a thick cloth held in the 
hand and pressing a warm iron to the outside. A 
soft hat of braid can more easily be made by first 
making a frame of crinoline and sewing the braid 
to it. Horsehair braid crowns are beautiful when 
shaped over a wire foundation. They may be 
pressed slightly (after being removed from the 
wire crown over which they have been shaped) 
when they will be found to keep their shape. The 
brim would need a wire foundation to hold it out 
in shape and the braid should be caught down to 
the wire as it is being sewed. A small lace wire 
should be used for this foundation, four spokes 
together with the lieadsize wire and edge wire be- 
ing sufficient. The wire should be wound with ma- 
line or have a facing of maline. Horsehair braid 
is transparent. There are many fanciful ways of 
using braid on a hat, but these can be readily copied 
if the foregoing methods have been mastered. Be 
very careful about pressing braids or adding mois- 
ture as it ruins some braids, while others must be 
moistened before they can be handled in sewing to 
a hat frame. 
 
 
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