I was invited to a Kentucky Derby party last minute. It was Friday afternoon and the party was the next day at 2 p.m. First time I attended a KD party was many years ago at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and I was amazed at how creative and beautiful the outfits (for both men and women), were, however, the hats, were something else.
We had dinner plans on Friday, but before dinner, I went over to Macy’s to search for the perfect hat. Not only did I not like the hats, which seemed to look very similar, but they did not exude the creativity I admired all those years back.
I knew I didn’t have much time on Saturday morning, so during dinner, I started mentally scoping my hat collection for a hat I already owned that I could turn into something special. I chose a black and white stripped beach hat I’d had for years and never used. Then I picked a black and white polka dots sundress from my closet.
I rose early to check out videos and photos online on how to create the perfect hat. Once I settled on a design, I drove to Hobby Lobby to purchase what I needed.
I wanted my design to feature black and red feathers, I red rose to compliment the black and white stripes and polka dots on the dress and hat.
I purchased an array of feathers, a large vintage red rose, green leaves and a white calla lily to break up the red and black a bit. Then I took out my handy glue gun…
I printed an Instagram picture for inspiration, one that had the design, colors, and textures I was aiming for. I pinned the design on the hat and took a photo of it to use when hot gluing each piece.
I then took it apart and started hot gluing according to the design I had created. I cut stems to size, again following the model picture and started playing around with the arrangement. I took lots of moving around, cutting, fitting and resizing by the time I was satisfied with a design.
Once everything was glued into place, I let it sit while I got ready for the party which was about two hours later.
It took approximately an hour to complete the job and my had was rated second best at the party! I was quite proud of myself! This has inspired me to make more hats in the future for friends, family, or whoever is interested.
I also hope this blog post inspires you to design your own hat, whether for the Kentucky Derby or some other special activity. I guarantee you’ll have a blast creating it, and no one will have a hat like yours!