Hi Helmar fans, Raelene with you today with another Steampunk prop for my costume I wore to Steampfesta, today I am sharing how I made my little top hat.
I started by making a tube from 3mm foam, I took the A4 sheet of foam and cut one end off at 4 inches. Upon completion I feel this is too high so if you are making it try 3inches. I used some washi to hold my tube together while the Helmar Foam Glue dried, that way I could work on other parts while it dried.
So while it was drying I started work on cutting my base and top. I really should have used my Silhouette as my hands were so wobbly but it was not accessible at the time.
For my bottom I cut a circle and then marked my tube in the middle, I then cut triangles in the inner circle and glued them inside my tube, I mixed my glues up and used 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to glue my bottom in, but that's ok, it worked.
I glued my top into my tube with Helmar Foam Glue and then started covering my hat with some lovely velvet.
I used the Helmar Foam Glue to adhere the fabric to the foam and the Helmar Fabric Glue to adhere fabric to fabric.
As I had cut my fabric with pinking sheers to reduce fraying I turned my edge piece in and glued it to itself with Helmar Fabric Glue.
Now to pretty up the top.
I cut a circle of cereal box cardboard and covered it in the velvet fabric and then adhered it to the top of my hat with Helmar Fabric Glue.
To pretty up my base first I cut a ring of velvet to go over the top and then I cut a circle of cereal box cardboard and covered it with velvet. I wound up covering my hat hole but that is ok as I am adding a headband to the base to help it fit on my head.
To hide the join where the base velvet joins the top and my side seam I grabbed some super wide lace out of my stash and adhered it to my hat with Helmar Fabric Glue, working in sections at a time as I did when covering my tube with velvet.
Now it was time to decorate my hat. As so often is the case when I embellish a project my mistakes informed where things would go, I used my embellishments to hide glue I had gotten in the wrong spot and crooked bits of my hat top.
I adhered some gold trim to my hat rim edge with Helmar Fabric Glue to hide the seam between my foam base and cardboard base.
I grabbed out a selection of flowers, feathers, lace and cogs & gears to work with and used Helmar Fabric Glue to adhere the black lace and lace feather and 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere the black feather, flowers and metal pieces.
I was happy with how my decorations looked now I just needed to add a headband so I could wear it.
I love how my hat turned out. 
