Gabriel Oak Meets The Mad Hatter

Yes, I am making more costumes...this time for the local First School's Autumn production. It is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, called "Fee Fie Fo Fum". There are two farmers in the cast. This is Dorset so I decided they should be in proper agricultural smocks.
I dug out my Alice Armes book, and made a simple pattern using squares and rectangles. One single fitted sheet made the two smocks.
Authenticity is not essential for a short production - so I skipped doing the actual smocking stitches, and just used a contrast thread and fancy machine stitches. From a distance it looks fine. But what about the hats? I had two straw cowboy stetsons. But they looked more Wild West USA than South West UK

I stacked up some mixing bowls, with an enamel one on top. Then I used a steam iron to flatten the top and sides and make them more rounded. Note the black  oven glove on the stool - it is really important to protect your hands from steam and hot metal when doing millinery! Having steamed them to shape, I trimmed the brims to make them a better shape.

Here are my two smocks and hats ready for the farmers to go a-ploughing. All I need are a couple of bright neckerchiefs and that's two more costumes crossed off the list