Reflection of the Hat

Reflection on the hat.

Over all I am quite pleased with the over all appearance of the hat. It is quite lively and bold which fits with the March Hares characteristics well. It can also become a key attractive feature that children can spot throughout the day, especially during character meet and greets. Adding the swiss rolls has defiantly added another textural element to the hat and becomes a key decorative piece. It draws the eye away slightly from the centre of the hat where originally the main focus is and allows the rest of the head piece to gain attention. Originally the cups took quite some time to do as I was having to adjust each of the patterns to make them unique, however once they were in the tower position each looks  quite authentic. If I were to do this again I would endeavour to speed up the crochet process and add the ribbon to the hat first instead of the cups. Where I was worried the cups wouldn't stay upright when I was glueing the ribbon down, it took two attempts to make sure it laid flat.  The ears were tricky at first to piece together as I had to make sure the milk bottle was completely covered by the fur, making sure there was no sharp edges.  Originally I wanted to hand sew the fur and felt onto the ears base, however after some experimentation I found using a hot glue gun fused the pieces together more thoroughly and allowed no gaps to be shown. The fur also stuck well to the milk bottle using the glue, so I know on the day the ears will not fall apart.

Cup by cup its complete

Today the March Hare hat got all the crochet elements finished and I must say I am rather happy with the result. The third cup was made by following the first four rows of the small sample cup and then seven rows of single stitch crochet in each loop.  Like the other two I have decorated the cup with blue ribbon but varied the design so that each is unique. Each of the tea cups balance on top of each other well, however I shall have to monitor this and see if a central wire is needed to help stabilise. The green ribbon is slightly chunkier than the original black ribbon and helps tie together the outfit. It also draws your attention to the hat, creating a focus. The hat will need a chin strap as the actress shall be bouncing around the field, this can be measured and placed at the next fitting. All that is left to do is add some buttons around the ribbon once Elizabeth has found some that she feels ties in well with the hat and make the ears which shall sit either side of the hat. The ears shall be added once we have scrap material left over from the fake fur breeches. These shall then be made with a milk bottle for support and felt covering to hide any jagged edges.  

Work Plan for Week 8

Week 8	Learning	Personal Development
Monday 25th February	March Hare Hat	Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Tuesday  26th February	March Hare Hat Jane Law Lecture	Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Wednesday 27th February	March Hare Hat Tutorial	Write personal blog Disability Mentoring Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Thursday 28th February	March Hare Hat	Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Friday 1st March	March Hare Hat	Workshop
Saturday 2nd  / Sunday 3rd  March	Add buttons to March Hare costume   Attach tea cup and ribbon to boater hat	Source Top Fabrics Write personal blog

Lesson Plan

As I am not allowed to share lesson plans outside of the teaching staff group, I have decided to make up a basic lesson plan which could be used outside of teaching classes.

Title of lesson: Swiss Rolls
Purpose This class shall teach the basics of knitting and converting the knitted squares into Swiss rolls
Learning outcome(s) Basic garter stich and converting garter stitch squares into swiss rolls
Bridge-in Working in teams  to create a plate of swiss rolls
Pre-test check squares and place teams in accordance of level skill set
Input from you Supply examples of squares and swiss rolls Supply guidance on how to make these through written and vocal instructions	Guided practice Lead through making the swiss rolls, however students must create these themselfs
Closure  Recall on how these were made and supply juice to go with the swiss rolls as a tea set up
Other Notes Must take into account age/ ability/ able or disabled students. Adjust lesson to accommodate.

Tea cups tea cups everywhere, just not a drop of tea to drink

After sitting down with Elizabeth we came to the conclusion that if we kept all the tea cups white, it would not over power the ears which will be made at a later stage. Using the practice tea cups as a pattern, I have built up a second tea cup based around the smallest sample I originally made.  The difference between the bottom and middle cups is that there won't be a lip on the the middle. This is due to the fact the top tea cup shall be balanced on the central area of the balanced cups. This is to keep the cups at a slight slant but not too much that it would tug on the stitches. Adding a lip would be detrimental to the cup and become out of place, becoming more a frill than a stabiliser. I have also added some of the swiss rolls to the hat in direction with Elizabeths design, originally we were going to add a spoon, however it weighs down the hat quite a lot. We have found that adding the swiss rolls has helped add a decorative element to the rim of the hat which before hand looked quite bare and out of place. 

Once the saucer was flattened by the iron it  turned into a decorative doily. This fits much better with the general appearance of the hat, as beforehand it looked quite rough and scruffy, the piece also buckled under the cups as it was being held up by flexible wire. Now flattened, it looks like lace which adds a new texture to the hat. To finish this hat I shall need to make one more smaller tea cup to go onto of the central cup to complete the top of the hat and also add the green ribbon around the hat where the black is now. This is to pull together the outfit as the waistcoat has green fringing around the edge.

Tea for change

Over the past few days I have been making the tea cup which will adorn the march hares hat. Following partially the pattern from the small tea cup I followed rows 1-12, after this I switched to the large tea cup pattern to create the lip for the cup. The lip shall make the cup more stable and allow for biscuits and cakes to be balanced and sewn successfully.  The tea was once again worked from a chain of 6 stitches and had two single crochet stitches worked into each chain. I also used the combination of double knit wool and a decorative sparkle string wool to give the tea a combination of textures. once the cup was sewn together, blue 2mm ribbon was woven through the cup in various patterns to mimic the design. One of the key components Elizabeth (the designer) has asked for is that knitted cakes and biscuits may be added to the cup and around the rim of the hat. She has also asked that a doily be made to cover the top of the hat. This was achieved by working in a circle starting with a chain of 6 and then working a double stitch into each chain to increase the size. After 10 rounds I cast off as it fitted the circumference of the hat and ironed flat to make the doily look like it was made of lace. The finalised cup is below.

Tea and saucer before flattening

Once this was made a debate started up as to how many cups the hat should have on it as the character in question is the March Hare who is quite crazy and surreal. After pinning my practice tea cups together and then placing them onto the hat we found that 3 cups tilted at different angles looked quite bizzar and added to the characteristics of the March hare. After speaking to both Elizabeth and Mandy (my lecturer), we came to the conclusion that if three cups of tea were made individually and then sewn together it would create the desired effect of a batty march hare. As well as this, the cups would help stabilise the ears which shall be placed on the rim of each  side of the hat. The new concept shall now include cups of tea which mimic the ones below however all in white with blue ribbon detailing. The extra cups shall take a few extra days to make, however if I change my schedule and delay the white queen dress by a few days (I allowed extra time for this garment) I should be able to finish everything on time.

Proposed hat

The March Hares Hat

The March Hares hat is a major part of the actresses costume as it helps to develop her character as well as acts as a key characteristic which children can relate to. The way Elizabeth has designed the hat means that there is room for interpretation so long I keep the key features of the ears, tea cup and buttons. Her wish is that I run any ideas by her first so she can make sure it keeps to the concept. After my experimentation's and primary research, I have decided to work with a double knit white wool with a 5.0 hook. This will ensure the tea cup doesn't swamp the hat as well as making the structure stays intact. Wadding (4oz) shall be used to stuff the cup before sewing in the tea as this kept the total weight to a minimum. This is essential as the actress will be wearing the hat for the entire event. Further more the ears must weight the same each side of the hat to keep it even. I shall add a chin strap for extra support.

I predict it shall take two days to complete the tea cup and another day on that finish the doily for the base of the hat. The doily shall act as a base for the tea cup and add support to the structure as I can sew the two together and then sew both onto the hat. As the hat is a straw boater hat I shall have to be selective in the amount of stitches I add to it as each puncture mark shall be visible, allowing for no mistakes.

Work Plan for Week 7

Week 7	Learning	Personal Development
Monday 18th February	March Hare Hat	Write personal blog Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Tuesday  19th February	March Hare Hat Guest Lecture	Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Wednesday 20th February	March Hare Hat Tutorial	Write personal blog Disability Mentoring Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Thursday 21st February	March Hare Hat	Work in the arts bar 16.00-21.00
Friday 22nd February	March Hare Hat	Teaching workshop
Saturday 23rd / Sunday 24th February	Sample roses sections (sew onto net)