New Hat Stands

I debated which blog to put this in, as it is both crafty and millinery. Since I have greatly neglected this blog, crafty wins.

With the upcoming event that will transform a nineteenth century insurance office into a lively millinery, new bonnet stands are much needed. I lucked upon two very tall ones at a yardsale.

Then, Gail gave me this table, with turned spindle legs:

Some pounding, walking and a hacksaw later, I had this pile of spindles:

Add wood plaques for the bases and tops. You’ll notice I decided to grab the short center spindle as well. It makes for a rather cute hat stand.

Ah, paint. After staring at the small bottles of craft paint at JoAnn’s and just not being happy with the milk paint colors, it was off to our local, right around the corner hardware store. I really should have started there. They mixed me a lovely”French Blue”. I love this color.

Here is the first coat:

It took me a stand to realize I didn’t like the look of up and down brush strokes. They just look wrong on turned spindles. Back and forth looked much better:

Here is the second coat. Love this color:

The tops got a layer of batting. I was going to use an assortment of silks. But, I worried about taking away from the stand or bonnet. Then, I remembered the silk velvet I just picked up. Soft, smooth.jusr right.