Getting closer

More work on the straw hat bike helmet! 

I suddenly realized that my arbitrary deadline is drawing near. I had the idea that it would be part of my Shakespeare in the Park picnic outfit, and our tickets are for next week! This is why I need arbitrary deadlines, I guess.

Somehow I never took a photo of the shiny straw capeline I bought from Petersham but it looked exactly like their photo on Etsy:

Shiny Straw Capeline from Petersham’s

I’m sure they won’t mind me borrowing it, since I’m linking back to them (and you should buy one!)

Yesterday, I finally got around to shaping. Lots of steam from my kettle (I steamed the outside, then the inside, then just took the lid off the kettle and plopped the capeline on top), and I got this:

Partially shaped Capeline

It took a lot of work to make it fit around the helmet! I used pushpins (carefully pushed between the strands of straw, not through them) to hold in in place while shaping.

Next, I moved it all to the ironing board, to flatten out the brim, and get a crisp edge where brim meets crown, and heavily steamed the top and shaped it by hand to look more “hat-like” instead of just wonky. I weighted it with what was handy while it was cooling and drying:

Shaped!

Next will be applying a band and stitching in the lining. I’m a bit worried about the pull of the elastic causing problems with the straw. Maybe it needs a permanent hat stand when not in use? Hmmm...

Getting excited!

I have been dreaming of this project for a while and I am finally making it happen!

Years ago, I bought a Yakkay helmet from my local bike shop for a fantastic deal (70% off). It comes with a replaceable cloth cover, and looks like a cool hat rather than a dorky helmet. This thing became part of my identity, and I wore it for +/- 15 years. 

You're supposed to replace a helmet every three years. Oops.

Anyway it was time to replace it, and obviously I wanted another Yakkay. 

Trying to find a place to buy one (I'm in Canada, they're from Denmark) I found this gorgeous straw cover and fell in love! But €119 + shipping + customs/duties + the actual helmet is far out of my price range. 

So I didn't get it. But I didn't give up.

I got a helmet with a different cover (the Tokyo black rain cover) from Green Street, a bike shop in Peterborough (not exactly local, but as local as I could get).

 Next was searching for millinery suppliers that had what I needed at a price I could handle with reasonable shipping costs. Found what I was looking for at the Petersham's Etsy store. I think it was $14 for the capeline and another $14 for the shipping. 

Then I had to figure out the engineering required to keep the cover on the helmet. The cover has a sturdy band attached to wide elastic and a mesh liner. I got a yard of mesh for $10 at a local fabric store, and had wide black elastic and nylon webbing in my stash from previous projects (snowpants and a Hallowe'en costume).

I drafted a pattern from the existing covers, which was quite tricky, because what keeps it all together is tension. Fit has to be perfect, and the helmet is hard and slippery, so not like a dressform where you can drape and pin. I started with wide seam allowance and adjusted down as necessary, and it was necessary multiple times, because it seemed pretty good until I added the band, and then it seemed pretty good until I added the elastic. 

Anyway I am finally happy with the base! It stays on! 

Next step: shaping the straw capeline with steam, and figure out how to attach to the liner...

So far I've spent about $45 on the cover - not exactly cheap, but a lot less than €119!