During one of our recent experiments with hat shapes, I was playing with ‘petal’ hats (hats constructed by sewing together multiple copies of the same shape). I tried several different options, then decided to try gathering one edge of each petal.
The mockup was delightful. The gathers added an extra dimension of interest, and the hat overall had a lot of character and wearing options. We decided to use a burgundy cotton sateen — but first we threw it in a black dyebath to make it a smidge darker.
Next, we decided to add one petal in a contrasting color. We had just enough lovely beige sateen in our stash! The dark beige and burgundy look fabulous together. Then we tied a snippet of burgundy and black ribbon into our signature bow and stitched it firmly into place.
Finally, we built a pompom. Because, after all, what good is a charming petal hat without a pompom? And besides, even supposing we could find a pompom the right size and color of burgundy, we knew we wanted to tie in the black and beige, too. So we picked four different colors of embroidery floss (black, beige, garnet, and dark burgundy) and set to work!
The result? A little hat that’s got a lot of character — and that’s Anything But Ordinary!
Melody Valerie Couture 
This is a very charming hat! It has the immense character any doll would want to flaunt, but the right amount of sophistication that Melody Valerie Couture is known for to tie everything together! The pom-pom here is JUST the right mixture of every colour, that it’s, pardon the pun, MADE for this hat! It’s overall adorable, and not a smidge short of the fantastic quality I think of when I think of your designs! 🙂