Hat blown off in a cloud of smoke

A line from the song Flash Bang Wallop in the early-1960s musical Half a Sixpence, starring Tommy Steele - referring to the kind of old-fashioned flash photography used with a large studio camera on legs, that involved igniting powder to bathe the posing subject or subjects in bright light. This was before flashbulbs were invented, and long decades before electronic flash was available. I imagine it was easy to overdo the powder charge, with explosive effect. 

But hats blow off in any breeze too. Last year I bought a nice straw-coloured sunhat, which I instantly took to my heart. But its wide brim was always catching the wind, so that my right arm was forever having to hold it onto my head. This was especially an issue on or near the sea, and it was tedious (and tiring) to keep clamping it into position. It needed to be tied on with some sort of chin cord. 

Now I had a stylish red fedora hat, and faced the same problem. It too needed a chin cord.

I decided to equip both hats with a suitable chin cord or ribbon. But how to fix one on, and what to use? And would I tie it, or use a toggle? Would the chin cord have to be on display all the time? How would it affect the fit of my new red hat in particular? A series of small purchases followed: cream and red ribbons, matching cotton thread, white and black toggles.

The sunhat was a light and airy affair, and I thought a length of cream ribbon would be best, its ends sewn simply onto the lining, with a loop under my chin that could be tightened with a white toggle. I wouldn't be wearing this hat in bad weather, nor fierce winds, so ribbon would be strong enough. I had originally considered having two strands of ribbon hanging down, which I'd tie together in a bow - but it might look oddly old-fashioned, even prissy. So I went with a loop, and that toggle, which I hoped wouldn't mangle the ribbon too much. This was the result.  

The red fedora was a different case. That would be worn in sterner weather, and serious breezes. Ribbon might not be substantial enough, so I put away the length I'd bought for some other purpose. Discussing what to use as a chin cord with a friend, I learned that a shoelace might be a reasonable choice. Well, I had a single thick round-section cotton bootlace for walking boots (I don't know what had happened to the other lace!) that had been awaiting its moment for over twenty years. Maybe thirty years. It was up in my attic, and I found it where I thought it would be. It would be a perfect match with the red felt of the hat. It helped that it was a lace - the reinforced ends could each be very easily pushed through small holes I made in the hat's lining. I then sewed the lace, including its unwanted excess length, into the inner side of the lining, where it would be invisible. I retained this sewn-in excess because my hat fitted more snugly as a result. But I could easily remove it, if the hat ever shrank from too much exposure to rain, and then felt too tight. The lace that was still visible - now a proper chin cord - hung down in a loop, onto which I put a black toggle for tightening the cord under my chin. This was the result.

Hmm! Taken as a sewing job, it looked pretty good. The chin cord made the hat seem even more 'adventurous'. I needed only a bull whip and a revolver to complete the picture! But if I wanted to convert the hat for more formal use, I could simply pop the chin cord and toggle into the hat, put it back on my head, and voila! The well-dressed Woman About Town! Very county, in fact. But on balance, I preferred the Indiana Melford look.

With the chin cord tightened with the toggle, I confirmed that the hat was firmly sat on my head, nor would it fall off if I bent forward. 

I haven't yet tested it in a rough wind, but I am pretty sure that it will pass with flying colours. My right arm is very pleased.

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