A couple of weeks ago we set off out of Edinburgh down past Dalketh towards the Borders, to the impressive Harvieston Hall for another afternoon of fascinator making fun. The hens had opted for our luxury class so we had the car filled to the brim with mountain of wonderful fabrics, ribbons, beads, buttons and brooches for them to choose from. I was helped out by the lovely Rona and we got to work setting up the workshop in the huge living room, complete with enormous open fire to keep us all warm on the chilly November afternoon.
The girls were all very excited about making their pieces and several of them were making their piece to wear to the wedding so had particular colours and styles in mind. With lots of fizz and homemade cakes to fuel them, the 25 hens had fun choosing from all the materials and designs to copy, then set to work making their pieces. There was such a huge range of designs chosen by the girls from some smaller, simple fascinators using soft pastel colours and feathers, to large bold and bright pieces for others who like to wear big statement hats. They all did a great job, with one hen managing to put a lovely design together using peacock feathers and vintage brooches before shooting off to catch a ferry back to home on Bute!
The girls were all such great fun that Rona and I didn’t notice the afternoon slip by and were sad when we had to leave them! We had trouble choosing the “winner” for the prize at the end of the class – there were so many impressive designs (even from those who had said that they couldn’t sew…!) Here are some snaps from the afternoon – thanks to all the ladies for letting us share them. x