Mourning Millinery

Hats worn when one is in mourning are nearly always small and made of black crêpe with a few folds of white crêpe near the face. The covering of crêpe is always lined, preferably with sheet wadding to give the soft appearance desired. The trimming is of milliner's folds or flat flowers made of the crêpe. The mourning veils used may have a simple wide hem sewed down by hand or an applied hem. The applied hem is much the handsomer finish.

Applied hem on a veil—

For a hem three inches wide, cut a strip six inches in width and long enough to reach around the edge of the veil plus three inches for each corner. It takes that much extra length to mitre a corner of a rectangular veil.

Fold this strip lengthwise in the middle and baste with fine running stitches one inch from the fold to hold the fold flat. Measure this strip at the edge of the veil to locate the place where the fold must be mitred at the corners. Cut a V-shaped piece from this fold to within one-quarter of an inch of the fold. Cut through both thicknesses. Sew these raw edges together in a seam one-quarter of an inch deep and the result will be a mitred corner. Each corner should be carefully planned and mitred before sewing to the veil. Next turn both raw edges down toward the inside one-quarter of an inch and baste separately. Slip the edge of the veil between, pin carefully in place, baste and slipstitch the edges to the veil. Both edges may be stitched at the same time. If this work is carefully done, the result more than repays the time spent upon it.

The veil is a very important part of the hat and may be adjusted in any becoming way. It may form part of the covering of the hat, and is then arranged in becoming folds toward the back and allowed to fall to any desired length. It makes a becoming background for the face. Mourning millinery is not used as much as formerly, but those who desire to adhere to the custom will find the style little changed.