And the individual who wanted this item? A young man slated to start the seventh grade this Fall. A talented and creative mind, no doubt, this little guy has no idea how much I appreciate getting projects like this.
Here are the sketches I was provided:
I was nervous about sourcing a boy's top hat at first, until I noticed that this kid is a size 7 & 3/8 which is a full-grown adult sized head. Must be all those big thoughts he's having. I ordered the proper topper (I have yet to possess the facilities or training to make a top hat from scratch, which is why I hesitate to call myself a "milliner") and went about fitting a squirrel form into the proper position. Here it is, broken into several pieces and pinned into place:
After getting the placement and angles of the bits and bobs all sorted out, I secured with glue, pins, wire, and slim wedges of foam inserted into gaps for reinforcement. After that comes the clay to smooth things out. I then had to determine the contact points at which the squirrel would meet the hat and anchor some wires at those spots:
Maneuvering the skin over this form, wires and all, proved a challenge but in the end came out just peaches. Here are shots of the finished product:
I recreated the sketch to the best of my ability; due to the squirrel's size it does occupy a tad more real estate on the hat itself but I think that's OK.
I'm actually quite proud of this red ribbon- I made that bow myself!
Also, this squirrel was a female! Almost all the squirrels I have ever skinned were male; I just assumed they were the ones being brazen enough to get hit/killed/shot/etc. I forget how this one perished; I think it was a fall from a tree or something but I almost wonder if she got shocked on an electric line because a teeny patch of her skin was bare of fur and the area surrounding is was slightly discolored.
And that's hat!
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