A minion hat…or yellow alien hat…?

Minion hat…or a small yellow, goggle wearing alien hat?  Umm..it depends who is asking…’inspired by a minion hat’?

I have just completed a commission for a little boy who particularly wanted a hat inspired by the little yellow aliens that feature in a certain film, that may be popular at the moment. It’s a surprise for Christmas for him and his lovely mummy had sent me a photo of one she had seen on the internet to see if I could make it.

Normally I wont take someone’s work and copy it as I don’t agree with plagiarism and I know that on the one occasion I saw something that I think had obviously been heavily inspired by something I have done I wasn’t flattered, I was actually quite upset. But, the image that I was sent was something that I thought was actually a rather poor interpretation of the actual thing it was supposed to be (a yellow alien, not a licensed image, honest) and that I could add a Ruby and Custard twist and make it a much better looking hat.

I thought the hat interpretation I had been sent looked far to two-dimensional and lacked character. So, my yellow alien hat has sewn on ‘real goggles’ and ‘proper’ denim dungarees, with shoulder straps and buttons. And of course a cheeky little smile and a little bit of hair.

I also used 100% cotton yarn for the hat in ‘nice’ shades of yellow and blue rather than the lurid acrylic that I suspect had been used in the inspiration.  Acrylic yarn is great when mixed with cotton or used for a specialist purpose such as a trim but I don’t think 100% acrylic makes particularly nice hats for children to wear.  Cotton or cotton mix will also stand for more washing which is important for anything designed for a child!

I really enjoyed making my inspired by a minion hat as it was nice to have a bit of a challenge to improve on something. I will have to make another one as there was quite a bit of disappointment when I explained it had to go to a new home!

I really enjoy taking commissions so if you have an idea for a hat, or for anything else please get in touch.  I love a challenge.  Commission hats are priced based on the complexity of the design and therefore the time they take to make and also the amount of yarn used.  Prices start from £19.

Millie x