All about Hat Making

This article is going to go through some tips on making a fashion turban – like 1930′s Gloria Swanson style not an Indian style turban.  I was recently lucky enough to attend a class by Neil Grigg at the International Millinery Forum held in Wagga Wagga in January. The tips I am going to share with you are from this class and what I have learnt since. I don’t have any photos of the turban being made as I was busy learning at the time but will attempt to explain as well as I can some important points picked up.

The fabric used in these photos is silk, I used 1 metre of it however, it should be noted that this was slightly less than would have been desirable I would recommend 1.5m to ensure enough. Straw cloth (liase) would also be a good alternative.

The base fabric used in the class for the turban was semac this is available from Mimi Millinery in Australia, I am unsure of where is can be purchased anywhere else if you know please leave a comment on this post. Semac is sort of like 20/20 or buckram but without all the glue and stickiness. It was extremely easy to mold, we used a jiffy steamer and it only took a few seconds to mold onto the block.  An extremely versatile base fabric. Buckram or 20/20 could be used but it would take a lot longer.

When blocking the semac or alternative fabric ensure that the grain of the fabric matches up at the centre back.

The block used to shape the turban was a special made block for turbans. It was hollow inside and the shape of the finished hat. The block was about 1cm thick and rounded on the edges. This is important as the bottom edge of the turban is rounded not a straight edge… such that the semac was shaped around the bottom edge (I have tried to show this rounded bottom edge in the picture). This means that the block size needs to be taken from the inside not the outside of the block (although given my big head I shaped my semac and then brought out the back seam to fit my head size).  The block was also shaped at the bottom edge so it followed a natural hat line (covered the forhead at the front and down at the back) and the dropped down over the ears (I have attempted to capture this in one of the photos).

This photo shows the edge of the turban it is soft and rounded rather than the normal straight edge of a hat...

It is important when blocking the semac to ensure the curve on the bottom edge on the block is maintained as this adds softness to the edge and on the face line.

The semac was blocked in two pieces the band (around the head) (this was sewn at the back using feather stitch) and then the tip was added on the top.

Picture shows centre back seam with separate crown piece

Once the base has been blocked the base can be covered with a thin wadding to add a bit of softness to the finished product.

The turban was then wrapped using two pieces of fabric. The first one goes across the top and is pleated to look like the fabric is all one piece. This is then sewn on (under pleats and along the edge where the stitching will not show). The second piece is then draped around starting at the centre back and paying particular attention to the front of the turban.

The pleats at the top of the turban

The turban once finished can then be completed with embellishments at the front of the hat such at a flower or a decoration at the side near the ear for a 1920′s type of look. Or any other type of look you want.

A picture of the turban nearly finished just in need of a few more stitches and some embellishment.

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• Millinery Forum (makinghats.com.au)

I thought I would share the link to an article I found in the times online. It is part of an interview with Stephen Jones and his fitting hats on actress Andrea Riseborough. It has the perfect quote in it where Stephen Jones says that the most emotional aspect of millinery is the moment when a client finds the perfect hat. “In a magical way, it reveals your true self.”  So true!

The article also has a slideshow of Andrea Riseborough in 4 of Jone’s hats – stunning! Here is the link:

Actress Andrea Riseborough on how to wear a hat – Times Online

The article above also mentions that Stephen Jones will have an exhibition:  Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones opens at the V&A on February 24.

Another related article on the Stephen Jones at the V&A from the telegraph.

So all those of you in the UK make sure you go to the V&A and check it out – I would love to know how it is….

I was recently lucky enough to attend the International Millinery Forum, a hat making spectacular, in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia. On the first night I actually had time to write a post… the rest of the nights I was too busy finishing hats or exhausted from the long days of learning to write a post. So here is my update on what happened on the four days of workshops I attended.

On the first day of classes I attended Neil Grigg’s turban making class. In this we made made a fashion turban, not one that is worn by Indians and others as a religious symbol, one like Gloria Swanson wore in the 50′s or was it the 40′s. A number of the class wore the result at the 1920′s night and they looked quite cool.  First we made a base using semac shaped over a blocking shape, then we wrapped the pieces of silk around… this wrapping around, draping and the way it is done is a technique that can be used in many other hats for embellishment.  Overall I am quite impressed with how my turban has turned out – but its not quite finished yet… so a photo later.

On the second day of classes I attended Jan Wutowski’s ‘retro hats from flat felt skirting’ class. The techniques in this class has heaps of potential. I just need some more felt to play around with and time. It basically involved experimenting with the felt until you got something you liked and then pin and sew it together. Flat felt is particularly good for small hats worn on the side of the head (similar to fascinators but out of felt). The one problem with this class is the flat felt was too narrow for the pattern I had drawn up… but that is something to play with. I nearly finished the hat in class but am not quite happy with it yet – so another for a photo later on.

In the afternoon of Day 2 I attended a workshop by Hong Kong milliner JayCow. This workshop was on headbands and while I finished this headband I am not that impressed by (mainly due to the colour) it but I did learn quite a number of techniques that I will use in the future. The resulting headband was very Asian kitch – a style that I quite like and can see potential in – however not everyone was impressed with this style.

Day three was a Jean Carroll workshop and my favorite of the forum. Jean is a teacher with a minefield of knowledge and willing to share it all. In this class we made a 1920′s lace hat. Jean has a stunning array of materials to choose from to make the cap from. I found the trim that I loved and just made my hat to go with the trim. I finished the whole hat in class and wore it to the 1920′s dinner the next night. Not only did the hat use a technique I hadn’t used before but I also liked the finished product. Now I just need time to play with the techniques to make variations.

Sheridene, Robyn and Beck (with hat made in Jean Caroll's class) dressed up to go the 1920's dinner

The final day of the forum I attended the freeform sinamay workshop with Waltraud Reiner. Waltraud was an inspirational teacher whose class I really enjoyed. She demonstrated many techniques on both sinamay and Jin Sin. The results she obtained with the fabric revealed her vast experience at working with both fabrics. I really enjoyed her class and look forward to experimenting myself with these fabrics. Hopefully we will get Waltraud out to Canberra later in the year for a class.

The final night was the 1920′s SA Brown spectacular… the fashion on the night was fabulous so many hats so much 20′s clothing. The food left a lot to be desired with the vegartarian meal consisting of four spears of asparagus and a bit of saladbut the entertainment was excellent – I really felt as if I was back in the 20′s. The artwork on the wall was sold to participants with the proceeds going to the blue hat foundation.

Overall I think the Millinery Forum gave me the confidence to continue on with Millinery and make headwear and hats to sell. The skills and techniques I learnt from such inspiring array of teachers at the forum was such that it would be hard to learn as much in any class and I can’t wait for the next one in two years time.

Participants at the 1920's Gala Dinner at the Millinery Forum

The crowd watching the hat parade at the International Millinery Forum cocktail party

Today, day 1, of the International Millinery Forum in Wagga Wagga, Australia.

I was lucky enough to attend a demonstration by Richard Nylon on techniques with feathers. The amazing expanse of his imagination and experimentation with feathers was shared generously with all attendees. I know that I was in awe and benefited immensely from his knowledge of feathers and will certainly be using more and better looking feathers on my creations in the future thanks to Richard.

Covered in the workshop were many techniques on using turkey, goose, peacock and ostrich feathers.  My favorite technique was putting knots in biots to get a star like effect. This gave an effect that I think I have always looked for,  so I may show this in greater detail here in the future.

A trade show ran all day at the Wagga Wagga RSL club. With many inspiring materials to buy my imagination ran wild on all the different things I could make with it all – if only they could sell more time as well.  It would have been easy to spend a lot of money. Luckily I had drawn up a shopping list and pretty much stuck to it except for maybe that occasional bargain or two or three…

One of the highlights of the trade show was being able to buy crinoline for $2/metre from the trimming company who came all the way from the UK to show us their wares. It will be great to be able to experiment on some fabric that didn’t cost a fortune.

A cocktail party and hat parade finished the night with stunning millinery and outfits on display at Borambola Wines. With good tasting wine and delicious food it was a great way to finish the day.

The Chicago News reports about the increase in hat sales and hat wearing for men. The report states that sales in Men’s hat have increased by about 25% and mainly in the higher end of the market; fedoras and quality caps. Good news for any hat maker – the more people that wear hats the more variety that will be needed. Here is the link to the article and video on men wearing hats:

Hats back in style for men? – 1/05/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com