Overview:
This 1921 guide by Gene Allen Martin, Director of Domestic Arts at the Minneapolis YWCA, provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to hat making. The book covers a wide range of hat styles, from simple sailor hats to elaborate turbans and halo brims, using various materials such as velvet, braid, maline, and ribbon. The author emphasizes the importance of planning and understanding the fundamental principles of millinery, such as the importance of a well-made frame, careful fabric placement, and the use of proper tools and techniques. Martin also encourages readers to embrace creativity and develop their own personal style in hat making.
The book is not just a guide to creating new hats, but also includes a valuable section on remodeling and renovating old hats. Martin offers practical advice on cleaning, reshaping, and re-covering hats, demonstrating how to transform old hats into stylish new creations.
Key Findings:
- Hat making is an art requiring patience, skill, and a keen eye for design.
- A well-made hat frame is the foundation of any hat.
- Careful fabric placement and precise sewing techniques are essential for a successful hat.
- Pattern making is a crucial step in designing a hat.
- Remodeling and renovating old hats is a rewarding and economical way to create stylish new pieces.
Learning:
- Understanding the Importance of a Well-Made Frame: The book emphasizes the critical role of a strong, carefully constructed hat frame in achieving a beautiful and well-shaped hat. It provides detailed instructions on creating frames from both fabric and wire, ensuring a sturdy foundation for the hat.
- Mastering Sewing Techniques for Hats: The book goes beyond basic sewing, offering specific techniques for working with different fabrics and wires. Readers learn how to slipstitch seams, stab stitch, and overcast, ensuring a professional finish.
- Learning to Create Various Hat Shapes and Styles: The guide includes instructions for creating a wide variety of hat shapes and styles, covering flat brims, rolled brims, mushroom shapes, turbans, and halo brims.
- Developing a Creative Eye for Hat Design: The book encourages readers to develop their own personal style and experiment with different materials, trimmings, and shapes.
- Learning to Transform Old Hats: The chapter on remodeling and renovating old hats provides practical tips and techniques for breathing new life into outdated or damaged hats, saving money and promoting sustainability.
Historical Context:
The guide reflects the fashion trends of the 1920s, emphasizing the popularity of hats as an essential accessory for women. The book also highlights the burgeoning popularity of home-based crafts and the desire for women to express their individuality through fashion.
Facts:
- Hat making is an art: Martin stresses that hat making requires artistic sensibility, skill, and a good eye for design.
- Frame is the foundation: The hat frame serves as the fundamental structure upon which the entire hat is built.
- Careful fabric placement: Precisely placing the fabric on the frame is key to achieving smooth, wrinkle-free results.
- Pattern making is crucial: Using a paper pattern ensures accurate measurements and a well-proportioned hat.
- Remodeling saves money: Revamping old hats is a cost-effective way to create new, stylish pieces.
- Hats are a reflection of personality: A hat, like any piece of clothing, can express the wearer’s mood, personality, and sense of style.
- Simplicity is key: Martin emphasizes the importance of avoiding over-ornamentation and striving for a clean, balanced design.
- Natural light is essential: Hats should be evaluated in both natural and artificial light to assess their true appearance and becomingness.
- Hats should enhance your look: A hat should make you look more pleasing than without it.
- Every article of clothing should be harmonious: The entire outfit, including the hat, should have a cohesive and balanced look.
- Bright colors should be used sparingly: Martin suggests using bright colors sparingly, allowing the hat to be the focal point of the outfit.
- Hats should be the crowning glory: The hat should be the most striking and carefully crafted element of the outfit.
- Hats should be becoming and suitable: Hats should flatter the wearer’s features and complement the overall style of the outfit.
- Hats should be well-made: Attention to detail, including proper stitching and finishing, is crucial for a professional-looking hat.
- Hats can be made from a variety of materials: The book showcases numerous materials suitable for hat making, including velvet, braid, maline, satin, georgette, and even recycled materials.
- Hand-made flowers are a timeless adornment: Hand-made flowers continue to be a popular hat trimming, adding a touch of elegance and personalization.
- Flowers can be made from diverse materials: Martin provides instructions for making flowers from silk, satin, ribbon, velvet, leather, and even oilcloth.
- Mourning millinery has a distinctive style: Hats worn during mourning were typically small, made of black crêpe, and adorned with simple, understated trimmings.
- Veils were a significant part of mourning attire: Mourning veils were often elaborately designed and added a dramatic touch to the overall look.
- Old hats can be given new life: The book provides techniques for renovating hats made from various materials, including straw, buckram, felt, and beaver.
- Hats should be cleaned and maintained properly: Regular cleaning and care are essential for preserving the beauty and longevity of hats.
Statistics:
- One and a half yards of velvet: Required to cover a brim and crown of a hat.
- Twenty-seven inches wide: The width of buckram and crinoline material used for hat frames.
- One yard wide: The width of neteen or fly net material.
- Three inches: The width of a brim on a sailor hat frame.
- Three and one-half inches: The height of a square crown on a sailor hat frame.
- Eight and one-half inches: The length of a crown tip on a sailor hat frame.
- Six and one-half inches: The width of a crown tip on a sailor hat frame.
- Twenty-four inches: The headsize measurement used for a sailor hat frame.
- Two inches: Added to the headsize measurement for lapping and covering.
- Fourteen and one-half inches: The side measurement of a square of manila paper used for a brim pattern.
- Twenty-six inches: The length of frame wire needed for a 24-inch headsize.
- One-half inch: The distance between slashes in the buckram brim for attaching the crown.
- Three-eighths of an inch: The width of a bias strip of crinoline used to cover edge wire.
- Two and one-half inches: The width of a bias strip of velvet used to cover the side crown of a sailor hat.
- Two yards of satin ribbon: Required to make a ribbon rose.
- Four inches: The diameter of a small circle of buckram used for a crown top.
- Seven inches: The height of a round crown from tip to base wire.
- Five inches: The diameter of a small circle of buckram used for a radiating pleating foundation.
- Five yards of ribbon: Required for a radiating pleating ornament.
Terms:
- Buckram: A stiff fabric commonly used for hat foundations.
- Crinoline: A thin, open-meshed stiff fabric used for soft hat frames and covering wire frames.
- Neteen or Fly Net: A stiff, open-meshed material used for blocking frames and creating softer lines than buckram.
- Cape Net: A lightweight, open-meshed material used for blocking and soft frames.
- Willow Plate: A coarse, expensive straw-like material used for blocking and hat frames.
- Cable Wire: The largest wire used in millinery, often used for edge wire and entire frames.
- Frame Wire: Used for making frames and sewing onto the edge of fabric hat frames.
- Lace Wire: A smaller wire used for wiring lace ribbon and flowers, sometimes for making entire frames.
- Tie Wire: The smallest wire used in millinery, used for joining other wires and making flowers.
- Ribbon Wire: A cotton ribbon with a woven wire, used for wiring ribbons.
- Sprung Wire: Uncovered steel wire used for halo brims and sometimes as edge wire.
- Milliner’s Fold: A bias strip of fabric folded to create a smooth, tailored edge for hats.
- Basting Stitch: A temporary stitch used to hold fabric in place before sewing.
- Stab Stitch: A stitch used for sewing fabric to a frame, typically with a short stitch on the right side and a longer stitch on the wrong side.
- Overcasting Stitch: A stitch used for finishing raw edges.
- Slipstitch: A nearly invisible stitch used for joining edges.
- Warp Thread: The lengthwise thread in fabric.
- Woof Thread: The crosswise thread in fabric.
- Bias: A diagonal cut in fabric, allowing for stretch and flexibility.
- Pleating: A folded fabric technique creating a decorative design.
- Pompon: A fluffy, decorative trimming made from maline or other soft materials.
- Rosette: A flower-like trimming made from ribbon, lace, or other materials.
Examples:
- Sailor hat frame: A simple, classic hat frame with a flat brim and a square crown, providing a foundational example for beginners.
- Mushroom-shaped brim: A brim with a gentle droop, creating a more relaxed and feminine look.
- Halo brim: A wide, circular brim that creates a halo effect around the wearer’s head.
- Turban frame: A frame made from a bias fold of fabric, creating a distinctive, turban-like shape.
- American Beauty Rose: A classic rose made from silk or satin, demonstrating a multi-petal flower-making technique.
- Ribbon Rose: A simple rose created from satin ribbon, showcasing the use of different materials for flowers.
- Wild Rose: A smaller, more delicate rose made from silk, illustrating a variation in petal arrangement and size.
- Wired Rose: A complex rose with petals wired individually for greater realism and durability.
- Flat Pasted Blossom: A conventional flower with petals pasted to a lining, showcasing the use of glue for flower construction.
- Poinsettias: Flowers made from velvet and satin, demonstrating the layering of fabric and the use of glue for attaching petals.
- Poppies: Made from ribbon, demonstrating a simple flower-making technique with gathering and curling.
- Morning Glories: Conical flowers made from taffeta or organdie, illustrating the use of paper patterns and glue for shaping.
- Orchids: Made from ribbon and velvet, showcasing the use of different textures and shades for creating a realistic effect.
- Violets: Made from ribbon, demonstrating a simple and effective knotting technique for crafting a cluster of violets.
- Daisies: Created from ribbon and buckram, illustrating the use of buckram as a foundation for a flower.
- Geraniums: Flowers made from ribbon, showcasing the use of yellow stamens for adding realistic detail.
- Apples: Made from fabric and cotton batting, demonstrating the creation of fruit-shaped trimmings.
- Cherries: Made from fabric and cotton batting, showcasing the creation of small, rounded fruit forms.
- Plums: Made from bias fabric, demonstrating a technique for creating a plump, fruit-shaped form.
- Raisins: Made from gathered fabric, illustrating the creation of small, wrinkled fruit forms.
- Grapes: Made from fabric and cotton batting, demonstrating the creation of a cluster of grapes.
Conclusion:
This 1921 guide to hat making, while a product of its time, remains a valuable resource for aspiring milliners, offering a timeless foundation in the art of hat design and construction. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding fundamental principles, mastering specific techniques, and embracing creativity. It provides practical advice on creating various hat shapes and styles, using various materials, and renovating old hats. The guide showcases the enduring appeal of hand-made hats as a form of self-expression and artistry, encouraging readers to explore their own unique hat-making journey.