Even in the most up-to-date factories, hat making is a labor-intensive craft, requiring skilled workers. Hat manufacture is still largely done by hand.
Most hats are formed from felt, or are woven from palm fronds, raffia, Toquilla fibers, spun paper, or straw.
- Panama hats are woven from the Carludovica palmata (hat palm) which grows in Ecuador.
- Raffia comes from the Raffia palm, which is native to Madagascar.
- Felt hats are made from wool, or from the fur of animals, such as beaver or hare.
The two main processes needed to create a hat are weaving and blocking. Woven hats are rated by the weave count (number of weaves per square inch). Fewer than 100 weaves per inch are considered to be of low quality. The most expensive have up to 2,000 weaves per square inch.
Regardless of the materials they're made of, most hats are blocked, or steamed over wooden forms which provide the form the hat material will dry over to take its final shape.
Parts of the hat.
- Crown - the center portion which covers the head.
- Brim - the projection from the crown's bottom all around the circumference of the hat.
- Hatband - a strip of leather, ribbon, or string placed at the bottom of the crown where it meets the brim. The hatband helps the hat retain its size.
- Sweatband - a strip of leather or ribbon sewed inside the bottom of the crown.
Mad as a hatter?
Today most felt hats are made from wool. In the 18th century expensive felt was made from beaver fur which felted easily. Cheaper hats were made from the easily obtainable rabbit fur, which had to be roughened to make it felt properly.
The most common roughening process involved brushing the fur with fulminate of mercury, before shaving the hairs from the hide and boiling them.
Hatters breathed in the mercury compounds, which accumulated in their bodies to cause kidney and brain damage. The common symptoms included loss of coordination, slurred speech, irritibility, memory loss, depression, and finally insanity (madness). Thus, mad hatter syndrome.
Rest assured, mercury hasn't been used in hat production for at least a hundred years. My Hat Store hats are harmless to the wearer and the environment.
|
