REPORT
A new headpiece made from torn and discoloured straw hats
feature of the new hat, showing its provenance! Alternatively, I turn the crown of the hat inside out and use
the ‘wrong side’ as the right side. Occasionally this means some of the little knots of straw are evident, but that is again a feature of its upcycled nature. Another challenge is that a lot of the hats from the 1950s and ’60s in the finer parabuntal and parasisal straws that I have collected seem to have shallower crowns. Therefore, plenty of extensions to the crowns are being made from the offcuts.” Louise also encourages others to upcycle
hats. In 2018 and 2021 she ran some evening workshops during Melbourne Fashion Week called ‘Millinery Upcycling’. Participants were invited to bring along an old hat they would like to apply first aid to. “I really enjoyed both events!
People come with hats that often have a story or sentimental attachments. We
business more sustainable. As a result, one of the approaches she implemented was upcycling. “The quality of parabuntal and parasisal straws that were produced in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s is not replicated today,” says Louise. “Over the years I have gathered a few garbage bags of squashed hats from garage and car boot sales. I marvelled at the fine weave of straw and pulled the hats apart to create a new piece here and there. After doing the course on sustainable fashion, I decided to source more of these ‘retired’ straw hats from the 1950s and ’60s. I am always on the search in second- hand shops and have come across a few more ‘garbage bags’ of these beauties from sellers. One of my projects for 2022 is to make a collection from these old hats. In fact, I’ve started already.” The finer, tighter weave of
these vintage straws means they are less flexible in the blocking
“I have decided to make faded colours a feature of the new hat, showing its provenance”
process, so the reshaping of the straw has more limits than a contemporary parasisal or buntal straw. However, they have more body and are stronger and sturdier on completion, as Louise explains: “Where contemporary straws just require a spritz of water or steam when blocking, these tightly woven parabuntal straws require a good soak under the taps before I start to wrestle with them over a block. I would normally support a contemporary parasisal with a layer of blocking net underneath the crown for extra strength. The vintage straws I’m using don’t need that, due to their tight, fine weave.”
She starts the upcycling
process by pulling the vintage hats completely apart first, unpicking the wire and trims, and picking off any glue. “Some of the colour in the second-hand hats is faded or turned yellow in the sun, but I have decided to work with this variation and make it a
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marvel at each piece and what can or can’t be done to revive it. One lady brought along a little school hat from the 1960s that belonged to her recently deceased daughter. She wanted to revive it and put it on display at home. It was a beautiful velour felt that was handmade by a well-known local milliner at the time, who got the commission to make all the school hats. It was easy to dust, steam and reshape to get it back to looking as good as new, ready for its display case. I loved learning about the milliner’s commission in the process.”
Upcycled headpiece in 2021 collection
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