f materialsor hat making This is the first in a series of overviews about


materials that are used for hat making and millinery. In this issue we focus on straw and straw-related materials.


CEREAL GRASS


In hat making, the term straw usually refers to any kind of plant-based material. The term ‘natural straw’ is often


MILAN STRAW


Tightly plaited fine wheat straw is also know as Milan straw. It is the most traditional type of straw braid


used for hat making. Hats made from this type of straw are durable and light in weight.


used to specify that the straw is an agricultural by-product consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed.


Toquila


The palm-like plant toquilla thrives in the northern coastal region of Jipijapa and Montecristi in Ecuador. Unopened leaf shoots of the toquilla plant are harvested from the base of the plant with machetes. The hard exterior is stripped away to expose the cream- coloured fibres inside.


PANAMA


The quality of a Panama hat body is defined by the tightness of the


weave of the toquila strips. The price of a hat body is dependent on the time and quality that a weaver puts in to the hat – a master weaver could take as long as six months to weave a single hat of the finest grade.


© the hat magazine


materials toquila


materials grass


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