2011 Millinery Classes/Workshops/Instruction

For those who have been asking....here is the millinery class schedule for 2011. If you are looking for millinery instruction on any number of skills, please consider these. Click here, http://www.hatshatshats.com/classes.htm , for the schedule. (We have a new website, so if you do not see the new webpages, please 'refresh' your browser.)
Skills being taught this year are: French Flowermaking (Chicago, IL)--May; Wire: Bridal and Fascinators (Chicago, IL)--May; Big Brimmed Buckram Hats (Washington, DC)--June; Dyeing To Make Hats (Atlanta, GA)--July French Flowermaking: Roses & Orchids (Berkeley, CA)--July; Three Straw Hats and a Feather in Your Hat--John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown, NC)--August; Blockmaking and the Felt Hat--John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown, NC)--August; Fabric Frolic On a Buckram Base...and Feathers! (St. Quentin La Poterie, France)--October; Retro Hats From Flat Felt Skirting (St. Quentin LaPoterie, France)--October.

Will we see YOU in class? Already scheduling 2012 millinery instruction. Will we be teaching hatmaking near you? Time will tell.... Happy hatmaking!

Hat Show Video

The last post on this blog was all about the recent hat show I produced, entitled aMuse's 2nd Annual Haute Hats--Spring in Paris. Three milliners besides myself showed our hats on a beautiful spring day here in Wilmington--Diane Shagott, Jenny Pfanenstiel and Andre Baxter. This is a quick add-on to the last blog entry.

Click http://vimeo.com/21185495 for a short video of our recent hat show! I think you'll like!

Milliner--Jan Wutkowski (L), milliner--Diane Shagott (R)

Love this hat by Diane! It was inadvertently deleted from the last post; I really like this hat and decided it MUST be on the blog.

Please scroll down to see the last post...the one with all the pictures from the show. Enjoy!

aMuse's Haute Hats Show--Spring in Paris

Wow! It has been quite a while since I have posted on this blog. I have been incredibly busy making hats, hats, hats for my annual show. It has now been 2 weeks since the show and I am finally able to breathe just a bit. With that said, I want to share with you the experience. It is hard but very worthwhile work to plan and execute this type event.

This year's event was called aMuse's 2nd Annual Haute Hats Show--Spring in Paris. We held it in a beautiful venue in our historic district. The historic building has a stunning balcony and staircase which we used to our advantage in presenting the models with the hats from 4 milliners: Diane Shagott of http://www.hatstodifor.com, Andre Baxter of http://www.designsbyandre.com/ , Jenny Pfanenstiel of http://www.formeonlineshop.com/ and myself. Each of these milliners is a former student of mine. They do beautiful hats, each handcrafted with old-world craftmanship they've learned in class.

I'll post very little text throughout this post. I want you to enjoy the beauty of the hats and models. I'd love to get your opinions of the show. Please post your comments.

BTW, all photography is by a very talented and detail-oriented photographer Lisa Brown of http://www.bellarosephoto.com/. Her work is phenomenal and I think you will agree.

Designed by Lisa to represent a vintage Parisienne postcard...filled with images from the show.

Backstage before the show. Models are donning the hats, dresses, vintage jewelry, bags, and gloves before hitting the staircase.

My very good friend and astounding fashion stylist, 'Style Girl' Jess James, in one of my hats. Jess styled all the models in hats, dresses, jewelry and other accessories. Amazing eye for style! She publishes a weekly newsletter chocked full of fashion tips. Sign up for her newsletter at http://stylegirljessjames.com/.
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Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Pre-show and ready to go!

Milliner--Jenny Pfanenstiel

Milliner Diane Shagott (center) chats it up at lunch with local fashion blogger, donning one of Diane's beautiful hats.

Milliner--Jenny Pfanenstiel (L), milliner--Jan Wutkowski (R)

Milliner--Jenny Pfanenstiel

Milliner--Andre Baxter

Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Milliner--Diane Shagott

Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Milliner--Andre Baxter

Finale bride! Isn't she gorgeous? Milliner--Jan Wutkowski

Milliner Diane Shagott (center) and the finale models in her hats. Beautiful ladies, beautiful work! Fabulous, Diane!!

Milliner Andre Baxter surrounded by gorgeous models in his finale hats. Fabulous work, Andre!

Final staircase shot with all the models in their finale hats and fascinators. This was a very vintage-inspired show and one I think the models had fun with. Very different from the show they are accustomed to working. Great work beautiful ladies!!

Final postcard montage from Lisa. Don't you love it??

Thanks for reading.

Bridal Millinery--Birdcage Veils, Handmade Hats, etc.

I do quite a few bridal shows each year. Today was the last of the season. It was in an intimate setting with a select group of wedding professionals showing their wares--florists, dress salons, event planners, photographers, bakers, muscians, and a milliner!



Because of the lighting in my space, and because I chose a black and white color scheme, the photos have a beautiful monochromatic look which I really like. Wanted to share them with you.

Above is one of my handmade flowers, made of silk organdy and centered with AB rhinestones that sparkle like crazy. The necklaces are vintage and from the selection at my shop.

Beautiful Juliana necklace. This is a totally over-the-top necklace with AB rhinestones and crystals. Very collectible! Also very pretty on a bride...or mother-of-the-bride.

Shot of a toasty tulle headpiece spotted with pearls (L) and a huge, no, HUGE, handmade silk flower headpiece (R) with a vintage rhinestone pin as the center.

Winter wedding. Snow. Dr. Zhivago? Faux sheared beaver headband and hand muff. Both with vintage rhinestone brooches as accents. Vintage ostrich boa--full and fluffy.

Lovely beaded clutch and a white handmade silk rose. Love the shadows!

Here's to bridal season!

Wire Frame Construction Hat--To Santiago, Chile

Before Christmas I was contacted by a potential client in Santiago, Chile--a gentleman who wanted to surprise is fiancee with a hat for Christmas. What a great guy, huh?

Below you see the picture of the inspiration hat. He had some changes, such as: straw crown, no polka dots, not as sheer, no flower or other embellishment, all black, straight brim.

After many emails back and forth across the distance, I started the project. Since I had to make some assumptions about the hat in the supplied picture, I decided that I'd use a wire construction brim. Instructions were that the brim was to be 8-9" wide! Now that's a WIDE brim, especially when using sheer fabric.

Follow the pictures below in the process of making this hat.

Blocking the crown from parisisal straw. Simple crown shape.

Black millinery wire, #18 guage. By using black wire with black fabric I didn't have to cover the wire with ribbon or fabric. You will see the wire because the fabric is sheer.

Cut and bound headsize rings, cut to the customer's headsize and ovaled out. Our heads are oval, not round.

The bracing wires have all been cut and shaped. They will hold the two headsize rings together.

Voila! A headsize piece for supporting the crown and the brim. A very important piece of the puzzle!

I've cut and joined the outsize brim wire. This was done with the 8-9" wide brim specification in mind.

I took the brim wire and used it as the 'pattern' for cutting the silk organdy--a stiff but sheer fabric I had on hand. It is a beautiful crisp fabric, perfect for this job. Note that I have cut TWO pieces of the brim fabric. One will lie on top of the wire and one on bottom. Remember that the client didn't want the brim to be TOO sheer, hince the double thickness of fabric.

Headsize opening cut out.

I've left out a couple of steps here. Suppose I was so intent on making the hat I forgot to document a few steps. Anyway, note that I've attached the headsize ring to the brim edge by using three arched pieces of wire. I did this instead of just typical straight wires because I wanted to add some visual interest. Particularly since you will see the wires as a part of the hat design.

Overlapping the cut fabric edge to the bottom headsize ring.

I chose to attach the lower fabric piece first. Here I'm attaching it to the brim edge. I don't have to worry too much about what this looks like because I know it will all be covered with a bias fabric strip eventually. Eventually! I do, however, pay close attention to make sure I'm pulling tight enough that the fabric is not drooping. It needs to be fairly tight.

Close-up of the stitching. Just an overhand stitch across the wire.

Trimming away the excess. Although I'll be putting on a bias strip, the sheer needs to be cut down so that it is not so wide as to be seen past the bias strip. Careful with the trimming!

Ready to attach the upper brim fabric.

This part is now complete. Whew! That took some time and patience, let me tell you. Since there is no block or other guide to this structure, you need to always be checking all parts of the hat. Things can go awry and get out of shape very easily. Check, check, check.

Close-up of the wide bias strip I added. Always adds a bit of luxury to a hat!

The crown has now been placed over the headsize rings and has been stitched into place.

Hatband added and that is the final step! Complete!!

The hat was so wide I had a hard time photographing it. Not a very glamorous shot here on my living room carpet. Keep in mind the brim is 8" wide from the headsize to the brim edge. Much bigger than it looks here with no reference.

Here she is on a mannequin head. I do love this hat and may try to recreate it for the upcoming hat show I'll be doing. However, it will not be exactly the same. I DON'T make the same hat twice.

Thanks for reading!!