Historical Preparation of Straw for Hat Plaiting
Edited image: W.F. Taylor.
Stooks
In Great Britain the main straw used for plaiting was cereal crop straw and whilst most books will say it was wheat straw, it is probable that other types of straw were used. In this section we are looking at the preparation of cereal crop straw. The straw grew tall and was cut by hand and later by a reaper/binder. The straw was tied large bundles called sheaves. The sheaves then had to be stooked or stood in groups in the field. The sun and air passing through the stooks, or shocks started the drying process and the farmer hoped for good, warm weather. Rain or damp would discolour the straw.
Image first published in Corn Country by C Henry Warren, 1940.
Edited image courtesy of: Culture Trust, Luton Published in Luton and the Hat Industry, 1953.
Straw Cutting
The sheaves were taken back to the farm yard where the straw was drawn from the tied sheaf. In this process the leaves and weeds were separated from the straw stems. The clean straws were gathered together and tied under the heads and around the waist of the bundle then the heads were cut off. The next process was to cut the straw to shorter lengths about 9-10 inches (22-25cm). Although the straws were now all about the same length, they were different thicknesses.
Image shows: Dick Cook of Pitstone Green Farm. Edited image courtesy of: Luton Culture. Published in Luton and the Hat Industry, 1953.
Edited image courtesy of: Culture Trust, Luton. Published in Luton and the Hat Industry, 1953.
Straw Sorting
To make straw plait required all the straws to be the same width therefore an essential step in the preparation was to sort the straws to bundles of similar diameter. The sorter shown in this image has four metal grids. The women tapped the bundle of straws over the grids. Straws of the correct size would fall through. The sorted straws fell onto the fabric chutes then into the bins. The photograph shows the woman holding the unsorted straws over a grid and the sorted straws are on the chutes. Once sorted the straw stubs were tightly tied into bundles about 6 inches (15cm) diameter.
Image shows two women at the village of Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire sorting straws. Edited image courtesy of: Luton Culture. Published in Luton and the Hat Industry, 1953.
Copyright: Veronica Main
Bleached and dyed straws
Next the straw stubs had to be bleached. This was a very important part of the process since it fumigated the straw, gently softened it and brightened the colour. Any blemishes could not be removed in this process and those discoloured straws were removed from the bundles, collected and sent for dyeing. Bleaching was original undertaken using sulphur (brimstone). Later in the 1800s factories, used other chemical bleaches, some with greater success than others. One of the most successful bleaches was hydrogen peroxide.
Now the straw was ready for use by the plaiters.