Sewing Plait - Edge to Edge
Hat by Caroline Felber, Luzern, early 21st century.
Copyright: Veronica Main
Women’s hat - fine Leghorn or Tuscan
Made by Caroline Felber, Luzern, this hat was created from old stock purchased from a warehouse near Florence and was made in Italy. The straw dates to the first half of the 1900s and is a fine quality. The quality is judged by the width of plait, the fineness of the straws used in the plaiting and number of rows required to make the ‘cornetto’. The plait used for this hat is 6mm wide. The hat has been decorated with shells and 2-ply rye straw threads. The term Leghorn has been widely misused and misattributed to the city of Livorno, anglicised name, Leghorn. The assumption is commonly made that hats were made here. They were not, they were simply exported around the world from the port of Livorno. I will be adding more information about the terms, Leghorn and Tuscan.
Italian hat made mid 1900s from fine wheat straw and ‘knitted’ together.
Copyright: Veronica Main
Tuscan hat - novelty
This sun hat is made in the same way as the previous one however, the ends of straws inserted during the making process have not been trimmed off producing this interesting almost feathery appearance. It was a product designed in Italy in the mid 1900s during attempts to revive and rejuvenate the failing Italian hat industry.
Mid 1900s women’s hat made from a type of bast plaited into a decorative plait.
Copyright: Veronica Main
Women’s hat - bast straw plait
The plait used to make this late 1930s or 1940s hat has been produced using a type of rather stiff bast straw. Since so many types of bast were used, it is difficult to know exactly what type this is, under magnification it looks like a shaved bamboo. The plait pattern is very decorative with a raised twist. As with so many hats from this period the silk veiling has broken and crumpled somewhat spoiling its original beauty.
Women’s hat, mid 1900s, made from wheat straw plait. Stitched together edge to edge with a sewing machine.
Copyright: Veronica Main
Women’s hat - wheat straw plait
Whilst the plait on this hat is not ‘knitted’ together as in construction of a Tuscan hat, the dyed 7-end wholestraw plait has been stitched together, edge to edge with a sewing machine. First introduced in the 1920s, the Anita machines formed a zigzag stitch which enabled this method of construction. The upturned brim of this 1940s hat is unusual and provides a real focal point to the design. It was worn tipped forward onto the forehead, the petersham ribbon headband bears witness to this as its headband is marked with face powder and creams at the centre front. To hold the hat in place there is a wide ribbon which slipped under the hair at the nape of the neck. The hat is trimmed with a petersham ribbon bow.