Making Felt Hats

Foreword by Dillon Wallwork 6
Introduction 8
Materials 12
Tools 16
Basic techniques 20
PROJECTS 30

Getting started 32
Twiggy:Floppy hat34
Belle:Cloche hat42
Liza:Bucket hat46
Jackie:Pillbox56
Heidi:Cap62
Kate:Button hat68

Trimmings 76
Care and storage 77
Afterword 78
Index 80

About Bobbi Heath

Bobbi Heath is a couture milliner. Her love of hats began at age 13 when she cut a pattern from her brother’s school cap and made a jockey hat. She was hooked and bought various hats which she re-trimmed and spray painted.

Bobbi qualified as a teacher, then completed City & Guilds levels 2 and 3 in millinery, followed by a diploma. She also has a City & Guilds qualification in tailoring, fashion and embroidery. She went on to teach City & Guilds millinery for a number of years, during which time she did a placement with Stephen Jones and worked for Noel Stewart.

In 1997, Bobbi started Chic Chapeau, a bespoke millinery business which also offers one-to-one tuition, and group workshops. Bobbi lives with her husband near Worcester, UK. To see more of Bobbi's work visit www.chichapeau.co.uk.

The Hat Magazine

Making Felt Hats is described as 'a beginner's guide to creating six stunning styles for all occaisions'. With easy-to-follow instructions, millinery expert and tutor Bobbi Heath (of the Chic Chapeau label in the UK) shows you how to make a felt hat in six different styles: floppy, cloche, bucket, pillbox, cap, and button hat.

The author starts with the basics of the craft and covers toools,materials and essential techniques, including stitching and edging. She then talks you through the art of stiffening your felt, moulding your fabric and blocking. As well as being an informative and practical guide, the book aims to make millinery fun and inspire milliners to experiment with trimmings to make unique pieces of headwear.

Published by Search Press, a leading supplier of art and craft books, and with a foreword by international hat designer, Dillon Wallwork, the book will appeal to all hat enthusiasts and anyone looking for a practical introduction to the craft of millinery.

---

Booklist

No invitation to the Royal Ascot horse race meeting? Head coverings not in vogue for an upcoming social event? Even if millinery isnt de rigueur these days, UK maker (and selfproclaimed "Mad Hatter") Heath will change the fashion rules. This seductive how-to tome could make even a non-DIYer interested in hatmaking. Heath's six designs represent twenty-first century patterns, even though their origins might be reminiscent of the Downton Abbey or Jackie Kennedy eras. Techniques are fairly easy to master, like sewing straight stitches or wielding a steam iron, and the actual how-tos are well visualized, with step-by-step color photographs and lengthy captions as good guidelines. Running commentary that educates and delights is an added bonus, like on the use of mercury in the curing of felt for hats until 1941, causing the "madness" associated with makers.The practice stopped with the governments requisition of mercury as a heavy metal for war instruments. Hats off!

---

Machine Knitting Monthly

In this practical and informative guide, we learn how to make felt hats to perfectly complement any outfit. The six different styles include a fabulous floppy hat, cloche, bucket, pill box, cap and button.

---

Sew Magazine

The must-have title for head-candy devotees, Making Felt Hats is a masterclass in the art of millinery. Learn how to make and embellish six felt hats, from the pretty pill box to the beautiful bucket. Expert milliner Bobbie Heath shares stylish secrets to elevate any outfit, starting with how to measure your head, stiffen the felt, mould the fabric with steam and block. This fabulous introduction to hat-making also features invaluable advice on trimming and edging techniques, too.