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Issue 153 December 2018

Hat Shop Madison Bethany White Sparte, Old and New Melbourne Fashions on the Field

the e-magazine for those who make Issue 153 December 2018 Contents:

Hat Shop Madison 2 An interview with Monika Stebbins, owner of New 's Hat Shop Madison. Hat of the Month 7 A handmade shot headpiece by millinery student Bethany White. Spartre, Old and New 10 A comparison of European and Japanese spartre by Rachel E. Pollock. Melbourne Cup Carnival 19 2018 Myer Fashions on the Field competition winners and new digital format. Letter to the Editor 25 Ribbon cutting advice. The Back Page 26 2019 HATalk Competition details and how to contact us.

Cover/Back Page: Images by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the VRC Cover Headpiece by Rebecca Share Millinery 1 www.hatalk.com Monika Stebbins apprenticed as a milliner in her native Germany before moving to the United States in 1994. In 2013, after spending Monika Stebbins years making hats from home, she decided to take the plunge and open a hat shop on her local high street in Madison, New Jersey. HATalk Editor Becky Weaver recently visited Hat Shop Madison to Hat Shop Madison interview Monika about this venture.

When did you first start making hats? My aunt is a milliner, now retired. She had a hat shop in Germany. Even as a little kid I had lots of hats and I loved them. Later on, when I decided I wanted to be in a creative profession, I looked at a variety of things like , and fashion design, and found I really liked . I that millinery was much more special than working with clothes so I apprenticed with my aunt. Later I took a special class at the British School of Millinery with Shirley Hex and Stephen Jones. It was really fantastic.

What made you decide to open a hat shop? When you carve out a studio in your home, or when you rent studio space somewhere else, the cost is much lower than having a shop but you don't get Image by DarrenImage Santos for The Headwear Association any foot traffic. You have to evaluate what works best for you. When I was working from home, I found that people felt awkward about coming, even though I had a studio space. Customers can feel uncomfortable, like they've invaded someone's home or that they are obliged to buy something, even if the milliner doesn't make them feel that way. So I decided to open a hat shop.

I was really lucky with this space - I love the original tin tile and ceilings. We put new lights in to make it brighter. I wanted it to be friendly. I didn't go for super elegant. I wanted it to be approachable. The biggest problem is getting people in the shop and the more

2 www.hatalk.com standoffish it seems, the more bridesmaids and guests. Each of would have a different model, but difficult that is. these groups - the horse people, the this is what works here. Stephen fashionistas, the people who go to Jones said during the class I took Describe your typical customer. worship - they’re all different and with him years ago, "You have to be I don’t think I have a specific 'hat they all have different interests and where you are. You have to work with customer' here. There are groups different preferences. So it's a little the people in your world." On my of customers instead. For example, bit of everything. website it says 'A Hat for every Head' there are the people that go to the and that's my goal - that if someone Kentucky Derby or Derby parties. This is suburbia. It's not the same as comes in here, I can find a hat that That’s quite a large group because New York City. In New York City, you makes them happy, that works for New Jersey is horse country. They can be specialised. I felt that Madison them and that they can afford. want Derby hats or fun fascinators. needed more of an all-round hat Then there are women that wear shop. I have hats for men, women and I have a wide range of customers hats to worship. Some of the Baptist children. I sell my own hats and I have from a socioeconomic point of view. churches around here tend to have other designers on consignment. I have people who struggle if a hat is very elaborate hats, for example, I also have other labels, including $20 and others who, when buying a while in most Jewish communities, some that are mass produced in Asia, hat for a friend, say budget doesn’t the ladies want more simple styles the European Union and here in the matter. I have customers that ask me and darker colours. And then I have United States. I have a wide range of to do layaway, meaning they pay for weddings. Not bridal, because most styles and price points. I think in a their hat over time, and I let them people here buy whatever headwear small town like this, I need that. do it, because if they want a hat that they are wearing with the dress, but much I think that they should have mothers of the bride and groom, If I lived in a different community I the chance to get one.

What hat styles sell best? If I had people lining up to come to the shop, I would probably make a lot more sculptural pieces but the reality is that there are very few people that will buy those styles here. You have to decide - is millinery your art form or are you making hats for people? I don’t think that only handmade hats are great hats. I think that it depends on who is going to wear it. There are some people that would be very uncomfortable with

3 www.hatalk.com an elegant designer hat - they just wouldn’t know what to do with it. They prefer knit caps or simple, felt . That's why I have to carry a range of styles and prices.

I can sell creative felt hats in the winter as it gets very cold here. Then during the Derby season I stock a lot of hats that are single colour and then I can add trimmings. It's much harder to sell multicoloured hats because people come in with a dress and the colours fight. If the hat is a solid colour, I can then make it a little more personalised without going full custom. That’s the advantage of having a hat shop when you are actually a milliner.

Are you open to accepting hats from new milliners to sell in your shop? Print media doesn't work so well a lot of work and I'm still not sure Milliners that want to do consignment anymore. It's very expensive and you about it. For a business owner, here are welcome to contact me. only reach a very limited number. I've nothing matters unless there's a sale They set the retail price and then we always known that a hat shop would in the end. Even if I have lots of likes split it. They decide what they send need to be more than a local shop - it for a picture, that doesn't necessarily me and then I can tell them what would need to be at least a regional translate to anything in the real people's reactions are. Customers shop. There are about 16,000 -17,000 world. give feedback when they try things people in Madison and that's just not on and I pay attention - it's important enough to support a hat shop. So it's What I've found is working well is to know what people want. not that helpful to have an ad only in my website (www.hatshopnj.com). our local , I need to reach out People Google 'Hat Shop New How do you advertise? further. My customers are mainly Jersey' and then the shop pops up. I think word of mouth is still drawn from New Jersey and parts of It's an informational site. I don’t sell ultimately what goes the furthest. I’m Pennsylvania. through it as I strongly believe you very involved in the community here have to try a hat on to really see what and I have repeat customers now. On the other hand, social media is it looks like.

4 www.hatalk.com I also do events. This weekend, for Business Association offers classes example, I'll be going to a horse and and workshops to help with business carriage event. And then, at the end plans. I went to them years before I of this month, I’ll be at the Morristown opened the shop. They have retired CraftMarket. Having stalls at events executives who give free advice to like these is more of a marketing newbies, which was very helpful. effort than selling. It’s a good way to meet people so they will realise that I’m also a member of the local there is a hat shop here and come Chamber of Commerce, the Milliners next time they need a hat. Guild and The Headwear Association. The Headwear Association is the You have an amazing collection of big umbrella organisation for hat hat blocks - where are they from? manufacturers, material importers My parents' friend in Munich and, in the last few years, a lot of always collected antiques. When a milliners as well. I've found that when neighbour died and the apartment you make personal connections with was being emptied, she saw hat people, they're more willing to help. blocks being thrown into a dumpster! Feeling this was not right, she took The Milliners Guild is my core all of these blocks and stored them networking group. It's all people in her house with no plan of what to that value and make handmade do with them. Later, when I became hats. They hold a monthly meeting a milliner, she said, "So, this is why in New York City but, since opening I saved them," and gave me all of the shop, it's not been easy for me to these vintage blocks. It was a great attend these, although I sometimes starting point. Since then, I've made try to join them via Skype. some wooden blocks myself and have bought others online. I've also found that Facebook has quite a few millinery groups where Hat Shop Madison is located at 81 Main Have you had support as a small you can ask for things or offer your Street in Madison, New Jersey and is open business owner? advice. These help to foster a sense Tuesday - Saturday. As well as Monika's own I think it's good to at least try all of of community, since people often label, Monika Fine Millinery, they currently the organisations that are there for tend to work by themselves in this stock a wide variety of hat brands including you. For example, my local Small industry. Jennifer Hoertz Millinery, Eggcup Designs, Kathy Jeanne Millinery, Hats by Kat, Tilley, Mayser, Oui Nous by Framer, Dorfman Pacific and more. For more information, go to www.hatshopnj.com.

5 www.hatalk.com provides you with the possibility to create the hats you have always dreamed about!

Plooij Hats and Materials We have it all: Ready made hats or an extensive range of millinery supplies and first class materials, it's all there! We provide tailor-made solutions for our clients.

Plooij Hats and Materials bv Phone: +31 (0)577 400730 Staverhul 22A, 3888 MR Uddel [email protected] The Netherlands www.plooijhatsandmaterials.com

6 www.hatalk.com Hat of the Month by Bethany White 7 www.hatalk.com Our December Hat of the Month was made by Bethany White, a current fashion student at the University of Lincoln in England.

What inspired this headpiece? It was based on the Victorian's obsession with wearing whole birds on their heads, specifically hummingbirds. I wanted to create a beautiful piece using a media other then real feathers.

Tell us about the making process. I created this hat by hand-sculpting a piece of into a shape that mirrored the movement of a bird. I then covered the piece in blue and red dupion, invisibly stitching the top side and underside together. I embellished the hat by handcrafting feathers and using two-toned beading. I then created balance on the head by sculpting a skull cap to anchor the main piece.

Did you discover millinery while on your university course or did you have an interest before you began? I became interested in millinery when I discovered wet felted hats. I thought they were so magical and skilful that I really wanted to investigate hat making further, which I did in my second year of A-Levels. I had absolutely no idea how to make a hat, so my methods were very experimental at first! I became 'hooked' from the start and decided to study millinery as part of the Fashion degree at the University of Lincoln.

8 www.hatalk.com Have you made many other hats and headpieces? At university I began creating couture millinery pieces, starting with two summer wedding hats in my first year. Since then I’ve made some embroidered bucket hats that have more of a 'streetwear' appeal. My course teaches traditional millinery techniques such as working with sinamay, felt and blocking net. I have also sculpted my own blocks and combined these traditional approaches with more contemporary methods.

What are your plans and aspirations for the future? I'm currently in the final year of my Fashion degree (BA Hons specialising in millinery) and I’m feeling really excited about producing my final collection of hats! I am heavily inspired by nature and want to explore less typical millinery materials and integrate porcelain features to add a real twist. After graduating I would love to work for, and collaborate with, a range of milliners to broaden my skills further, with the aim of possibly starting my own label in the future.

To see more of Bethany White's creations, you can follow @noeline_millinery on Instagram. If you want to know more about studying millinery at the University of Lincoln, go to www.lincoln.ac.uk.

9 www.hatalk.com Spartre, Old and New by Rachel E. Pollock

You’ve heard about it by many names - spartre, willow, esparterie - a legendary millinery material so rare and expensive that many contemporary milliners have never worked with it. Perhaps you have a single treasured sheet of it, a few substantial scraps passed on from a mentor now retired. You've read about it in old hat making books, in online forums, even in this very publication - Dillon Wallwork’s March 2015 piece, Rediscovering Spartre: A New Take on an Old Foundation. Perhaps you’ve even seen a new product labeled as spartre available for sale at high prices from vendors in Australia or Japan, and wondered: Is this the same as the spartre of old?

10 www.hatalk.com In the midcentury books and articles on spartre, a Compare your material against the photograph of both distinction is made as to the composition and workability types on the following page (Fig. 2). European spartre is of European and Japanese goods; now, as best as I can at left, Japanese spartre (and ruler for scale) is at right. determine, Japan is the sole remaining manufacturer of the material. However, by a stroke of luck and good The essential difference between European spartre fortune, I've been able to compare the two types of and the Japanese variety is the composition of the spartre and can share my observation on the differences. straw layer. European spartre was manufactured using woven esparto grass which primarily grows along the In 2015, the costume production graduate program Mediterranean coast. Japanese spartre uses toyo in which I teach at the University of North Carolina at composed of twisted paper. Chapel Hill had the incredible good fortune to receive the millinery archive of London's renowned West End milliner, Ada Riddle. In the 1940s and 50s, Riddle operated under the nom de chapeau of “Madame Sheeta” (Fig. 1), creating hats and headdresses for numerous theatrical productions - plays and operas and pantos. She also taught millinery to countless aspiring hatmakers throughout her life at trade schools and colleges such as Leicester Polytechnic. The Riddle Collection includes numerous photographs, letters, costume design renderings, and playbills, which document her incredible life and career.

In addition to the Riddle archive, we also acquired an entire box of old-stock European spartre. I found myself in the unusual (perhaps unique) position to work with it extensively in my theatrical millinery class. Not only have I myself been able to create forms and try out methods I’d previously only read about, but I have the benefit of other creative minds and hands working alongside me: my graduate students.

Since both European and Japanese spartre existed alongside one another into the middle of the 20th century, how can a contemporary milliner tell which variety some carefully preserved spartre stock is?

Fig. 1 11 www.hatalk.com Fig. 2

If you have worked with both and toyo bodies, perhaps you have noted the textural difference between the two media - spartre behaves similarly. With European type, if you strain the material too much in a complex curve or fold, the esparto straw can splinter and break, whereas with the Japanese variety, the toyo will fold and crease, weakening the shape in the area of damage.

There are two primary ways of making hats with spartre - blocking and improvisational shaping (or “forming in the hand”). Let’s look at two hats made using each technique separately, followed by one incorporating both methods.

12 www.hatalk.com The hats detailed below were all created in spartre workshops I have conducted using the vintage European material from Madame Sheeta's estate. They could easily have been made with Japanese spartre as well, though.

Note: These project descriptions assume a familiarity on behalf of the reader with the processes of blocking straw and making /wire hats; these methods are explained in most instructional millinery manuals.

Blocked spartre hat by Michelle Bentley

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

Michelle used a contemporary saucer block available from Guy Morse-Brown to create her sophisticated spartre hat. First, she misted the spartre on the straw side with a water from a spray bottle to activate its malleability and formed it over the block, just as might be done with straw, buckram, or felt (Fig. 3). She was careful to pin between the weave of the esparto grass so as not to damage the organic material. She then allowed the spartre to fully dry before removing it from the block (Fig. 4).

13 www.hatalk.com Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Michelle marked the edge of the hat's brim, then cut down only the straw layer of the spartre (Fig. 5); this allowed her to stabilize the delicate edge by stitching the wire to the fabric layer, then folding it over to secure the cut ends of the spartre. Because the esparto grass has such a lovely natural colour, Michelle elected to only cover the underside of the hat with jacquard fabric, leaving the upper side exposed to the viewer. She used pieces of natural-coloured sinamay to create light ornamental forms (Fig. 6).

14 www.hatalk.com Improvisational spartre hat by Ana Walton

As a theatrical wig stylist, Ana is most comfortable with the tools of her trade; it's no surprise then that she incorporated foam curling rods into the support structure for her improvisational spartre form! Like Michelle, Ana activated the spartre by misting it with water, then began to manipulate the material across the bias, pulling and stretching and allowing it to take on sinuous, complex curvatures. She pinned elements of shape into place, supporting sections of the form with the curling rods and other media (Fig. 7), then allowing the spartre to dry into its new shape. Ana then draped a crossweave across the spartre base, allowing the fabric to take its own swirling forms as well (Fig. 8). The shape was mounted on a fascinator base and finished with a pair of feathers (Fig. 9). Fig. 7

Fig. 8 Fig. 9 15 www.hatalk.com Combination spartre hat by Danielle Soldat

This impressive shell-inspired hat combines both blocking and improvisational forming techniques in its use of spartre.

Danielle blocked a section of spartre onto a conical hat block to create the hat's crown. The spartre was able to accommodate most of the block's shape but, along the sideband area, Danielle needed to make clipped darts, such as one might have to incorporate in a buckram form (Fig. 10). She used the skinned join technique detailed in Wallwork's 2015 HATalk feature (as well as the references cited at the end of this piece) to secure and finish these darts in a sleek manner.

Fig. 10 16 www.hatalk.com Fig.11 Fig. 12

Danielle then improvisationally formed the brim's complex wave shape around the headsize opening (Fig. 11). The double-layered nature of the spartre allowed her to retain these broad curves without complicated supports. She used the same technique as Michelle Bentley to wire the areas of her hat which needed the support, trimming the straw back to the cut edge and using the fabric layer as a self-finish. She then covered the spartre forms with fabric, much as you might do for a buckram hat (Fig. 12).

17 www.hatalk.com I would be remiss if I closed this feature without enquiring: Were you a student of Ada Riddle/”Madame Sheeta”? We would love to hear from you at the UNC-Chapel Hill costume archive! We are cataloguing and preserving her legacy and would love to include personal testimonies from those who studied millinery with her or assisted on theatrical productions and pageants. Please email [email protected] with your recollections. Thank you!

Selected references for working with spartre:

Borrett, Eve. How to Make Hats. Pitman, 1967. Rachel E. Pollock has worked as a professional costume This book features a 17-page chapter called “Tackling craftsperson for theatre, opera, ballet, television, and film Esparterie and Shape Making” which includes an since 1994. After freelancing in Knoxville (TN), Chicago, excellent hand-drawn diagram of a skinned join. and Boston, she accepted a staff position as resident Lead Crafts Artisan and Dyer for the internationally-acclaimed American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University in Dreher, Denise. From the Neck Up: An Illustrated Guide Cambridge, where she served for four award-winning to . Madhatter Press, 1982. seasons. She subsequently relocated to Los Angeles to work This book is the required text for my course in theatrical in film and television costuming, as well as a stint on the millinery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel crafts team of the LA Opera, before relocating to teach at Hill - it's worth owning for many other reasons beyond the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has served as a crafts artisan, dyer, and milliner for such designers as its sections on spartre, referred to here as “willow.” Catherine Zuber, Ann Hould-Ward, Ilona Somogyi, David Dreher covers how to activate the willow with moisture/ Zinn, Constance Hoffman, and Julie Taymor. She has also steam without damaging it, how to patch a damaged worked as a dyer and first hand at the Broadway production area, how to create a skinned join, how to wire an edge. house Parsons-Meares, Ltd. on shows such as Lion King, Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes, Shrek: The Musical, and Langridge, Ethel. A Textbook of Model Millinery. Disney’s Aladdin. Duckworth & Co., 1957. Ms. Pollock is the author of Sticks In Petticoats, the only This book features a ten-page chapter entitled extant text on parasol history and construction for the “Esparterie Work, including Shape-Making,” full of stage, as well as various articles for trade publications such detailed hand-drawn illustrations concerning a process as the Costume Research Journal. She maintains the seminal called “taking the print” of a hat or a block. This involves costume crafts artisanship blog, La Bricoleuse. At UNC, using the spartre to make a topographical copy of an she conducts a series of graduate seminars on costume craftwork - millinery, and distressing, masks, armor, existing hat or block, in order to create replicas of it or and related topics. commission a carved wooden block of the shape.

18 www.hatalk.com Melbourne Cup Carnival 2018 Fashions on the Field 19 www.hatalk.com The Myer Fashions on the Field Competition was first staged in 1962 in a bid to attract more women to a male dominated racecourse. Heats and finals for women, men, children, families, fashion designers and milliners now stretch across the four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, having become an integral part of Australia's premier racing event.

Now in its 57th year, Myer Fashions on the Field continues to entice hundreds of fashion hopefuls to enter, as well as giving milliners and emerging fashion designers the chance gain industry- wide recognition.

The 2018 Myer Fashions on the Field competition offered one of Australia's richest prize pools to date, with the Women's National Final winner Carle Rutledge (centre) receiving a prize package worth over $115,000 (AUD). Her spoils included a brand new Lexus, a $49,500 Kennedy timepiece, a $6000 Myer gift card, Antler luggage and a TCL Entertainment package. Carle won the national title after coming first in her home state of Queensland. She wore a Roksanda dress and a hat which she made herself.

Winners of the Women's National Myer Fashions on the Field Racewear Final: (L-R) 3rd place Elis Crewes, 1st place Carle Rutledge and 2nd place Kelli Odell during Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 8, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Daniel Pockett/ Getty Images for the VRC

20 www.hatalk.com Senior Girls' Racewear Winners: (Above, L-R) 2nd place Tara Jakubowskij, 1st place Lucy Palmer and 3rd place Annie Palmer 1st Place Family Racewear Winners: (Top Right) The Christian Family Junior Girls' Racewear Winners: (Bottom Right, L-R) 3rd place Leah Dellar, 1st place Menzii Andrews and 2nd place Rachael Williamson Photos by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the VRC

21 www.hatalk.com The Australian competition entered into the digital age this year with the introduction of a photo-based contest for racegoers outside the state of Victoria.

In the run up to the 2018 Melbourne Cup Carnival, Myer fashion photographers were sent out to capture beautifully dressed contestants at specific racing events in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. This replaced the runway based state heats formerly held at key races throughout the country.

A line-up of expert judges from the fashion industry including Myer designer Kylie Radford (Morrison), Herald Sun Executive Fashion Editor Kim Wilson, Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Executive General Manager (EGM) Customer Engagement Caroline Ralphsmith, Myer Womenswear Category Manager Claire Hurley and last year’s Myer Fashions on the Field national winner Crystal Kimber, used these photographs to decide each state's winner. Those selected were then flown to Melbourne to compete for the 2018 Myer Fashions on the Field national title at Flemington Racecourse on November 8, 2018 - Kennedy Oaks Day.

In keeping with tradition, the Victorian State Competition was still held at Flemington, with the winners of the three daily finals (right) advancing to the National Final.

Victorian State Final Winners: (L-R) 2nd Jordan Beard, 1st Kelli Odell, 3rd Lindsay Ridings on As well as changing the way that Fashions Kennedy Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 8, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. on the Field finalists are chosen, this new Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the VRC

22 www.hatalk.com digital format is an exciting development for lovers of racing style everywhere. All of the photographs from the various Fashions on the Field events will be showcased on a dedicated new website - www.fotf.com. au - which promises to be a great new source of inspiration for milliners and hat wearers alike.

Victoria Racing Club EGM for Customer Engagement Caroline Ralphsmith said the Club is focused on evolving Myer Fashions on the Field to cater for a new generation of fashionistas.

"Myer Fashions on the Field is a Flemington icon that has been replicated the world over," Ms Ralphsmith said. "After more than half a century it is incumbent on the VRC to continue to evolve the competition to ensure it remains Australia's largest and most prestigious outdoor fashion event. Bringing the competition into the digital age will reinvigorate Myer Fashions on the Field. We also believe taking the interstate Myer Fashions on the Field competition off the catwalk will open the field to a wider selection of competitors and engage with those less confident showcasing their outfits on stage." its long term future and encourage a new generation of fashionable racegoers to enter. By embracing the digital Myer Executive General Manager (Marketing and age and introducing a photo based competition across Customer) Louise Pearson also feels confident about the Australia we remain relevant and believe this change will competition's new digital format. also encourage a broader audience to enter."

"Myer has a proud and long standing history as the Of course, the prize that we are most interested in here official naming rights sponsor of the prestigious and at HATalk is the Millinery Award. Introduced in 2006 and world renowned Fashions on the Field competition. traditionally held on Kennedy Oaks Day, the Millinery There really is no other outdoor fashion competition Award is a prestigious and highly coveted title which like it anywhere in the world,” Ms Pearson said. "Whilst is helping to shape the future of Australian millinery the competition remains strong and the numbers of fashion. entrants continues to grow, we know we must continue to reinvigorate and modernise the competition to ensure This year, Rebecca Share took first place with a stunning

23 www.hatalk.com red wired straw creation (left). Share, who also won this award in 2011 and was a runner up in both 2013 and 2014, was thrilled.

"It really is the best feeling to win such a prestigious award for the second time," she told us. "It's such a wonderful validation of the work I do. As a designer I strive to push the boundaries and in doing so there is a complete sense of fulfilment in exploring innovative new ways to work with materials. I stayed true to my signature style and I felt so proud of how this headpiece turned out, winning was a welcome bonus at the end of the hard work."

According to Share, this unusual design was constructed using three core materials - millinery wire to form the structural shape and vintage foundation netting and Swiss starbright braid to complete the design.

"There wasn't any particular inspiration for this headpiece," she says, "however my aim was to design a piece that appeared to be floating off the head. As I played with the shaped wire, it soon evolved into a sculptural piece that incorporated a brooch explosion on the dress."

As well as the professional acclaim that comes with this award, Share also took home a fabulous selection of prizes valued at over $17,000 (AUD).

Headpiece by Rebecca Share, 1st place winner of the Millinery Award, worn by Danielle Collis To find out more about the Myer Fashions on the Field during Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 8, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. Competition and how you can get involved next year, go to Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the VRC www.flemington.com.au/fotf.

24 www.hatalk.com Send us your questions and comments! Do Letters to the you have a problem needing a solution? Or Editor... information that you’d like to share? Email us! [email protected]

Question: How do I cut straighter edges when I am making hair bows out of ribbon?

Answer: Unless you have a very sure hand, it can be really difficult to cut ribbon neatly. A simple ribbon cutting tool can help you to get uniform cuts and edges every time. This metal ribbon cutting tool from The Cutting Edge (right), for example, promises to help you create perfect v-cuts, scallops and zig-zags every time.

This cutter is designed to be used with a hot knife or wood burning tool, which will seal the ribbon to prevent fraying. Suitable for use with various ribbon widths, you can simply align your ribbon with the guides and then cut it with a hot, sharp tool (left). Alternatively, the cutter can be used as a template to trace a design onto your ribbon which can then be cut out with sharp scissors.

As with any tool with sharp edges or heat, please be sure to read all instructions and be aware of all health and safety considerations before trying this at home!

25 www.hatalk.com The Back Page

2019 HATalk Hat Making Competition: equilibrium

For the 2019 HATAlk Competition, we are challenging and Materials, M&S Schmalberg, The Trimming you to create an original hat or headpiece using the Company, Lily M Millinery Supplies, Torb & Reiner, concept of equilibrium as the starting point for your Atelier Millinery, How2hats and HATalk e-magazine. design. This is an abstract theme which can be defined and interpreted in any number of ways. As always, we As an added bonus, HATalk has partnered with X Terrace want you to be as creative as possible! Fashion Platform to secure a place for all five winning hats to be included in the official exhibition of London Four winners will be chosen by our expert judges, who Hat Week 2019, The Great Exhibition - World Garden, will base their decisions on quality of workmanship, which will be held at The Menier Gallery in Central originality of design and theme interpretation. One London from 3-12 April, 2019. Public Prize winner will then be chosen through an online vote. The HATalk Competition is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and is completely free to enter. A fantastic selection of prizes, valuing approximately The closing date is 15 February 2019. To find full $4,500 USD, are on offer from Chateau Dumas, Guy competition details, terms and conditions and the Morse-Brown Hat Blocks, Parkin Fabrics, Plooij Hats online entry form, go to www.hatalk.com.

Contact Us! If you have any questions, comments or anything that you'd like to share, please email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

26 www.hatalk.com 27 www.hatalk.com