Joy

Johanna Wästle

England

• Curling and Knotting Biot Feathers Project by Ann Morse-Brown
• 5 more Thermoplastics for Hat Making (HATalk Blog)
• Millinery Dyes: Creating Custom Colors for Your Hats (HATalk Blog)

I wanted to create a headpiece that looked lightweight and delicate. After researching the HATalk Archive, I liked the idea to work with curled Biot feathers found in the Curling and Knotting Biot Feathers project because it could give the headpiece that lightweight impression. My inspiration to use clear PETG plastic for the flowers came from an image of Ian Bennett's flowers and the material description in the article ”5 more Thermoplastics for hat-making" (Crystoform/PETG).

I was inspired to hand dye the materials for the headpiece following the process in the article ”Millinery dyes: Creating custom colours for your hats.” Choosing Biot feathers and PETG allowed me to work with materials and techniques new to me, as well as practising hand dyeing using both acid - and syntectic dyes.

As for the design of this piece, I focused on height and balance as I find this particularly challenging. For my design process, I used a 3D sketching technique, where I build up shapes using wire and packaging materials (bubble wrap, paper, and plastic bags) to find an overall idea of size, shape and balance. The colour scheme got developed during the hand-dying process. When all the above design decisions were made, my hat-making process begun by blocking the parasisal base and later organically incorporate all design and material choices into the final piece.

This headpiece was created organically with a joyful and playful mindset. That is how I enjoy creating, and I hope it will bring joy to others as it does to me.

• Parasisal cone
• Paris net
• Millinery wire
• Petersham, 25mm
• Silk Taffeta
• Abaca silk
• Acid dyes
• Synthetic dyes
• Biot feathers
• PETG
• Super Glue
• Heat gun
• Straw stiffener
• Hat elastic
• Thread

• Blocking Paris net and Parasisal straw on button block.
• Shaping Petersham ribbon using steam iron.
• Dyeing Biot feathers and Abaca silk using Acid dyes.
• Dyeing PETG using Synthetic dyes.
• Curling Biot feathers using scissors.
• Cutting out flower shapes from PETG and shaping into flowers using a heat gun.
• Ironing, folding edges, and shaping Abaca silk bow
• Blocking Taffeta silk lining on button block.