Hope

Valerie Wyvill

United Kingdom

HATalk Issue 69: Aisling Ahern: Architectural Millinery

Reading this article it gave me some flare for using the brim of a straw parisisal leftover from a button headpiece. Aisling speaks about just using wire to create light and easy to wear. The design process could be endless using just these materials but I though it to be a challenge with some leftover straw material. Initially I started with steaming the straw and seeing what i could do with a circular piece of straw. Through this I started to see different shapes- putting a wire inside to test its 'give and take' led me to the final shape which was achieved by wiring both edges of the circular piece and turning it in on itself to create this structure. it took the shape of an Irish Harp- inspiration coming from Samuel Beckett bridge, Dublin. I played with mixing different textures, thus adding the softness of silk abaca to the more rigid structure of straw. I picked contrasting colours to make this a bold statement piece, deep purple and hot pink. My theme was 'Home', that is Ireland. This is where the Celtic knot at the top end comes from- This was free formed at the end of the abaca, which was teased and pleated from the bottom up - representing the harp strings. The free form bias swirl represents a bird and its flight. Hope of one day soon flying home. I attached the sculpted piece to a padded headband - matching colour and covered it with matching sinamay with a contrasting pink petersham for the middle join. This piece is very light and easy to wear which is what I had hope for taking inspiration from Architectural millinery.

• Straw parisisal (cut off brim piece only )
• Sinamay
• Silk abaca
• Padded headband covered in matching sinamay
• Petersham
• Needle and matching threads
• Sewing machine
• Steel pins
• Scissors
• Heavy weight millinery wire

• Stitching of edges and wire together
• Pleating silk abaca using iron and steam – using gathering stitch
• Turban free style knot (Celtic symbol) hand sculpted
• Sinamay bias free-form swirl – cutting on bias
• Bias binding with silk abaca
• Twisting using steam and hands
• Padded hairband covered in sinamay – hand stitched
• Petersham to join middle of headband – hand stitched
• Variety of hand stitches – stab stitch, wire stitch, knot stitches for trims