HATalk Competition Entry 2023

Yvonne Cunnington

Maker
Yvonne Cunnington

Country
United Kingdom

Name of Hat
Mr Mole

Description

My first thought was ‘what lives in earth?’ – a mole was my immediate thought. From there, I imagined a mole coming out of a rounded crown, representing the mole hill, with soil tumbling down the sides. The sloping brim represents a winding path which leads to the mole hill at the top.

I then thought about earth itself and what it represents – the giver of life and sustainability, a habitat for billions of organisms and microbes which make up a diverse ecosystem, and supports a quarter of all terrestrial species and contains immense levels of biodiversity.

Therefore, my competition entry centres on Moles, they live in earth, and spend most of their time underground, they are amazing tunnellers which in turn, provides them with protection from predators and enables them to forage for food, they eat mainly earthworms and prefer moist soil that is rich in grubs and earthworms.

Materials:

Straw crown
Straw brim
Bias Sinamay strips
Crochet wool scarf
Toy mole
Silver shovel
Goose biot feathers
Paper flowers
Silk lining
Petersham ribbon
Threads

Techniques:

Blocked a straw crown.
Sewed Petersham ribbon to outside of crown and turned under.
Cut brim.
Edged brim in sinamay (outer and inner edges).
Sewed brim to the crown, and created a ‘pleat’.
Cut the crochet wool scarf to make the effect of soil on the crown, and sewed on.
Attached the mole and shovel.
Created grass tuft with flower.
Made a lining and sewed to the inside of the crown.
Attached a flower at the back of brim.

Note: Entries have been not been edited or proofread to protect the integrity of the maker's original meaning.