My hat design is an interpretation of a wave. I began my research by looking at Japanese images of waves, in printing and textiles, taking note of the colours, shapes and patterns. I decided to base my design on the image of a wave, using various textures and tones to recreate the idea of depth and clarity, trying to capture the translucent nature of water and its force of energy.

I used three colours of sinamay for the base, natural, light blue and aqua, as I wanted to capture the depth of colour in the sea. I blocked the sinamay on a large hat block then cut out a fluid, wave shape and manipulated the shape into a curling wave.

After wiring the edge of the shape I used twisting patterns of strips of silk abaca, in shades of blue and ivory, to build a surface pattern. I felt the flowing nature of the fabric would capture the movement of water, almost like painting a fluid picture.

I used glass beads to reflect the light, as water does, especially at the curling edge of the wave where the water bubbles and dances in the light.

The headpiece is finished with a flowing edge of veiling to soften the piece and draw the eye along the edge, adding the feeling of movement, and reflecting the constant movement of water.

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