Hat Plait

Wood chip

Sourced from willow or poplar trees this material was widely used from the 1700s, possibly earlier, until the mid 1900s. It is a cheap material that dyes easily and is lightweight, a characteristic that makes it ideal for making the fashionably large women’s hats of that time. Willow was used in the U.K. whilst in Italy plaiters used chip from willow and poplar. The chip is sourced from the inner sappy green wood. First the bark is removed, the inner soft wood is scored with a comb-like tool and then planed to provide narrow, thin lengths. These were plaited basketwork fashion using a simple twill weave, into a square that could be shaped over a hat block, or plaited into long lengths that were stitched together to form the hat. 

Bast

This is the sappy inner layer of stem and can be sourced from a wide variety of plants. Although wood chip is a form of bast its role in the hat industry was so major it was categorised separately. Bast grew in popularity as a plaiting material later in the 1800s as manufacturers realised the different qualities each type gave; some had a silky sheen and some had a rough texture. Perhaps the most intriguing and beautiful example of bast was known in the hat industry as Cuba bast. The strips of bast were immersed in an acid bath until the soft tissue dissolved, leaving only the skeletal outline. The name leads to the assumption that the bast was imported into Europe from Cuba but the tree it comes from, Hibiscus Elatus, is not exclusive to Cuba. This material was introduced into the European industry in 1895-6 where it was used in a wide variety of products, including the example shown in the plait section of this website.

Raffia and Raphia

Raffia and raphia should not be confused with bast even though some information sources interchange these names. Raffia is sourced from the leaf of a particular type of palm grown in Madagascar. As its use grew in popularity it appears that a very similar material, raphia, was introduced. Raphia is obtained from other types of palm tree growing in other countries. During the 1800s and early 1900s both raffia and raphia are being used in the hat industry. The strips of these fibres were either hand-plaited or joined into long lengths then made into machine-made braid. Both fibres are easy to dye and both produce a lightweight product eminently suitable for the fashionable large hats popular in the Edwardian era. In the early 1900s both raffia and raphia became popular materials for ladies wishing to make their own hats. Instructions were published in books and magazines.

Grasses

It is not fully appreciated how much fine straw, some derived from grasses, was imported into the U.K. from Italy. In the first quarter of the 1800s William Corston and William Cobbett promoted the growing of grasses for use by English plaiters but they did not succeed. In 1823, Cobbett visited the town of Tring in Hertfordshire and saw Italian straws being sold by the dealers which irritated him. His anger lead him to start communications with the Royal Society of Arts and to write his essay on English Straw Plait which appeared in his book Cottage Economy. Italian grasses were incredibly fine allowing the making of extremely narrow and lightweight plaits. It took skill to make plaits from them but, once made the product commanded a high price and was much in demand. By using grasses, also known as bents, British plaiters could compete against the Italians. Only a few hats said to be made from bents survive in museum collections.

Cereal crop straws

The cereal crop straws are: wheat, barley, oats and rye. Whilst wheat straw is most commonly associated with the production of plait, and during the 1800s was probably the most widely used straw, both rye and barley were probably used. We do know that plaiters in the Orkneys and Shetland Islands used both imported Italian straws and locally grown rye. Since barley was a widely grown crop it seems likely that this would also have been used. Straw suitable for plaiting  has a hollow stem. This is why modern varieties with their solid, or very pithy stems are unsuitable. 

Plaiters most commonly used the top joint, from grain head to leaf node, but would use the second joint straws when making coarse, often split straw plaits.  Accounts tell us that the straw was cut to 9-10 inches long (23-25cm) then graded into bundles of similar diameters. This was essential in order to produce a plait of even width. 

If you look at a top joint straw you will see that the diameter of the stem increases towards the leaf joint. The Italians cut the straw into two sections, the top section close to the head which they called the punte or point and the pedale or foot. Corrupted in to English as pedal, hence the product pedal plait. The punte straw produced a much finer plait than the pedale. The image shows a wheat straw cut as the Italians divided their straw. You can see that the punte is darker and has a dull surface. The pedale straw is shiny and much wider. 

The Chinese prefered to use the whole top section when making some of their plaits. These plaits were called mottled due to the uneveness of colour.

Palms

Many types of palm have been used in the hat industry, not only the leaves but also the leaf veins and stems. Sisal is a form of agave palm still used today woven into fine flares or capelines. The leaves can be plaited and are used in the Caribbean to make hats and bags for the tourist trade. 

In St Albans, Hertfordshire during the 1800s there was a local industry producing Brazilian hats. These were woven, basketwork fashion, into a basic hat shape rather than been made into plait. The plaiters were using palm leaves said to have been imported from Cuba, but probably also imported from the south-eastern USA. Sadly very little information about this industry survives and there are very few examples of hats.  

Perhaps the most well-known use of palm is the making of Panama hats. Workers in Ecuador harvest, prepare and use the leaves of the Toquilla palm. The leaves are prepared to various widths, the finest producing the best quality, superfine Montechristi hats.   

Sinamay

Introduced in the late 1980s, possibly the early 1990s, this woven material was to revolutionise the hat industry. It is cheap, lightweight and easy form into a hat. Manufacturers in Luton were quick to see the advantages of this material when it first arrived however the fabric first imported required improvement to create the material we see today. It has been widely promoted as coming from the banana plant, in fact it comes from a plant of the abaca family musa textilis or Manila hemp. I find this fascinating since Manila hemp was first introduced into the Swiss hat industry in the 1840 and in other forms was widely used. Sinamay is made in the Philippines and now comes in various types of weave such as windowpane and Pinok-Pok. It is sold in rolls 90cm wide and can be dyed to a range of colours and woven to include other materials. After weaving the sinamay is stiffened.

Paper

Although it does not appear to fit into the category of straw, paper has been used since at least the 1700s to make hats. Luton Culture has in its collection a hat from the second half of the 1700s made from plaited paper. Strips of twisted paper woven into flares or capelines are still being used in the hat industry today and blocked into hats.  Paper made from rags or from long plant fibres is very strong and durable. It can be dyed and cut to a range of widths making it a very successful plaiting material. The name you may recognise is Toto straw which is a product made in Japan and widely used in today’s hat industry. Even imitation Panama hats are now being made from paper.

Man-made fibres

Given the important part they played in the straw hat industry it would be remiss not include at least one example. Cellulose and viscose fibres were used to create a wide range of products including artificial silk. These materials are still in use today alongside polyester. In an attempt to produce braids with a sheen similar to straw, following its invention in the early 1900s, cellophane was introduced. When used alone to make a braid it was not successful. In high humidity the products lost their shape. The hat industry’s solution was to either wrap or glue the cellophane to a more stable backing. The braid shown is from the early to mid 1900s. A bast tape has been wrapped with cellophane. The product has been hand plaited.