Feeling Much Brighter

Let's start the weekend off with some good news.

Click the link to pledge or share   https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/hat-therapy-hebden-bridge

Last week was not my best week, feeling pretty low if I'm honest.  Thanks to lots of kind pledges and words of encouragement from many places, I feel I can start to build my little empire again.
I'm always happy to pitch in and help others but find it dificult to ask for help myself.
 I guess most people feel the same.

This time it's my turn to ask for a little help as the next few months ahead are daunting to say the least.

So to help myself on the road to recovery I am selling my wears in many different ways including ;

I am also taking a selection of hats to a client's house soon

so that all her friends who will be going to the races this year or  wedding can gather together for a hat extravaganza. 

I'm also going to find a few local events to attend and I'm thinking of going to The Craiglands Hotel  just outside Ilkley in Feburary as they are hosting an open day.
There will be a selection of arts and crafts to browse and buy.

There's still damp in the shop so it's a waiting game till it dries out.

Rained all day today!

I have set up my little shop in the workroom and everyone is still very welcome to come and browse.

Also get in touch if you are thinking of going to the races and might like a little Hat Therapy at home or work.

A much happier hatter - Chrissie.x

Spring Weddings

 

 

 

 

 

Spring weddings have been planned many months ago but not everyone buys their head wear at the same time as their dress. In fact I see many brides who choose their head wear much closer to the day.

It can be sometimes tricky to find just what you're looking for and of course no two weddings are the same so the scope for design is very wide.

This is great for the milliner as it gives a full rein to make a wonderful range of various shapes out of many types of materials.

Here are three very different styles that would appeal to quite different styles of brides.

Which would you choose.?

A look around the Hat Shop

 

 

This morning while the sun was out I took a few photo's of the shop as I don't have a 'virtual tour' version at the moment.
On Dec 1st I will have been open for 7 years so will be hosting a celebration and Christmas Fair with lots of textile gift ideas to choose from so if you are local do pop in for drinks and nibbles. I will also be giving at luncheon talk in Leeds for a group of ladies who work in the city. We are all meeting at a restaurant called Create, I thought that was very apt.!.I will be taking along millinery materials, and a selection of finished headwear for them to try on etc.
Finally some of my work will be featured in a Finnish wedding magazine. I think that's quite enough for one week.The following week is just as busy so I better get back to some sewing.

Spring Colours

I am very busy blocking crowns and brims in lots of lovely spring colours which is a breath of fresh air from all the darker winter tones.

The pink hat will become a straw beret,there's a couple of pill box shapes a large lilac brim which I will cut into an unusual shape.

There is also a pill box shape blocked out of window sinamay, very light to wear.

To construct the hats you work on the brim first then attach the crown.

Simple as that sounds it can take quite a few hours, so I better go and get cracking.

HAT SKETCHES

I have been thinking for a while that although I use my Hat Therapy logo for most things it would be nice to have a different price tag for my hats and accessories.
My labels are woven and are stitched into all my work.The logo is used on my business cards and price tags in the shop, but I think it's time for a change so I have been sketching a few ideas.
I use a hammered ivory card to print on so it looks fairly crisp.
[Sorry to have taken these pictures in the evening hence their darker appearance.]
As I will be opening an online beret shop very soon I am also working on logo and packaging etc so all this sketching will come in very handy.
Not sure which I will use as yet and I may make a few changes but I will see how I feel about them after a few days.
I am a very prone to doodles, but managed to keep control of my pencil.!

Christmas at Hat Therapy

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I wanted to decorate the windows this year a little differently so I found some cut out letters on the Internet, sprayed them with floral paints and decorated then with a permanent gold pen.

They had to be drilled with a fine drill bit so I could tie them together with fine ribbon, I then hung them on fish wire.

There are little lights on the raised area where I display my hats etc in the window which twinkle as it gets darker.

The wire wreath I also sprayed purple and added a copper ribbon which really stands out on my black door.

I am very pleased with the overall effect, hope you agree.
I will be having a celebration at the shop on Saturday as it will mark my fifth year of hatting here in Hebden Bridge, so if you are in the area pop in and join me. Cheers.

Take a brim and a crown

When you make a hat by hand each part is blocked separately.
This is where you dampen the material then steam and stretch it gently over a hat block (mould)
When dry and removed it is then cut to the desired shape.
The brim is worked on by adding brim reed around the edge to keep it's shape and stop it flopping, then this is covered with fabric.
Here you sew so that the stitches can not be seen.Tricky stuff.
Petersham ribbon is sewn to the head size around the inside of the crown and the label added.
Next attention is turned to the crown this is the part that wraps around the head the top is called the tip.
A lining is made to fit inside the hat then the brim and crown are joined together.
Now you create a band to cover your workings and add the trim. Simple.!
This hat is a very simple design as the suit it will be worn with looked better without too much detail.

Wedding hats required

Invitations to weddings seem to be dropping through peoples letter boxes at an alarming rate at the moment,some people are getting them in threes.!
What to wear,what to buy, should I wear this twice.?
Hats however are definitely on the list of 'to wear' so with lots on the go at the moment here is one for the lady who drops into the shop for something to go with a black and or pink dress for this Saturday if possible .....sorry I know it's a bit short notice.!!!
Which is when I say 'would this do the trick'.?
There's more in the workroom under construction, you never know I might just get an invite myself.

Pop in and browse Hats for sale

I thought it might be nice to show a few shots of the shop including my black and white floor which I love.!
The HAT wall where most of my occasion hats nestle on their pretty wrought iron arms is missing but I am planning a blog post all of it's own later.Not to mention the fact that I am madly making new hats at an alarming rate to fill my gallery wall.!!!
There's a sign on my door that Say's pop in and browse but if you are too far away this will give you a little taster of how it looks.

Hats Glorious hats

This is one of two hats bound for an exhibition in Manchester's costume gallery, Platt Hall which is re-opening 13th March.
Both hats are very different this one being made from a sinamay called Gracia which I have hand frayed(see picture) before sculpting into separate shapes.
Each piece has then been sewn together.
The soft wire brim hangs down softly over the left eye.No winking required.
I have rolled the edges around a very small curling tongue to soften the blunt edge.
So what do you think.? My other hat is made from soft felt and is VERY different, photo's to follow in a few days.
Hope the general public enjoy looking.
I am going to be in some very salubrious company.No name dropping please.

Sew city

Lots of sewing to do for the rest of the week plus some lovely felts have arrived for me to steam and shape over my hat blocks.I also have some gorgous new fabrics,which I can't wait to get my sissors into.!!
So keep tuned for finished products.

My first blog

Welcome to the day to day activities of The Little Hat Shop Blog.
Sandwiched somewhere between Manchester and Leeds in the lovely Calder valley in the Market town of Hebden Bridge.

As anyone who has ever hand made anything for a living they will know there is never a dull moment.Certainly not in my workshop my silk box would send any rainy day packing.!
Add a generous mix of the general public and life really gets interesting.

Hats thrill most few even dog walkers need a great showerproof, which reminds me I need to be making quite a few of those ready for autumn showers.

Weddings are many at the moment so I have been burning the midnight oil the last few days.
It's said to be a very creative time of day after 10pm but I think it's because you get no interruptions and so get lots done, apart from the little people in your life deciding that they NEED you as soon as you pick up a needle.!

With that in mind I will get some sleep before tomorrow comes around all to quickly.