Introduction to Millinery (3 weeks-Mondays, prior to L1/2)

Have you ever wanted to try Millinery but didn’t know where to start, or what equipment you may need? This course is a comprehensive guide with demonstrations and explanations into the materials and equipment involved. You will only need a camera or camera phone and pen & paper to make notes. This course is a taster, to tempt potential millinery students, to gain an insight and understanding of what millinery & hat making is, and a guide to knowing what equipment to buy. Millinery is an expensive art form, but careful choices can mean tools are universal and choosing the right ones can last many years. The tutor will demonstrate and explain how to best use felts, straw and sinamay. You will be shown how to block and shape the materials to develop different styles and shapes. Sinamay is a material that is made from banana fibre that is woven in the Philippines and exported all over the world. Mostly used for summer hats and headpieces, sinamay is a very different material to work with & block. So it has to be treated differently, but once this process is understood, this is a very versatile material and its properties lend it to being both sculptural and unique in the way it can be used. It’s light yet strong, it’s open weave & great for so many different types of millinery from hats themselves to creative trimmings. You will also be shown how to use the specialist equipment that is required for this creative art form