Are you searching for headcovers that not only protect from weather but also add oomph to the overall attire? Get head accessories and team it up with floral gowns, stripey jumpsuits, or even swimwear during beach holidays – to exhibit your style statement. Hats are one of the most fabulous and fierce fashion accessories. You can either nail the complete look or fail by adoring caps that don’t fit the style.
Casual evenings, fun outdoor activities, or family holidays during summer – straw hats are the ideal headcovers for women. Women and girls designed their hats at home from leaves and grass. The caps and bonnet hats have been there for centuries. Let’s explore the origin and history behind these exclusive woven fashion pieces.
History of Straw crafting
If you are creative and interested in crafting your hat, you can start by braiding straw hats for women. During the Victorian era, the straws hats were a household creative task. Women in the house enjoyed braiding and decorating the accessories while socializing with other women. Natural grass was the most popular choice for designing headcovers. The process included cutting, bleaching, and braiding the caps from scratch. ‘Straw plaiting’ or ‘straw platting’ was the common name for hat-making in this era.
Weaving was one of the everyday activities during the 17th century. Smaller girls of the family enjoyed plaiting the natural grass and leaves of the palm into different items. Hat or caps were one of the most integral parts of garments as they added protection from weather and highlighted the weaving talent.
Types of straws for weaving caps
Toquilla straws:
If you are looking for long-lasting material to create hats, then Toquilla straws are the best option. These are highly flexible and are robust fiber grass. The material comes from toquilla palm trees and is a natural beige or off-white color. You can find the light shades of Toquilla grass hats in the area of Ecuador. The popular name of this head accessory is the Panama hat. You can explore different braiding styles and patterns in Panama hats.
You can order a custom design of plaiting and ask for embellishments over the head accessory. Beads, feathers, semi-precious stones, and pearls are female favorites.
Toyo straws:
Toyo straw is the best choice when you are looking for an alternative to grass. The Toyo straws are rice-paper yarns from Japan with plastic glazing as a finish. The material is exceptionally smooth and shiny. You might confuse the yarn with polyester or viscose thread; however, these are natural. Your hats shall get a supple finish that is incredibly soft to touch.
Toyo is the first choice when searching for straw hats in the budget. Toyo hats are machine-made, and you can get different colored options also. During manufacturing, many natural Toyo hat makers retain the organic white or golden copper stain.
Raffia straws:
Raffia straws are an incredibly unique grass variety that involves peeling off the pal leaves. The Raffia palm grows in coastal Africa, with long and broad leaves. Delicate peeling of these leaves to create needle-like straws is the foremost process before weaving begins. Each leaf is about eight feet long and in light brown color. The fiber is exceptionally durable and makes strong hats.
Raffia straw hats are ideal for eco-friendly lovers as they are entirely recyclable and organic. These floppy Panama hats make a very stylish accessory for summer wear.
Shantung straws:
The mystery straws that are exceedingly popular in the fashion industry is the shantung fiber which is glossy and smooth. Many people confused shantung with toyo due to the color and texture resemblance. The traditional shantung straws come from paper yarn, “Washi,” from the Manila Hemp plant (growing in Philippines Island). Contemporary shantung headcovers are machine-made after flattening the woven sheets in long straw shapes then blocking them into relevant hat shapes.
You have a wide variety of color choices in shantung as the fiber undergoes the dyeing and bleaching process before the weaving. These are one of the most budget-friendly head accessories, so; they make ideal for mass gifts.
Milan straws:
The classic Milan hats are ideally Mylan straws originating from Italy. These resemble the Panama hats that are wide-brimmed with floppy sides. The weaving of the Milan cap is very intricate and durable. Several criss-cross weaving goes around to create an of its kind headcover. Present-day, the Milan hats are machine-made with hemp plant leaves and synthetic plastic. The plastic coating on top adds life to the headgear, making it one of the most popular weather protection caps for all.
The straw hats are lightweight and portable – you can dump these in your handbags, and when you take them out, they bounce back to their original shape. This is the reason these are extremely popular for travel. You can get costume matching woven hats that come with embroideries and adornments for unique events.