As a shopper at craft fairs, I have appreciated the creativity and quality workmanship of artfully made products. This past weekend, it was different. I was on the other side of the table as a craft fair vendor. It gave me pleasure when people admired, touched, and tried on hats that I had handcrafted. It delighted me when someone …
Author Archives: tracyj
What Hat to Wear?
Over the years, I have worn a variety of hats…as a dentist, an educator, and a traveller. Now I am passionate about photography and millinery. It is difficult for me to dabble. Immersion better describes how I learn. I have sewn and crocheted most of my life. In hat making, first I learned how to …
Pima Cotton: Cream of the Crop
Pima cotton is a premium cotton, also known as Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton. Its longer fibres (1-3/8 inch) give a soft hand, durability, and resistance to pilling. Conventional cottons, which make up the bulk of cottons on the market, have fibre lengths of 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch. The name “Pima” honours the Pima …
Slow Fashion
We live in a keep up, hurry up, and need for instant gratification society. Fast food, fast photography, fast fashion. Let’s order take-out food on the way home from work. Maybe there will be time to shop on the weekend for local ingredients and prepare a traditional meal for the family. No cell phones allowed …
West Vancouver Community Centre Fall Artisan Market
Start your holiday shopping with gifts that are unique, locally made and handcrafted. West Vancouver Community Centre, 2121 Marine Drive, is having its annual Fall Artisan Market next weekend. I will be there on Sunday, November 3rd, 2019 from 10 AM-4 PM. Please drop by to meet me at my first market event and check …
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Let’s get physical
Tennis rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe battled it out at Wimbledon in 1980. Each of the athletes donned a headband, to keep their long hair under control and sweat out of their eyes. Borg’s was striped and McEnroe’s was red. Their tennis games and styles were iconic. Many of today’s active wear fabrics have …
On the streets of Paris
Hat Anatomy
To appreciate the design of a hat, it is helpful to look at its structure and basic components. The crown of the hat sits on top of your head above the brim. The bucket hat has an additional top piece. The brim of the hat is the horizontal part that extends from the crown and …
Something Old, Something New
A few interesting hat projects have emerged from upcycled materials. A pair of vintage camouflage pants became a bush hat. The brush stroke pattern of Rhodesian camouflage was trimmed with crown loops made from twill tape of the waist tie. The hat was lined with 100% cotton and the same twill tape was used on …
Ubiquitous Buckets
The bucket hat is back. Take note of it topping heads on the street, in the garden, out fishing, and even on the runway, Bucket hats are symmetrical with a flat crown shape and down-facing brim. Soft, simple, solid-coloured fabrics like cotton, twill, and canvas have commonly been used for this style of hat, but today’s versions …
Hats by Tracy J 