Dipping into Indigo Dyeing

A finished “Antibes Fedora” I made from a Panama straw that I dipped in the Indigo.

Not long ago I had the pleasure of taking an Indigo Dyeing workshop at The French General in Los Angeles. Even though (in theory) I spend my days being creative in the studio, I love when I get the opportunity to delve into an artistic endeavor outside my studio. I learn so much from being around other creative women, seeing their process and how they approach working with materials. I always come back inspired and ready to create something new.

The class started with a quick history of indigo dyeing and a walk through the process of Shibori, a traditional Japanese dyeing method that uses indigo. In Shibori the fabric is folded and held in place with wooden resistors to create intricate designs. It is similar to a tie dye but rather than using ties to create the dye barriers, you use wooden plates or resistors and are able to get a much wider range of patterns and designs.

From there we created the dye baths with the indigo and set about manipulating our fabrics using both the Shibori techniques and some tie dye methods as well (pictures above).

I used a wide variety of fabrics to see how they would take to the dye, silk, linen, cotton and various hat bodies in sisal and Panama straw. I tried several different wooden resistors and folding methods along with some corks wound into the fabrics to create a circular deign.

As the day progressed and the dye bath diluted, the indigo color changed as well which I found interesting. The great thing about indigo dye is that the bath will hold for a day or two so if you're doing it at home you can dye things over several days and create more intricate patterns. You can see some of my finished pieces below drying on the line.

I’ve used the pieces I created to make a few “one off” hats as well as for linings in cut & sew hats. I also cut some of the larger pieces down to make a set of napkins and to wrap some gifts.

It was a really fun class, I can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for a creative way to pass an afternoon. If you want to try your hand at Indigo Dyeing there a couple of upcoming workshops this Fall, October 11th & November 3rd at Bravo School of Art in San Diego and October 15th at French General in Los Angeles.

Tales of Hat Repairs, Volume 2

I can’t say enough how much I want you to wear and enjoy your JCMillinery hats! Don’t worry about ruining them, they are made to last and if life happens and they need a little love just give us a call and we will happily fix it up for you.

Recently I received an email from a client whose favorite hat, a custom version of our L’espionne fedora was damaged in her move across the country. The hat was completely crushed and had tear in the straw of the crown.

To bring the hat back to life I first removed the existing trim and inner headsize ribbon and put the hat back on the original hat block it was formed on. Using a combination of steam, ironing and pinning the hat returned to its original shape. From there, I cut off the existing crown (with the hole in it) and went through our Panama straw supply to find a new straw that was a close color match to the existing hat. Next, I blocked a new fedora crown and attached it to the existing brim. I refreshed and reattached the hats’ original trim and put a new ribbon inside to fit the hat to the clients headsize.

Voila, her hat is as good as new (but better because now it has a story to tell).

Click through the gallery below to see the process from start to finish:

Tales of Hat Repairs, Volume 1

I always tell people when they buy one of my hats, that they have to wear it and by that I mean to really wear it and take it on adventures far and wide. It's made from quality materials and it will stand up to life. Along with that, I also offer the caveat that if your hat has too much fun on its travels, as sometimes hats will do, just bring it in and in most cases we can revive it, not withstanding a battle scar or two.  

Here is an example from my own collection. One of my favorite hats for both sun protection and style is the "La Plage". This one is the original production sample that I made 4 years ago. It's traveled all over with me and seen it's fair share of beaches and manhandling by my kids. Like a great pair of jeans, the more I wore it the better it felt and the fraying band and cracks in the straw just gave it a bit of character along the way. But like all good things, her time had come and I could no longer feel good telling people I was a milliner while wearing a hat with a giant hole in it...

The good news is, my beloved hat and I did not have to part ways entirely. She was made from a high quality Panama straw and although the crown of the hat was not reparable, the brim was still supple and in great condition. So, "off with her head", I removed the crown and replaced it with a lovely linen crown and then I added a soft wire and ribbon binding to the edge of the brim. Volia, my beloved "La Plage" transformed herself into my new favorite packable hat, "Voyager". 

Click through the gallery below to see the process from start to finish: