2012 Hatmaking Classes by Jan Wutkowski, Millinery Artist
Dates are added throughout the year — please check back regularly.
Please Note: Some venues may not list these classes until close to the dates they will be presented. Continue to check the ”Registration Information” sites or contact the venue for registration.
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January 14-21, 2012
The International Millinery Forum in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
Rock The Block: Fascinator Forms
Learn to make your own blocks for standard or unusual fascinator/small hat forms. Use easy-to-find, inexpensive household materials to design and produce your form — a button, a heart, a top hat, a teardrop…what will yours be? This newly found skill can then be utilized to make larger crowns and brims at a later time.
Dyeing to Make Hats: Straws
Easy to use, non-toxic professional dyes will be used to dye a hood (sleeve/cone) and several lengths of straw yardage: sinamay, jinsin, paris cloth, silk straw and/or raffia cloth. Techniques include gradient dyeing, vat dyeing, painting/stamping, and free-form (tie-dye) dyeing. Make your straws unique in color, shading, design! Time permitting we will create one free-form styled hat from the straw.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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May 19-20, 2012
Spruill Center For the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30338
Crin (Horsehair) Hats, Fascinators & Embellishments
Have you wondered how to create light and airy hat confections from crin, or as it is also known—horsehair braid? We will take this seemingly untamable material and use it to create crowns, brims, and even some traditional and non-traditional embellishments like bows, swirls, flowers, and trims. Start with the basics of creating shapes from crin then move to gathering and binding raw edges, and finally on to distressing and creating unexpected bits to embellish your hats with. Discover ways to wire the edges for further shape and beautiful detail. One big brimmed hat and one fascinator will be designed, created, and embellished in class.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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June 8-9, 2012
Southwest School of Art, 300 Augusta Street, San Antonio TX 78205
Hatblock Carving—Straw/Felt Hats
Design and carve the building block of millinery, the hatblock. And do it with inexpensive, easily found materials. Many shapes and styles are possible. Learn the differences in blocking straw versus felt and how they are structurally different from each other. Demonstrations on specialty stitching, finishing techniques, and embellishment tips will also be covered. Up to 3 different blocks and hats can be completed in class. Parisisal straw and fur felt hats.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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June 23-24, 2012
The Art League School, 105 North Union Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Fascinators: Hats and Headpieces for Everyone
The fashion world continues to be ‘fascinated’ by these tiny headpieces that have taken the world by storm. Fascinators can be created using wire, straw, horsehair, feathers, veiling, ribbon, and many other materials in combination. Learn to use millinery wire, sew straw braid, fasten feathers and veiling, use horsehair to make bows and fringe, use hat secures to make sure they stain in place on the head, and many other techniques. There are on rules and everyone uses their imagination and the millinery skills demonstrated in class to fashion their own headpieces.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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July 26-28, 2012
Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St Berkeley, CA 94703
July 26-27: French Flowermaking: 3 Exotics
French flowermaking…an age-old process of creating beautiful flowers from specialized tools and rich fabrics. Each heated tool is used to shape fabric petals, leaves, and stems, as well as the textures associated with each flower part. Learn the secrets to prepping and stabilizing fabrics, cutting, shaping and assembly of each petal and part. In this class you will be making 2-3 flowers using the radius head, rattail, spoon, hammer, and knife. Patterns for 3 exotic flowers, stamens and wire will be used along with natural fabric choices—silk, cotton, linen, rayon, bamboo, and lightweight woolens—to create your flowers. Please Note: This class is NOT a repeat of last year’s roses and orchids class.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
July 28: Fashioning Fascinators — Sinamay Headpieces
Fascinators are all the rage in women’s headwear. Take a day to learn shaping techniques with sinamay straw yardage to create fun and fashionable pieces to wear casually or for more formal occasions. Sinamay is an easily manipulated straw used extensively in modern millinery. Twisting, pleating, bias folding, rolled edges, distressing, fringed edges and other free-form shaping ideas will be used in making your piece.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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Aug 19-26, 2012
John C. Campbell Folk School, 1 Folk School Road Brasstown, NC 28902
Aug. 19-24: Hats and the Fabrics That Love Them (Buckram & Surface Design)
Dive headfirst into a weeklong immersion creating beautiful buckram hats…and then cover them with incredible fabricated textiles. Three hats will be made: a pre-formed buckram shape, and dry- and wet-shaped buckram shapes, Many hat styles are possible, including historical shapes and the newer fascinator/cocktail shapes so popular now. Secondly, you’ll manipulate, even create, your own textiles to cover the buckram hats using fabrication techniques such as pleating, slashing, burning, overlaying and dissolve methods. Very basic sewing skill needed.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
Aug. 24-26: French Flowermaking
Learn old-world flowermaking skills using traditional heated tools like the rattail, spoon, knife and radius head to shape flower petals one at a time. Create 2 flowers, a rose and a peony, using stamens, assembling petals and leaves, adding tendrils and other elements to make beautiful flowers. Wear on a hat, jacket, sash or use in home décor. NOT ribbon flowers.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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Sept 15-16, 2012
Spruill Center For the Arts, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30338
Blocking Hats: Straw/Felt Open Studio
Beginning through advanced milliners will enjoy this class of blocking straws and felts over traditional hatblocks. Studio will make available over a dozen blocks to use over the weekend. Beginners will learn the very basics of steam blocking and more advanced students have an opportunity to block as many hats as they like over the more complex hatblocks. Each will progress at their own comfort level. Learn about the blocking differences in felts, straws and other millinery mediums; puzzle blocks; shaping and couture finishing techniques. Coaching for all skill levels will be available.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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Oct 6-8, 2012
TLD Design Center, 26 E. Quincy Street, Westmont, IL 60559
Oct 6: Millinery Ribbonwork
Looking for some beautiful and unique ribbon creations for your hats? Learn to make a ribbon pleater for beautifully draped and pleated flatwork, plus several methods for 'ribbon origami' or cockades. Use the cockades as a single lovely accent or in multiples of multi-colored ribbon for a brim full of interest.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
Oct. 7-8: Rock the Block: Fascinators and Forms
Learn to make your own blocks for standard or unusual fascinator/small hat forms. Use easy-to-find, inexpensive household materials to design and produce your form--a button, a heart, a top hat, a teardrop…what will yours be? After the two blocks have been created you will use them to create straw, felt, and/or sinamay fascinators. Embellish your two beauties with feathers, beading, ribbon (from Saturday's class?), flowers or other objects.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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Nov 10-11, 2012
The Art League School, 105 North Union Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Dyeing to Make Hats
Easy to use, non-toxic professional dyes will be used to dye a hood (sleeve/cone) and several lengths of straw yardage: sinamay, jinsin, paris cloth, silk straw and/or raffia cloth. Techniques include gradient dyeing, vat dyeing, painting/stamping, and free-form (tie-dye) dyeing. Make your straws unique in color, shading, design! Time permitting we will create one free-form styled hat from the straw.
REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to the venue’s webite for registration).
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Please contact us if you are interested in having Jan make a proposal to teach in your area — including internationally. Contact us at jan@hatshatshats.com or 910-397-9099.