Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1911 — RAFFIA HAT FOR WINTER [ARTICLE]

RAFFIA HAT FOR WINTER

Sounds Rather Unseasonable for Frigid Weather, but Is All Right i at That. The raffia hat will do very good service for evening wear even now. But what it is' chiefly designed for is evening make —in other words, a very pleasant and profitable way to spend the Idle hours that come, more or less frequently, to all of us. The hat is of braided raffia, natural colored or dyed, and made by hand from beginning to end. First, it is plaited in long strips, just as tightly and as evenly as possible. When you have about two dozen of your - thin “pigtails,” start sewing them together, round and round, forming the crown first. A paper pattern, cut out from any broad picture hat you may have, will serve as a model. By thus braiding and sewing at the same time you can get an idea of how much raffia you will need. When you get to the brim, plait more loosely, as the “floppy” effect is picturesque and desirable. Lined with silk, the raffia hat makes a charming frame for a young face. The older women may desire something more in the line of a turban. This Is obtained by braiding loosely and winding the raffia round and round upon Itself. Of course, if you wish, you may work over a wire or canvas foundation, but where stiffening really seems necessary it Is best to give It by means of milliner’s wire, which can be sewed Just where needed. The fashionable turbans nowadays, which fasten way down over the ears, and are so soft and close-fitting that they need no pins to hold them, seem to cry aloud for raffia as their material. There are great possibilities here for the clever woman.