Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-02-27

mat Is. man 5 nat must nave q Side
of certain hight, and brim of a GER
tain width. "A dealer in leaf could
estimate accurately the number of |
hats that could be made from a given !
quantity of leaf of certain grade.
Some braiders could make more hats
from a pound of leaf than others, so
in order to lessen wastefulness the
leaf was sold to the braiders and it's
cost deducted when the hats were |
paid for
The first step in the evolution Of a |
hat. after the leaf was in the hands Of
the braiders was to trim" it and
count it out" Many of the strands
would not be split their entire length,
and these unsplit portions had to be
clipped off with scissors. Then the
two ends of the bunch of leaf would
be brought together and the shorter
protruding strands pulled out and
laid aside. The longest strands
would be reserved for the BUTTON
the beginning of the hat. Every
braider knew the number of strands
required for every widening in a hat,
of strands. After these were counted
out and each set done up by itself,
all were hung in some damp place;
usually by the side of the cellar
stairs.
There was an ancient great-aunt of
mine who had the reputation of be-
ing one of the best braiders, and get
ting more hats out of pound of leaf
than any braider for miles around.
She used to make my mother semi
annual visits 1t was one of the joys
of my earliest childhood to see Aunt
Sally's pumpkin hood fingered de-
lain dress, gorgeous carpet bag, cap
box and bunch of palm leaf coming
down the road to the house. The
cap would soon be adjusted over the
false front" After the old lady mad
been duly installed in the Boston
| rocker. and had refreshed herself
with a pinch of snuff she would begin
a hat.
The making of the button" is too
complicated to be explained without
| the aid of illustrations. After it is
completed it is a small plated square
ready for the first lining" Aunt
Sally used to call it. This and two
more Jennings with plain rows be-
! tWeea and after, constitutes the
| crown which will have become round
and fiat from the additions of the eX-
| ira strands. A bowl of water con-
| tanning a sponge always stands by the
! side of q braider, and the strands are
often mOistened as the work proceeds.
| When the crown is completed il is
fattened on the knee, turned. and
| the last row "pinched down" to in
| dictate the beginning of the side. The
| side is the cream of the work. Any
| skilled braider can read and braid at
| the same time, and | am sure Aunt
| Sally used to snOOze while the nimble
old fingers worked automatically
| When the side was the required hight
| the last row was pinched down and
| two or three more Jennings and rows
of plain braiding added to complete
the brim which was then bound off -
! The hats were sometimes braided in
| fanciful designs.
The finest variety was plated in
what was known as "oyer one and I'M
der one" and a double brim added to
the beauty and durability of many.
Very small sums were paid for the
| braiding of the cOarser grades, but |
remember seeing hats in my father S
! possession that had cost one dollar
| apiece for the braiding. and the leaf
| furnished. | have also often heard
| the story of a braider who braided
| hats by the case and earned enough
| to buy her wedding outfit, the old
! fashioned outfit that included not
abundant supply of all that was neces-
sary for housekeeping excepting the
furniture. Those good old times
for the groom-were about 1910.
The few hat braiders now living
show much skill and ingenuity in
the braiding of nests of boxes, glove
and handkerchief boxes, hair receiv-
| ers and other trifies out of the finest
grades of palm leaf. These articles
are to be found at many summer re.
sorts, and at the wOman's exchange in
| New York and other cities. | am
sure if these skilled braiders would
turn their attention to the making
of a shade hat out of the finest leaf
Obtainable, they would find a ready
market for all they could braid among
women who love artistic, beautiful
| handmade work.