Millinery Hat Making and Design - Mourning Millinery

By Read Books Ltd.

Whereas 'hatmaking' refers to the manufacturing of hats and headwear, 'millinery' refers to both the designing and making of hats. This antique text contains a comprehensive guide to the designing and manufacturing of women's hats, specifically as an accompaniment to mourning attire. A wonderful guide complete with detailed diagrams and photographs, this text is sure to appeal to modern milliners and anyone with an interest in antiquated fashion and clothing. Chapters comprising this text include: 'Veils', 'Hemming and Bordering Veils', 'Hats and Toques', and more. This antique text has been chosen for modern republication due to its historical and educational value, and we are proud to republish it now complete with a new introduction to the topic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Aug 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473352070

Book preview

MOURNING MILLINERY

MATERIALS USED FOR MOURNING

VEILS

CRAPE AND NET VEILS

1. One of the most important branches of the millinery business is that which concerns the design and construction of correct mourning apparel, since it requires a careful study of the rules and customs of mourning wear, and strict adherence thereto. If mourning dress is to be adopted after the death of a relative, it must be correct. No compromise can be made. In some countries it is the custom to wear mourning for 30 days after the death of a friend, but this is not the case in the United States. Flags at half-mast and buildings draped in black for a period of 30 days are the usual signs of mourning for one prominent in public life, and the wearing of a black band around the hat or the sleeve of the coat seems to be the prevailing badge of mourning worn by the men. Women, however, have a much wider latitude in the selection of appropriate mourning dress. In some countries, the wearing of mourning by a family is extended even to the children in the family; but in the United States, only girls above 16 years of age and women ordinarily dress in mourning.

2. Crape.—Crape is the only material manufactured to be used as a mourning fabric, and in black and white colors it is never used for any other purpose. If deep mourning is to be worn, then crape must be used either as a trimming or for the entire outfit. A number of years ago, only black crape was used, but in recent years white has been introduced and in some parts of the United States it is given the preference over black. This is entirely a matter of personal choice. Crape comes in various widths, which are designated as 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, etc., these fractions signifying the widths in yards. Thus, 2/4 crape is crape having a width of 2/4 yd., or 18 in., 3/4 crape has a width of 27 in., 4/4 crape has a width of 1 yd., and so on. This width is measured before the fabric has been run through the machine that produces the crinkles, or tears (pronounced teers); consequently, the finished product is not actually as wide as the fractions would seem to indicate, because the crinkling process reduces the width. Strange as it may seem, there is a right side to crape, and all crape must be used with the right side out. To decide which is the right side, lay the crape on a table with the selvage edge at the left-hand end of the table. When the right side of the material is up, the diagonals, or tears, will run from the left down toward the right. This is shown clearly in Fig. 1.

FIG. 1

3. The crape manufactured at the present time is far superior to that made a few years ago. It is waterproof, as each strand or thread is waterproofed before the fabric is woven. There are two kinds of finish for crape, known as the French finish and the English finish. The French finish is soft and dull and is best adapted for veils, while the English finish is bright and crisp. French crêpe must not be confused with mourning crape. French crêpe is a cotton material, made in all colors, and is used for many purposes in millinery, while mourning crape is made wholly of silk, the surface of which is covered with crinkles, or tears. On account of the various widths in which crape may be purchased, no definite amounts are given for the making of the mourning hats described in this Section. In order to ascertain the amount required for any hat, it would be advisable to make up a model, using for this purpose cheap muslin costing 6 or 7 cents a yard, keeping accurate account of the amount of muslin used, and then purchasing the same amount of crape from which to make the hat. This same plan can be used to find the amount of crape required for borders on veils.

4. Periods of Mourning.—There are rules with regard to the length of time mourning should be worn, and one who observes the wearing of mourning must abide by them. A widow dressing in deep mourning must wear crape for her millinery and crape-trimmed wraps and gowns, and she must wear deep mourning for 1 year. During the next 6 months she may wear