Rachel Frost
‘The Swallow’
The starting point for this hat was the discovery of a 16th century British portrait of an unknown wealthy lady, sent to me by a private collector. In the portrait, the lady is wearing a large ruff and an outlandishly tall beaver felt hat, balanced high on the top of her head. The hat would have been a costly item at the time, the pinnacle of fashion, made from expensive materials brought from America, and crafted by the most skilled of the English hat-makers (or 'Feltmakers', as they would have been known).
Using the portrait as inspiration, I have used this challenging project as a learning opportunity to expand upon my existing knowledge and specialist skills in historical feltmaking, for hats.
Not for sale.
“As a historical hatter, I focus on historical British designs, made using authentic techniques and materials. In this particular case, the hat is made of felt which, prior 1860, would have been made entirely by hand by highly skilled ‘Feltmakers’ who, through a series of complex processes would turn raw fibres into hard wearing, quality felt suitable for the demands of a functional hat.
At the time that the portrait was painted, Britain was a global leader in Feltmaking and exported its hats worldwide. With the advent of industrialisation, the hand-craft died out, leaving behind very little evidence of its existence. For a number of years, I have been working to regain the lost knowledge of this forgotten Heritage Craft.
’The Swallow’ was made using the same materials and processes employed by the sixteenth century hatmakers, using a combination of replica tools and an original 19th century Hatter’s Bow-Carder from Cheshire.”
Materials and Techniques
Hand-felted, hand-dyed fur-felt, with repurposed and vintage trims in silk, leather and rayon. Hand stitched antique linen coif. Vintage British Military embroidered badge.
The first and most time consuming element of the process is the making of the felt itself. The raw fibres are fluffed up and arranged with a Bow-Carder to the desired size and thickness, before being consolidated through agitation over a hot stove and then rolled and immersed in near boiling water. During these processes, the hat shrinks to about 40% of its original size. At this stage the hat is dyed.
The felt is then blocked in one piece. Working from the original painting, I designed a dismantlable puzzle-block (essential for it to be removed from the hat after blocking due to the outward flare of the design). This was expertly turned for me in walnut wood by Owen Morse-Brown.
Millinery Heritage
“I came to hatmaking, through a love of traditional and historical crafts. I work in a wide variety of craft disciplines using natural materials, and focusing on British traditions. I didn’t set out to become a hatmaker, but somehow most things I make turn into hats...or perhaps it’s because the ‘canvas’ of hats offers endless possibilities to explore lots of fascinating craft!
I am entirely self taught and am continually learning. The process and the journey are, for me, probably more important than the final product itself.”
About Rachel Frost
Rachel Frost is a Hatter and a Historian. Inspired by a love of folk tradition and history, she uses a variety of traditional craft skills to create both historical hats and her own original designs. Sustainability and the environment plays a fundamental roll in her making process, using natural materials, foraged plant fibres, natural plant-dyes and low-impact technology.
She specialises in the making of hand-felted hats using a 'Hatter's Bow'. This hat making process was used throughout Britain until the mid 19th century when the craft died out due to mechanisation. She is currently the only person in Europe using this process.
In 2009 she received the Janet Arnold award to conduct a study of early felt hats held in British collections. Since then she has continued to research the pre- industrial history of felt hat making and is currently conducting a global study of this little known craft, which has so far taken her to Hungary, Turkey and Mexico.