The Art of Hat Making

The art of hat making dates back centuries, and milliner Erin Saboe continues many of the traditions with the handmade women’s hats that she makes today.

She begins the process of creating one-of-a-kind women’s hats by ordering the finest felt and straw from around the world, including Ecuador, Asia, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The weave and feel of straw determine its quality – the smaller and tighter the weave, the better.

The straw is shipped to her studio in Cherry Creek, in Denver, Colorado, on a cone-shaped tube with a closed end. Erin steams the straw and sizes it shapes it into Kentucky Derby hats, dress hats, or Panama hats, using antique wooden milliner’s blocks.

After the straw’s been allowed to dry overnight, Erin pulls the hat off the block, trims the raw edges, sews wire into the brim of the hat, adds a sweat band, and then begins the artistic part – the colorful, artistic embellishments.

Erin adds vintage ribbon, feathers, silk flowers (which she hand sews), and veiling to create distinctive, one-of-a-kind women’s hats.