Oh my goodness, I want to go to Finland and take a felting class with Elina Saari! (Isn't she cute?) Look at the amazing clothes she makes to go with her 'out of this world' hats! Be sure and look at her class photos here, talk about inspiring!
These delightful creations are by British Milliner Juliet Fawcus!
These hats are by Bay Area Milliner Kate Bishop. 
Today was day number two of my hat class with Master Milliner Wayne Wichern! And what a day!!! First he spray starched our hats so that they would retain their wonderful shapes. The top photo shows my 3 hats to the left, still having their 'ties' on, ready to be sprayed. After spraying we took our hats off their wood blocks and finished the edges, using an industrial sewing machine (talk about FAST!) - it took a bit of practice... Then we added a grosgrain ribbon to the inside, sized to fit our heads. Last we began the process of Embellishment! For my first hat, (black and tobacco) I had originally thought I would sew the two colors together in the middle, to create a taller hat (kind of like you see in its original incarnation) and then handsew the pleats together on one side, like a one-sided accordian. 
Well, this ended up being too tall for my taste. I cut off one tobacco colored band and sewed it onto the bottom edge, and then freyed both sides of what was left of the tobacco part, twisted it, and made a 'butterfly' embellishment out of it. Voila! so much more interesting, and I really like how the freyed edges look against the finished hat.
For my second hat, (cloche in two tones of tan) I simply hand-sewed down an extra pleat to the side, which gave it more shape and added a little more interest. 
My last and favorite hat turned out to be a bit of a challange. It become stuck to the form while starched, so when I pulled it off, it turned inside out and had horrible wrinkles all over it! NOT what I had in mind... I re-blocked it, steamed it back into shape, let it dry, and then it came off perfect! I played around with a few different trimmings, knowing I definitely wanted to use a vintage purple straw 'puff' that I've had stashed away for ages.
Wayne pulled out some wide black 'horsehair' ribbon and I knew that was it! I bunched it up to one side, making a faux bow of sorts, added my puff on top and it looks splendid! It needs a little 'special something' of a button for the center, but otherwise its quite a statement piece! My husband thinks it would be the perfect hat for Professor McGonagall (of 'Harry Potter') to wear to the beach (with a Victorian bathing suit and black parasol of course!) I think I'll wear it to my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary this June, with a dress rather than a bathing suit, but I kind of like the parasol idea... What do you think???
If you know the basics of hat making you'll apprciate the beauty of these contemporary hat blocks made by Roberto Bini of Florence. His shapes are like little sculptures to me, beautifully constructed and well thought out.
I just love these hats by Terry Graziano from NY. "The results of her kinetic imagination are women’s hats that can change silhouette and mood at the wearer’s whim. Buttons, drawstrings, pleats, tucks and folds – these are the deceptively simple features that, when manipulated, allow one hat to provide several different looks, often ranging from sophisticated to edgy. When combined with a woman’s imagination, the possibilities are endless." Be sure and look at all her other hat designs too!
ARE YOU HUNGRY? DINNER IS SERVED! 
AND THE PARLOR MAIDS BROUGHT DESSERT!
(Found at the Costumer's Manifesto)
Just look what artist Molly Hill dreams up for hats! Aren't they amazing??? Oh to have a 'Rooster Hat' early in the morning, or a 'Parachute Hat' when the wind is blowing... And haven't you always wondered what the tooth fairy wears on her/his head? I have, and I am so glad that Molly shows us all this and much more! She makes me want to sculpt dolls again - not to mention raiding the refrigerator for hat supplies!!!! 
