LONDON HAT MAKING — ELENA SHVAB

I didn't go to London specifically for a hat making class. But I was there for four weeks, fitting in fabric shopping, a smocking class in Italy, and a stop in Lisbon — and somewhere in the middle of all of that I booked a three hour millinery session with Elena Shvab at Make Space Studios in SE1.

I wasn't looking to become a milliner. I just wanted to know how it was done.

THE CLASS

It was just me and Elena — no other students, which meant three hours of proper focused instruction. And while the materials were completely new to me — sinamay, buckram, hat wire, none of which I'd touched before — the underlying logic wasn't entirely foreign. Everything is cut and folded on the bias, which is also done in garment sewing even if the end result looks nothing like a dress.

THE FASCINATOR

We made a fascinator on a sinamay base — natural straw coloured, small and structured. The base gets steamed into shape over a hat block, which is where the sinamay's properties really show themselves — hold it in the steam long enough and it moulds exactly where you want it, then sets as it cools.

The edging is cut on the bias, same principle as garment sewing, which allows it to stretch smoothly around the curved perimeter without pulling or puckering. There was hand sewing involved too — attaching the edging, securing the design elements to the base, finishing the underside cleanly.

The detail on top is navy sinamay shaped into pleats and a dramatic upward sweep, with a gold ribbon spiral running through it, all sewn onto the base. The whole thing is finished with a veil, which I was not expecting to enjoy making as much as I did.

It took the full three hours. There's more to a small hat than you'd think.

WHAT IT WAS ACTUALLY LIKE

Completely different from anything I'd done before — the shaping especially, where you steam the sinamay and mould it while it's still warm. It doesn't behave like fabric. It has its own logic and it holds whatever shape you give it, which is both satisfying and slightly unforgiving. I think this would also be good with some feathers added and I keep thinking about the shop in Soho with a whole wall of them — I've been in once and left with nothing, which I'm still annoyed about.

I haven't worn it yet — I made it to learn the process rather than to have a fascinator, though I do have a perfectly good one now. I'll go back and do another class with Elena next time I'm in London. There's so much more to learn and honestly it was one of the most enjoyable three hours I've had in a workroom.