All Blog Posts Tagged '#2023' - Learn How To Make Hats Online | Hat Academy Millinery Courses

Veiling and Shaping Live Mentor

2026-02-26T03:00:00.000Z

Learn alongside Sophie Allport as you explore veiled brim headpieces and receive extra guidance on finishing and creative details for your project.

» Learn…

Sophie Allport Mentor

2025-11-20T07:30:00.000Z

Join Sophie Allport for an exclusive live mentoring session exploring thermoplastic foundations and blocking bold shapes.
» Learn more

ASM 1107 Singer

2025-10-31T22:05:05.000Z

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ASM 1107-1, £ SINGER 107-1

I’m searching to purchase sweatband sewing machine ASM 1107-1, Singer 107-1,Thank you

Designer Spotlight: Kelly Maskell

2025-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

Kelly Maskell blends a lifelong love of making with eclectic inspiration. Recently, her design “Graffiti and Grace” won the Millinery Australia Student Award.
» Read more

New Essential Saucer Lesson

2025-09-10T05:30:00.000Z

Create a pleated Jinsin saucer hat using simple materials, learn techniques including wirework and tailored finishing to design striking millinery.

» Learn…

How Do You Make a Felt Hat?

2025-08-21T05:00:00.000Z

If you've ever admired the timeless elegance of fedora or trilby hats, learning how to craft your own felt hat is a rewarding creative journey. While felt hat making can appear daunting at first, mastering just a few key steps unlocks endless possibilities. Let’s dive into the process and explore how a master milliner can guide you from raw materials to finished headwear.

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title="Classic Statement Hats Course Preview">

🎥 Watch the Classic Statement Hats Course trailer (1 min)

Step 1: Prepare and stiffen the felt

First, select high-quality felt, its look and shape depend heavily on how well it's prepared.

In the Hat Academy’s Classic Statement Hats Course, Master Milliner Lina Stein walks you through how to prepare and stiffen the felt, ensuring it’s ready for blocking and shaping.

How to apply stiffener to felt for optimal firmness.
Methods to prepare felt that responds well to shaping and steam.

Step 2: Blocking and shaping the crown

Shaping the crown is where the magic happens. Using a hat block, steam, and your hands (plus Lina’s signature grid system), you’ll mold the crown into elegant, precise contours.

Step 3: Cutting and wiring the brim

A high-quality hat relies on well-crafted brim detailing. The course covers how to cut the brim accurately, attach wiring securely for structure, and bind the edges neatly.

Step 4: Shaping the open crown

Lina Stein’s grid system takes center stage again as you finalize the crown shape. Through guided steam molding, you’ll perfect the indentations and elegant lines that define a fedora or trilby.

Step 5: Finishing touches: trim, lining, and headbands

The final styling elevates your hat from handcrafted to couture. Learn how to apply trims with finesse, line the crown for comfort and durability, and attach fitted headbands.

Bonus: Tutor support & learning tools

This course isn’t just video lectures, it’s an immersive learning experience:

5 on-demand lessons (around 6 hours of tuition)
A detailed companion worksheet to track your progress
Tutor Talk session with Lina Stein for Q&A and feedback

Why choose the classic statement hats course?

Expert Instructor: Learn from Lina Stein, with over 30 years in millinery.
Structured Learning: From felt prep to trimming, each step builds on the last.
Creative Freedom: Shape crowns with Lina’s grid system, no expensive blocks needed.
Ongoing Support: Companion materials and live Q&A elevate your learning experience.

In Summary

Yes, you can create a beautiful felt hat at home! By following the stages of stiffening felt, blocking and shaping the crown, wiring the brim, and finishing with trims and linings, you transform raw felt into stylish headwear.

🎓 Ready to create your own?
Join the Classic Statement Hats Course with Master Milliner Lina Stein and take your skills further.

New Parisisal Wired Bows Lesson

2025-08-13T05:30:00.000Z

Add a touch of grace that holds its shape. Lauren J Ritchie, known for her contemporary trims, shares how to wire and sculpt parisisal bows.

» Learn…

Contours With Crinoline Live Lesson

2025-07-18T00:30:00.000Z

Rediscover this historic fabric as you learn to shape lightweight structures, ideal for creating striking headpieces with style.
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Designer Spotlight: Ellie Jian

2025-07-17T08:19:44.000Z

Ellie Jian’s millinery journey is a reflection of how passion, artistry, and personal connection can transform a simple accessory into wearable art.
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New Lesson: Shape & Drape

2025-05-21T23:00:00.000Z

Louise Macdonald demonstrates how to shape, sew, and finish a one-of-a-kind headpiece using simple studio tools and techniques. A creative exploration in modern millinery.

» Learn…

Designer Spotlight: Isobel Robinson

2025-05-21T01:06:09.000Z

From biology to bows, Isobel Robinson blends timeless elegance with modern technique—creating tailored headwear that enhances natural beauty, shaped by hand in her Yorkshire home studio.

» Read…

Lina Stein Live Mentor

2025-04-23T00:15:11.000Z

In this exclusive live mentoring event focused on creative skills, Lina Stein offers guidance and demonstrations to help you create bespoke hats you’ll be proud of.

» Learn…

New Classic Statement Hats Course

2025-03-20T05:30:00.000Z

Design handcrafted open crown felt hats with Master Milliner Lina Stein, blending traditional hatting and contemporary millinery to create timeless Fedora and Trilby styles.

» Learn…

New Lesson: Bakerboy Cap

2025-02-18T23:00:00.000Z

Join creative milliner Lauren J. Ritchie and learn to design a stylish fabric Bakerboy Flat Cap. Explore pattern drafting, fabric tailoring, and finishing techniques in this step-by-step lesson.

» Learn…

Spotlight: Julie Herbert

2025-01-23T02:00:00.000Z

Julie Herbert shares insights into her creative process, recent projects, and the personal experiences that have shaped her millinery.
» Designer Spotlight

Waltraud Reiner Live Mentor

2024-12-18T22:30:00.000Z

Experience this live mentor session for personalised feedback and demonstrations, unlocking new artistic possibilities.
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New: Adorn With Felt Lesson

2024-10-30T01:00:00.000Z

Join Louise Macdonald for an engaging lesson on felt trims. Bring your designs to life and enjoy beautiful, polished results that will surely impress!

» Learn…

Spotlight: Kelly Hill

2024-10-02T04:00:00.000Z

Meet Kelly Hill, a talented milliner whose passion for feathers, artistic roots, and creative process inspire truly unique designs.
» Designer spotlight

New: Captivating Crinoline Lesson

2024-08-26T07:00:00.000Z

Experiment with different crinoline techniques with in-depth direction from Alison Clark.
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Spotlight: Stephanie Munro

2024-08-14T06:30:00.000Z

Learn how Stephanie Munro turned her lifelong love for hats into a vibrant profession, blending traditional and modern design in her creative journey.
» Designer Spotlight

New: Parisisal Button Lesson

2024-07-12T01:30:00.000Z

Master hat blocking techniques with Lauren Ritchie's expert guidance and creative insights.
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June Special: 50% Off

2024-06-13T06:30:00.000Z

Enjoy 50% off 1 Month of Studio+ this June with code JUNE50 — don't miss out!

» Get…

Block Maker's Choice

2024-03-19T05:00:00.000Z

Hat Blocks Australia team Darryll and Renee Osborne recommend this very popular High Arch Duchess block. It features a soft duck tail and a deep curved arched base. As it is not a head fit but the high arch allows the shape to perch firmly on either side of the wearers head, to give a jaunty appeal. Measurements are 7.5cm long and 6.5cm wide. If you have any Block questions contact Darryll or Renee for their expert advice.

New Velvet Flowers Lesson

2024-03-08T04:30:00.000Z

Discover essential techniques for working with velvet fabric and create gorgeous millinery florals.
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Custom Alice Bands Lesson

2024-01-31T03:30:00.000Z

Create tailored Alice Bands with tutor Sophie Allport, designed from the ground up.
» Learn more

Live Lesson Schedule 2024

2024-01-24T00:30:00.000Z

We are excited to announce the schedule of Live Lessons that will be held over the coming months, covering a range of creative millinery topics and guided by your favourite tutors. » Live Lessons

Millinery Highlights 2023

2023-12-25T22:30:00.000Z

We invite you to explore this year's highlights from Hat Academy and the millinery industry. Best wishes in the holiday season from the Hat Academy Team - thank you so much for your support throughout the year.
» 2023 Highlights

Cynthia Jones-Bryson 2023 Millinery Award

2023-12-18T04:30:00.000Z

Congratulations to Cynthia Jones-Bryson, whose exceptional talent has earned her the prestigious 2023 Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award, a testament to her imagination and skill. Winning this Millinery award for the third time is phenomenal and stands as a testament to Cynthia's ongoing innovation.

The perfect Trifecta on Melbourne Cup Day, what did this win mean to you personally?
Firstly let me say it was an absolute thrill, but very surreal to win this award. As it sinks in personally it feels a bit validating as well – I work hard at developing my skills and trying new things.

What is the name of this piece?
‘Sway With Me’ is the name of the headpiece. Inspired by the song Sway by Michael Buble.

How did the unique material used come about?
I found the material in a charity shop many years ago and only rediscovered I had it earlier in the year and I am still in the experimentation stage with it. The material is very lightweight making it comfortable to wear, two prototypes were produced to achieve the perfect fit.

What inspired your choice of colours?
I love colour and playing with combinations. Pink and green were a strong trend this year (lots of this colour combo at Flemington). I decided to go for chartreuse and fuchsia and dyed the chartreuse silk for the flowers.

The recent Gala event at NGV was a standout moment. How does their acquisition of your work hold significance for you?
It is truly an honour and one I will always treasure – its gives me a bench mark to design and create by.

Cynthia Jones-Bryson returns to the Millinery.info podcast to share about her recent winning piece for the Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award. As part of the prize, Cynthia attended the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Gala, and the piece is now acquired by the Gallery with thanks to the Victorian Racing Club (VRC).

» Discover more from @cynthiajonesbrysonmillinery

Behind The Hat: Olya Ryjenko

2023-12-05T05:00:00.000Z

Congratulations to Olya Ryjenko as the recipient of the First Prize Novice Award in Hatters Hattember 2023 Millinery Competition. Olya shares with us her inspiration and the design skills she used to create this winning whimsical piece.
Photo: Hattember

The theme for your category was “Happy Hatting” and your lobster creation certainly made us all smile. When you received your curated bag of Millinery supplies did your inspiration come immediately?
This might sound a little odd but I thought of the lobster as soon as I opened the materials pack – everything I received was red so it seemed like an obvious choice to me. I did initially spend time illustrating a number of other design ideas that were more traditional but my heart was really with the lobster concept so I decided to just go for it and see if I could make it work.

Amongst all the entries your headpiece certainly popped out in colour and shape as a form of surreal art. Is this your usual design styling?
As a novice milliner, I’m still discovering my preferences and enjoying trying different methods and styles. However, I’ve made a couple of pieces this year that quite overtly take inspiration from surrealist art. It’s an inviting genre for statement pieces that are injected with fun, absurdity and a sense of not taking oneself too seriously. It is definitely a style I keep gravitating towards and will continue to explore into the future. For me, this approach is emblematic of the fun you can have when you set aside the notion of traditional design aesthetics, particularly if the technical execution is done well. This is something I am continuing to work on and have some interesting ideas in mind for my next piece!

To shape the sinamay did you have suitable blocks or how did you improvise?
I had to do a bit of improvising. The lobster’s head was blocked using a couple of sinamay layers on a small button block. The claws were blocked with 2 layers on a slightly asymmetric toque/fez style crown block. Once dry, I removed the blocked sinamay from the block, marked the depth and trimmed it to the marking. I then squished the sinamay down to create a little fold and voilà, the claw was formed. The sinamay was very forgiving and I was pleasantly surprised that both claws could be folded symmetrically without issue.

Experimentation process.

What first sparked your interest in Millinery?
In my 20s I was obsessed with early twentieth century fashion with a huge interest in the hats and shoes of the 1920s to the 1940s. I briefly tried my hand at making custom reproduction clothing from that era for clients but eventually realised I really just wanted to make hats! I started making hats from vintage and reproduction patterns and then came across old instructional books from the early twentieth century that explained blocking and wiring. At the time, I felt like I was out of my depth so decided to start my millinery journey formally at TAFE College.

What is your previous experience with millinery competitions?
This is my third competition entry. Last year’s Hattember was my first and I was very proud to have been selected as a finalist in the Novice category. I strongly believe that competitions are a wonderful way for student or novice milliners to improve their skills. You may not know what materials you’re going to receive so you may end up having to really push yourself to work with materials or techniques you’ve never tried before. I think there’s a sense of validation there from being able to pull something together to a brief and challenge yourself. The more you do it, the better you get! You are also forced to work to a deadline which is fantastic training for working with clients.

Can you tell us about the use of veiling in the design?
The veiling was part of my materials pack and I was really pleased – I had just watched Louise Macdonald’s Different Hat, Same Veil Live Lesson on Hat Academy and at the time was particularly struck with her demo of making tiny feather claws to accent veiling. Serendipitously, I watched this lesson at the point where I was deciding which of my designs to proceed with and it was a perfect match - I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to add this detail to the veiling of my headpiece – it was meant to be!

Design process.

Judges place emphasis on finish and wearability. What steps did you take to ensure you had accomplished this criteria?
Judges’ feedback from the last hat competition I entered suggested I most needed to improve in these two areas so I got to practising! In particular, I focused on making wired headbands for a variety of hats and headpieces of different sizes and angles that require different support structures to hold them in place comfortably and securely. One headpiece is actually for an upcoming competition and is 70cm wide! By the time Hattember rolled around, I felt confident I could create a support that was both solid and attractive.

For the finish criterion, I leaned a bit further into the idea of millinery being ‘slow fashion’ and really took the time to practise keeping stitches small and even, hiding raw edges, making sure that surfaces are crisp – all the bread and butter millinery technique things. And if something didn’t look quite right, carefully unpicking and starting again. My motto is: “if the hat looks more like it belongs to a school Easter hat parade than to a millinery competition, undo and try again!” To translate for anyone who isn’t in Australia, it’s about being conscious that millinery as a practice needs to be executed with a degree of finesse or it can verge on looking like craft.

What was the biggest challenge creating this stand out Headpiece?
I had several designs in mind for executing the lobster hat, each involving different combinations of materials and techniques – some came in the pack and others I owned already or purchased to play around with. I was experimenting and had a few toiles going simultaneously, and had reached a point where I couldn’t decide which one to proceed with. Then I had a fortuitous chat with a peer who gave me some great advice: “just stick to the materials in the pack”. Simple and perhaps obvious but I was able to move forward after that without overcomplicating the design or getting overwhelmed with all the experimentation. I will be taking that advice with me to all future Hattembers!

What does this win mean to you personally and for your branding?
I can’t adequately express how validating this win was! I think the best part was feeling like there is a place for me as a budding milliner amongst the amazing talent of the millinery community. This has given me more confidence to pursue my own style and approach. It has also cemented the idea that getting involved and trying things can have really amazing and unexpected outcomes. I really just feel a sense of excitement about the future!

Thanks Olya, enjoy your prize of a 12 months subscription to Hat Academy Studio+

» More from Olya Ryjenko

» Hattember Competition

Lillian Frank Millinery Award Winner

2023-11-07T05:00:00.000Z

Congratulations to Cynthia Jones-Bryson, whose exceptional talent has earned her the prestigious Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award, a testament to her imagination and skill. We look forward to seeing Cynthia continue to inspire us with her creativity.

» Behind The Hat: Cynthia Jones-Bryson