Woven Hat Help

Hi,
I picked this up today as it was cheap and hoping it will help me learn more. The colour bands have faded on the outside, not sure if that is an indication of age or use.
I've been looking on-line at different examples of weaving and still don't know what this is. I thought with the hole in the top it would be fairly easy to figure this out but I am wrong again.
Any information is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for looking.

 

Kalua popped in my head, but after googling the kalua is only like the top.....need MORE coffee

 

Vietnam peasant soldier's hat.

 

lol shiloh, when I read your thread I thought Kahlua and coffee sounds good.
thanks more, I'll check that out.

 

I'm not finding any the same shape as mine - the ones I'm finding have a point/cone shape, mine is round and has a hole on the top. Makes me think of a safari hat.

 

This is what I found online:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Woven-Cane-Vietnam-South-East-Asian-Peasant-Soldiers-Hat-/141057560502

You've probably seen the same. The pointy bit on top could be a separate piece.

 

Thanks for the link! Yes, I saw that one and the others seem to be the same shape. The weaving on mine is similar to those 'sweet grass' baskets that I believe are being made in China. Here is a better photo that shows the shape and the hole on top. Will keep looking.

 

The hole on top is for letting off steam

BTW.I love kahlua and milk.

 

As both a former milliner and weaver, I think the hole is incidental, though it would certainly aid in keeping the head cool. What caused the hole is bulk - so much fiber was gathered together that it couldn't be pulled any tighter. If you look at other straw hats, you'll see they're woven many different ways, but nearly always have fibers added in - in knitting this is known as a stitch increase. Hope that helps!

I'm more curious about the loose cords on the brim. Were they intended to hold or hang something? Australian swagman's hats have corks that hang off the edge of the brim to keep flies away. I think Ive seen small items attached to street seller's hats too. Something like this would make attaching things easy.

 

The ebay auction hat is woven from bamboo or palm leaves or something similar, while the hat with the hole was woven from something similar to ( but not) sweetgrass (it grows in Europe and North America, and this hat is not from there/here). Each culture has it's chosen materials to work with and would not weave in a variety of plants, so these two hats are from different cultures.

Somewhere deep in my stored books (we're preparing for a move, but have a lot of renovation to do first) I have a book on hat styles by culture and ethnicity. Doubt I'll see it any tie soon but someone might be able to find it or similar in a library or amazon. Or google ethnic straw or grass hats. Maybe add 'hole in crown'

 

Just realised what the cords are. It's how the brim was finished - instead of working the ends of the grass back in to keep it from unraveling, they looped it over the top and tucked it in at the crown. Never saw that before! It would be uncomfortable against the head. Odd choice.

 

Thank-you Lulululu! I thought the cords were decorative but see what you are saying, and agree that with the bits sticking out inside it would be uncomfortable.
I'll check the library to see if they have the book. I'm not finding anything on-line, but I'm sure there are others out there.
Hope your renovation and move go smoothly!

 

Can anyone tell me where to find this type of hat? I was thinking of using it as the roof for my bird house project.
Thanks

 

I was going to say put the Kahlua IN the coffee.......mmmmmmmmm!!!!

 

CXgirl has one.......

I'd say Chinese also.