Make a Hat Day!

"Life is like a new hat. You don't know if it suits you if you keep trying it on in front of your own mirror." ~ Shirley McLaine

"I myself have 12 hats, and each one represents a different personality. Why just be yourself?" ~Margaret Atwood

~Milliner~ Hat Maker~

Milliners design and make hats and other headgear such as caps, berets, bonnets, fascinators and bridal headpieces, using materials such as felt, fabric, fur, leather, straw and artificial flowers.

~Today is National Make a hat day. When I was a little girl, My Daddy got the State Paper every day. Now on most days we cared very little about the news paper. I wasn't old enough to read and I cared little about anything beyond the scope of our country home. But On Sundays we patiently waited for him to read his paper. Because hidden away inside of those wonderful Sunday papers were the colorful comics. After everyone had looked at the funny papers ~ as we called them~ Mary would set right down and fold us all hats out of the funny papers. Frank could make them too and I'm not really sure rather he taught Mary or rather she taught him. But Mary would always fold one for you if you asked her nicely. Frank might if he wasn't yoyoing or about to ramble off with Jimmy somewhere. But Mary liked making hats. She would fold the paper this way and that and get the basic hat and then Mary's artistic side would come through and she might fold one side up or one side down and over.. But something would be done to make each hat different. I loved those funny paper hats. I made them with my own children when I got grown But Mine never looked as good as the ones Mary~ (Or sometimes Frank)~ would make.

~Hats can be made from many things and in many ways. We made hats from newspaper back then. My grandma's both made hats too. Grandma Morris often knitted a little bowler type hat to match a sweater she had made. She wore bought hats too. I remember a pretty black one that she wore to Church sometimes. Grandma Black made and wore Bonnets. She made all of us girls and all the cousin girls Bonnets of our Own. Grandma wore her Bonnet for practical reasons.. it kept the sun off of her head and neck. She was outside a lot. She wore her "Hat" everyday. My sister Martha liked hats. She always looked good in a hat. My Mama if called on to Make a hat could sew one or crochet one or even Knit one. I have seen Mama in a bonnet for different occasions But I can't really ever recall mama wearing a hat. Maybe she's not a hat person!

~ Daddy wore hats. Daddy wore Knitted by mama stocking hats as he left before daylight to go to work in the winter factory. He wore hard hats at work sometimes and always had a baseball type cap nearby. He had a be bop hat that he wore a lot. He collected hats and had many many hats when he died. He didn't wear a hat to Church though many of the older men did. I use to try and get permission to slip out to the restroom just so I could see all the hats hung in rows across the vestibule of the old Church. I thought they were beautiful hanging there. So many different men's hats each just a little different than the one next to it. I also liked to get to the vestibule quickly after Church so I could watch the men put their hats back on with their heads tilted just so.. ~~Yea I know I'm weird but thanks for reminding me!~ But Most Churches don't even have the hat racks now. Most men don't wear the old time dress up hats for men. Some women still wear hats to special functions like weddings and Funerals. But most hats now
~ if one is worn at all ~ are quiet plain compared to the elaborate Ladies hats of the past.

~Many different professions wear a certain hat. Clowns wear funny hats. Firemen and policeman wear hats that identify them to their Job. In the case of firemen their hat is also protection for them. Many jobs require Hard Hats as protection on the job. Welders wear a hat that covers both his head and his eyes. Some also wear a skull type rag hat under the Welding hood. Again welders wear a hat to protect them. Motorcycle riders wear helmets as do football players. Some dancers wear very elaborate hats. Even thieves wear a certain type hat as he does his "Job"~I mean you wouldn't expect to see a robber in a hard hat nor a construction worker On a high rise Building sight in a ski mask.

~What type of hats do you wear? I have only had one job that required a hat and it was just for looks although it did keep my long hair away from the french fries. But still I have worn many hats. I was a clown and a cook. I am a Mother and Grand-mother. I am a daughter and a sister. I am a crafter, a knitter, a writer and a friend. Yes I have worn a few different hats~ But I have never enjoyed a hat like I did the perky paper hats Mary and Frank used to make me from My Daddy's Sunday Paper.

~ Today if there is a child in your life sit down and make a hat with them. Share a little time to fold a newspaper into a basic hat or roll one into a cone shaped hat. Decorate them with pens or stickers if you want. Talk to them about hats and why some hats are important. Spend a little time enjoying them. Enjoy Life every time you can. Enjoy the little things. Have a great day what ever hat you wear!
Patsy