[Illustration: CUTTING MACHINE.]
The trade of the Hatter is confined to a few countries of Europe; but,
as the fashion of hats is at present mostly restricted, both here and in
most parts of the Continent, to those black stiff cylindrical coverings
of silk which custom has ordained we shall wear, greatly to our own
discomfort, and at a great expense, the business is of considerable
importance, and the making of hats has grown into a large branch of
industry. Before the introduction of that kind of silk which bears a
long pile, like velvet, and is known as _plush_, beaver was the material
principally used for hat making; but beaver hats are much more expensive,
though they are now seldom made of the skin or fur of the beaver, which
has grown remarkably scarce, in consequence of the land which the animals
formerly occupied having become inhabited.
[Illustration: Cutting out. Bowing.]
Beaver hats of the finest quality are made with lamb’s wool and the fur
of English rabbits. To form the body of the hat, the wool and rabbit’s
fur are separately _bowed_ by bringing a set of strings attached to a bow
in contact with a heap of the material, and then striking the strings, so
as to cause violent vibrations, and thus separate the filaments. The two
substances are next bowed together until they are intimately mixed; after
which the mass is spread evenly, covered with an oil-cloth, and pressed
to the state of an imperfectly tangled felt. The next process is to cover
the felt with a triangular piece of damp brown paper, and then to fold it
in a damp cloth, and work it well with the hand, pressing and bending,
rolling and unrolling it, until the interlacing or felting is much more
perfect, and the mass is compact. The felt thus prepared is next taken to
the wide brim of a boiler charged with hot water and beer grounds, and a
small quantity of sulphuric acid; it is well rubbed and rolled until it
no longer contracts. The felt is next stiffened with shellac, a solution
of which is applied by means of a brush to both sides of the felt; after
which it is heated in a stove, and by this means the whole substance
becomes duly impregnated with the resin; this renders the hat nearly
waterproof.
[Illustration: Bow for Beaver.]
To form the nap of a hat, one half or three-fourths of an ounce
of beaver, and some other less costly fur, are bowed together and
imperfectly felted in the manner already described, and shaped the same
as the body to which it is to be applied; that body is then softened by
immersing it in the boiler, when the nap is applied and worked as in
felting, until the required union is effected between the two bodies.
The felt thus covered is brought to the proper shape by working it on a
wooden block, and is then dyed black. The hat is softened by steam, the
crown is strengthened by placing in it a disc of scaleboard, and linen is
pasted over this.
The nap is raised and a uniform direction given to its fibres by means of
warm irons and hair brushes. The last processes are lining and binding,
when the hat is ready to be worn. In the low-priced hats of the present
day, commoner wool and fur, and smaller quantities of each, are used.
[Illustration: Lathe. Finishing.]
Silk hats consist of a cover or exterior part made of silk plush, which
is laid upon a foundation of chip, stiffened linen, or some other light
material, previously blocked into shape. The so-called velvet and satin
hats deserve those titles only so far as the plush resemble those
materials. The plush is mostly woven in the north of England. Paris hats
are for the most part made in England, the silk plush being imported from
France.
[Illustration: Rounding Card, No. 1. Rounding Card, No. 2. Finishing
Iron. Brow-piece. Blistering Iron. Card. Polishing Block. Multer. Brush.]
The various tools employed are mostly used for shaping the different
parts of the hat. The _cutting machine_, for dividing and preparing the
felt and other materials; the _block_, on which the body of the hat is
formed previous to its being placed in the _lathe_, where it is made
perfectly round; the _brow-piece_, for shaping the hat where it fits
the head; the _card_, a sort of wire brush for scratching up or carding
the fibre of the silk or beaver after the hat is made; the _rounding
cards_, for pressing and completing the hat near the brim; the _curler_,
for turning up and shaping the brim; the _multer_, _finishing iron_, and
_blistering iron_, are used for shaping and smoothing; the _polishing
block_ holds the hat while it receives the final process of brushing and
smoothing with a pad of velvet called the _veleure_.
[Illustration: Curler. Block. Veleure.]