BLOCKING BY HAND
The process of “Blocking,” as the next operation in the making of
a straw hat is termed, consists of some method, either by hand or
machinery, to place the somewhat uncouth looking article, exhibited by
the dried stiffened hat, into its ultimate form.
Naturally, the thoroughly softened shape, saturated with hot gelatine
and hung to the rod by a thread, assumes during drying an appearance
totally at variance with the proper shape, and in order to achieve
the correct outline some means has to be employed that will at the
same time render the gelatine amenable and also fix the contours.
Ever since hats have been made, whether in the oldest woven form, or
in the more recent plait sewn way, this process has been a necessity.
In fact the smoothing for wear of the finished hat is a process
considerably older than that of giving some extra firmness. In the
account of the making of the Panama mention has been made of the use
of wooden mallets to obliterate the ridges caused by the “setts” and
to give a general outline of conformity to the hood, and even so in
the case of British made hats, even before the stiffening methods of
wicker, wire or buckram, hats were given a smoothening finish by means
of some similar instrument. It is probable that in the earlier times
wooden tools were used here, but of these there are no records clearly
indicating their nature. The earliest instrument used in the trade
of which there are existing examples were termed “Slicken Stones.”
Of these there are two fine specimens in the Luton Free Library, and
they are of different sizes, one about 4 ins. diameter and one about
6 ins. They are circular, but flattened with a rounded bevel edge
something like the shape of a muffin, but with very smooth surfaces.
Their mission was to remove all inequalities from the hat after weaving
or sewing, contributing at the same time a smoothness which could not
be obtained from wood. They were probably used from the earliest hat
making times, and certainly played a part in the smoothing of hats made
on wicker. Whether they were needed for the wire foundationed shapes
is uncertain, as this medium was so easily adjusted by the fingers,
but they undoubtedly were extensively employed in the shaping of the
buckram supports, as this article, slightly damp, could be easily
moulded. They were used cold, and the probability is that in the
wicker and the buckram methods, a slight steaming over boiling water,
immediately followed by the application and use of these cold “Slicken”
stones, would result in the possibility of shaping and at the same
time “setting” the material. About the commencement of the nineteenth
century they were in common use around the South Bedfordshire hat
making centres, and there is no doubt they were successful in their
operations on hats both woven and sewn that were sufficiently firm in
their straw nature. From what can be gleaned they were still in use
when the first gelatine was used, but as the necessary steaming or
softening of the hat was another process, the old established method
was soon superseded by the use of irons, for it was found that with a
damp cloth over the hat, the iron at one time could produce its own
steam and soften the stiffened material, and also make the hat conform
to the shape of the block. At the time of the gelatine introduction,
shapes were all of variations of the “Poke,” “Coalscuttle,” or “Granny”
bonnet styles, and the smoothing or ironing of them was done on a
“block,”[1] something the shape of a vaulting horse, and nearly as
large, for it had legs long enough to make it sufficiently high to
work at without stooping. The ends were made to take the crown, or
rather the portion which hung at the back of the head or nape of the
neck of the wearer, into which was set the voluminous “poke” or side
brims of the “petasus” or coalscuttle type that completely obliterated
the side views of the wearer’s face. The poke could be blocked on
any part of the “horse” except the ends, and its curves and outlines
varied as occasion might require. On the introduction of irons and the
use of a damp cloth, known in the trade as a “strainer,” the wooden
horse was the only apparatus for blocking until the advent of other
shapes necessitated further and more complicated outlines. When the
“iron” in present use first made its appearance in the trade it has
been impossible to find out. It is what is now universally known as
a “box iron,” consisting of a wedge shaped shell of metal with flat
top and bottom, but with curved sides, into which a red hot “pad,” or
block of iron to fit the interior, could be put to impart to the “box”
the necessary heat. That this style of iron was known long before
the beginning of the nineteenth century is certain. Quaint forms for
ironing the Elizabethan ruffs embodying the hot pad principle are
still in existence, but the early nineteenth century accounts of the
instruments used in the straw trade are something like the History of
England between A.D. 500 and A.D. 800, extremely hazy! Therefore, it is
impossible to fix the exact date of its introduction to the trade; one
may conjecture that, like “Topsy” in _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_, “it growed.”
Its trade birth was probably accidental, but its existence has been
phenomenal in duration, for although machinery for blocking is now
doing a lot of work formerly done by hand, still in most factories
hand ironing occupies a very prominent place, and even where hats are
blocked by machine in many cases they need roughly shaping first by
hand. Hand blocking is done in the following manner: the hat to be
ironed is first put through some process to make the hardness of the
gelatine sufficiently soft to fit the blocks. In the early days of the
trade this was always done by lightly passing the hot iron over a damp
cloth in which the hat was enveloped, thus producing enough steam to
render the hat pliable, the crown was then carefully adjusted on the
block, special attention being given to the spacing and direction of
the rows of plait.
About 1880 straw hat manufacturers, having also started the making of
felt hats, for which a small steam jet in an enclosed box or vessel was
necessary, found that this same “steam pot” (trade term) provided an
easy means of softening the hat, for placing on the wooden block, and
since that time the old method of softening has practically died out,
with the exception of such plaits as would be injured by steam action.
When the crown of the hat is in proper position on the block, it is
covered with the “strainer.” This should be in a well wrung-out damp
condition, and is held in its place by the left hand of the “blocker,”
the ironing operative. With the box iron in his right hand, he evenly
and with a slightly circular motion, keeping the iron on the hat,
presses out any inequalities that may be left, but with such discretion
as not to injure the design of the plait. This process continues until
the “strainer” is dry, which indicates that all superfluous moisture is
evaporated and that the material will stay permanently in the required
form. Some plaits with prominent heads or fancy embellishments require
two or more “strainers” or even a thickness of flannel between the
iron and the hat to prevent bruising, but plaits such as these are
generally “blocked” by being “steamed” (trade term), that is the
shaping on the block is entirely done by the hand of the operator
after the material has been softened in the “steampot.” When hats are,
as they always were till about 1885, of “one piece” make, the crown
having been finished, is taken off the wooden block and placed head
downward in the “curler” or “brimmer” of wood. Either name sufficiently
designates its form and use, and the “one piece” hat is carefully
adjusted in the head entry, due regard being made to the contour of the
base of the crown, and the arrangement of the first gores of the brim,
so as to ensure a perfectly clean line of junction between the crown
and the brim. The brim is then adjusted to the exact outline of the
edge, and when true is “blocked” in a similar way to the crown. The two
piece hats are done in the same way with, of course, the exception that
the crown and the brim are blocked apart. It is, of course, obvious
that only quite a small portion of some parts of the hats can be ironed
at a time, the surface of the iron can only, at most, impinge on that
amount which is parallel, and, therefore, the blocking of a crown with
rounding top, bevelled edges and perhaps almost “O. G.” sides, is an
operation needing considerable skill, for no lines must show, nor must
there be any bruise marks, and yet at the same time there must be
enough pressure to cause the material to assume and retain the required
shape.
[Illustration: Fig. 17 HAND BLOCKING With Iron Heated by Electricity]
The irons are made with various kinds of faces, some are perfectly
flat, others with convex sweeps or curves, these are called “grecian”
irons, and are intended to be used in recessed curves of crown or
brim, which curves are known as “grecians,” but the skilful operative
can adapt the curved sides of a flat-faced box iron to most of the
concave places, so that except for extreme undulations, no recourse to
the curved faced iron is necessary. There are many modifications of
these general rules and methods, and it may be necessary in certain
cases, such as the ironing of braids stiffened with _media_ other
than gelatine or water soluble materials, to employ other methods,
but they are generally peculiar to the plait used and of a purely
ephemeral nature. In some factories box irons are used, heated by
patent fuel, others are warmed by gas and electricity, but the general
convenience of the fire-heated pad causes the old fashioned iron to
retain an almost universal supremacy. In work it is just as convenient
as any other, and in cost it must of necessity be lower, for every
factory must have fire for steam production and general warmth, and
the coke burning furnaces in use in the smaller factories are usually
constructed to achieve these two objects, and at the same time heat
the blocker’s pads. In the larger establishments steam for heating and
working is generally raised in separate adequately large boilers, with
a specially constructed and economical furnace for pad heating. This
is made with a shallow bed, a broad iron lip, on which pads can be
changed, and a guillotine-like construction in front, with a “blower”
which can be made to rise or fall, as occasion may demand for the
regulation of the draught.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This doubtless gave the name to the operation of shaping.