How Panama Hats Are Made

The panama hats are one of the finest Straw Hats found on this earth. It is a work of art that most people would love to put their hands on it, actually heads on. People would often wonder why on earth the Panama Hats are so expensive, especially the Montecristi Hats. Well if they knew the long process that it takes to make a Panama Hat then, they would have understood why the high price tag is there. The Panama hats are made from straws and to weave to the cloth-like fineness from the straw is something that needs the hand of an artist.

The process of making the Panama hats starts right from selecting the right stalk of the Toquilla palm leaf, which grows in Ecuador. It is where the straws are taken. Usually it takes around 48 Toquilla palm stalks to weave one Panama hat. The next thing is to take the straws out from the stalks. When you peel off the stalks, you will find the strands of straw inside it.

When the strands of straw are taken out the next thing will be to boil the strands in water for some time. When it is properly done, the strands of straws are let to dry. The Cuenca and the Montecristi Hats are made differently. The Cuenca hats are bleached with chemical and the Montecristi Hat have to be smoked with sulfur. Here we will tell you more about the process of making Montecristi Hats as it requires adequate amount of time and carefulness. When all these are done, its time to start weaving.

The weaving takes some weeks and for each weave, you need special weavers to finish it-from weaving the whole hat to weaving the edge backward when the hat is finish to tightening the brim edge to cutting off the excess straws. After that, the Straw Hats are washed, bleached and dried. Next is to pound the hats to soften the straws and make it more flexible. Here you have to dusts the hats with the sulfur powder and pound. When the hats are finished pounding the extra straws are shaved using a razor. After trimming off the edges, the hat is given for ironing. The hats also have to be form into a specific Panama Hat shape and ironed. Finishing with the ironing, the hats have to go for blocking. This is a process where a hat is given the final shape. Unlike the Cuenca hats, the Montecristi Hats are blocked with hands. The former is blocked using machines. After blocking and readjusting the edges the hat is ready for giving a final touch-the ribbons. The ribbons are also sewn with hands for the Montecristi Hats.

So you see all these hard works are involved in making a Panama Straw Hat. Now you know why the Panama Hats can reach a price up to the sky. Its all the work of the master artisans.