How to Tie a Hat Blocking Cord; A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words; Felt Blocking Class

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I've been busy blocking some fur felts and a few buckram frames, so I thought I would share the felts with you.  Here, "a picture is worth a thousand words," is a great title for the image to your right.  When I visit a person's workroom on the Web, I immediately look around their workroom, and most of the time I learn something.  Here, not every blocking situation takes the same application.  So here is a little something for you to study.

My Upcoming Felt Blocking Class

Well my felt blocking class is a go!  I am so much looking forward to it.  I love to teach millinery, but as I mentioned more than several times, I hate setting up a class.  It just takes so much out of me; maybe it's the biting of tongue that gets me down.  Anyway I'm at a breathing point where the rent on the center and the materials  will be covered; that's more than enough for me.  If you are interested in taking the class, the fee is $325 minus a few discounts that you may qualify for.  You are free to contact me at lduncan@hatstruck.com if you are interested in taking the class; fees are now due.  For a few additional details, please see my previous post at http://hatstruck.blogspot.com/2014/02/hatstruck-couture-millinery-class-felt.html.  The class will be held on Saturday, March 8, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Garden Room B, Torrance, California, 90503.

Learn to Tie Your Own Blocking Cord

I know that I keep repeating over and over again that I don't nail/pin into my vintage sculptures (hat blocks), I'll leave that for my true work horses, my balsa wood utility blocks and my brim utility blocks.  My brim utility blocks are just brim blocks that conform to the average ready-to-ware hat brims.  If I can only get a few people to protect their vintage hat blocks from destruction, I would be so happy.  Just a little something you may want to think about; I don't think that I've ever seen a hatter (men hat maker)  nailing into her/his blocks, but yet they have some of the most beautifully blocked hats there are, even their soft hats.  I said hatter, as in a real hatter.  Anyway, if you don't know how to tie a blocking cord, I hope the following video I made for you will be helpful.  I don't know if all milliners tie their cords this way, but this method works for me.  By-the-way, it's more to blocking than tying or nailing materials to a hat block, just saying.

 Enjoy!