My Freshly Dyed Straw Drying in the Sun  

Today I decided to dye a variety of different types and textures of organic, handwoven straw. Dying is one of my favorite parts of the process of hat making. I mixed dyes to get rich shades of fuchsia and burgundy, lemon yellow, and turquoise and teal. Then I set them to dry in the sun. The next step was to steam and iron out the creases and store them to await the day that inspiration takes hold and I make them into one-of-a-kind hats. While I love every step of the hat making process, I always get excited anticipating what dyes I’ll mix to create unique shades, and how each different type of straw will accept it. It’s about trying one combination of colors and adjusting it by adding a little more of this or that. And sometimes you even get a wonderful surprise.