Year 5 Visit the Hat Works Museum
5th October 2015
The Hat Works Museum is home to a recreated hat factory with some 20 fully restored working Victorian-style machines and a fantastic collection of over 400 hats from around the world. The museum is a hub of excellence, creativity and innovation for milliners, crafts-people, designer makers and those with a keen interest in haute couture fashion and cutting edge textile design.
Our Year 5 girls had plenty to see and learn and eagerly engaged with the interactive exhibits which took them on a journey through the history of Stockport’s once thriving hatting industry
Yesterday was amazing, we went to the Hat Works Museum.
On the way, everyone was squirming in their seats wondering what the experience was going to be like.
When we arrived we were split into our two classes and then taken on a tour around a section that had glass cases full of hats. There were big hats, small hats, fun hats, religious hats, hats for special occasions and many more! The man who led us around was called Carl and he gave us all a clipboard and pencil with a sheet inside that told us to find all sorts of different hats from different places.
Next we went to design and make a hat. There were lots of different types, eg volcanoes, flowers, crowns and again many more.
After lunch we went on a tour around the factory and saw how they used to make hats. They would rip the hair off an animal (depending what type of hat they wanted), separate the small bits of fur from the long bits then put some water on and mould it together. Next they would dip it in boiling wee and mould it some more.
Lastly, before we went we finished decorating our hats. My favourite hat was Rose’s pineapple hat. It was a great day!
By Jessica H