Millinery (Hat-Making) Course for Beginners

Learn to embrace your creative side with our millinery short courses in Sydney!

Learn to make your own hat! In this short course, you will learn many traditional aspects of millinery and will make and take home a hat or headpiece that you have made yourself. Each 4 week session will focus on a different millinery material– Sinamay, Felt, or Straw to create a classic style such as a fascinator, fedora, cloche, trilby, or boater style. So check in the notes below to confirm which option is being taught for the session.

If you want to learn about Millinery in Sydney, then this course is for you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this millinery course, you will have enhanced your career prospects by:

• Complete a hat or headpiece using the technique and material of focus (either straw, felt, or sinamay)
• Gain knowledge of several trim and finishing techniques and options using millinery materials –e.g.  feathers, crinoline, and grosgrain.
• Demonstrate the use of a variety of millinery techniques to make and complete a hat such as blocking, finishing, and binding techniques.
• Analyse a hat in terms of design, line, colour, texture, repetition, emphasis, and balance.
• Determine styles to suit your face shape.

Course content

What will be covered in this millinery course?

• Introduction to millinery and hat making, millinery and hat making materials, tools, and equipment.
• How to choose a style to suit.
• Design Elements and principles for hats and headwear.
• Choosing the right hat blocks and equipment for your hat project
• Learn some traditional trim techniques for millinery and hat making
• Making a hat or headpiece from Felt or Straw, or Sinamay, using traditional techniques.
• Grosgrain binds and trims
• How to line your hat.
• How to keep your hat on– tips, tricks, and techniques to secure your hat.
• How to store, and care for your hat.
• Tour Embellish Atelier and Hatters Millinery Supplies to experience a working studio.

Intended audience

Who is this millinery course for?

This course is for anyone interested in hats or looking to upskill in the process of creating hats. Whether you have a genuine passion for hats, you're a milliner looking to enhance your skillset, you aspire to work in the fashion industry, or simply want to explore a new creative avenue, our millinery short courses in Sydney offer the perfect opportunity to enhance your knowledge and skills in hat-making.

Course materials

What to bring to class

The tutor supplies equipment and materials for the first class and will outline and display the correct equipment, and tools required for millinery.
A basic sewing kit can be purchased on the first evening and includes:

• Tape measure
• Sewing Gauge
• Packet of mixed size straw needles (Birch preferred)
• Floral Pins
• Beeswax Thread conditioner

Additional materials required throughout the class:

• Mapping/drawing pins
• Quality dressmaking steel pins
• Apron
• Thread to match project – Gutermann preferred
• Hat Box
• General-purpose scissors
• Long-nosed pliers
• Thimble

Available to purchase from Spotlight, Lincraft or Hatters Millinery Supplies.

Additional information

Please note the following:

The tutor provides the foundation materials as part of the course – (paradisal straw or felt capeline, wire, some basic fabrics, tools, equipment, and sundry glues, and stiffeners) for your Hat or headpiece. Suitable Hat Blocks are made available for use to create the Hat or headpiece.

Please wear closed-in shoes.