Woven Hats from Nonthaburi, Thailand

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

Welcome all Local Guide friends to #monthlytopic of September 2019. This type of series is initiated by @HiroyukiTakisawa. Here are my previous posts in these series.

1. A good place for a rainy day : The Kottage Cafe, Thailand
2. Pagoda made of Giant Oyster Shells - Wat Chedi Hoi, Thailand
3. Chao Phraya - Major River in Thailand

The topic of this month is Crafts in your region. Let’s get it started. Every month my sis and I go to Agricultural Museum Complex in Pathum Thani, Thailand to get some groceries as there is a flea market every first weekends of each month. But this month is so special as there is a fair to promote the crafts in the area and nearby provinces.

The timing is just perfect for me. I was a bit excited, so I kept walking and looking for a craft that I am interested in and would like to share with you all. There are many interesting crafts in the fair but finally I found it! Now I would like to introduce you to Woven Hats from Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Let’s rock it together. These woven hats are made of Cyperus Papyrus. Approximately 3 to 4 months old, the grown up Cyperus Papyrus is selected for woven hats as this grown up Cyperus Papyrus is more durable than the younger one. The good one is approximately 1 to 1.5 meters long.

Then the selected Cyperus Papyrus gets cut in length into 4 pieces. Next step, it gets the sun bath for about 8 days until it is completely dried. As you see that the fresh Cyperus Papyrus is green, but when it is dried, the color will be light brown. After that, it can be dyed for any colors we would like.

The very first part that gets woven is the top of the hats. There are some tricks at this step as:

• The Cyperus Papyrus might be a bit difficult to be woven as the texture might be a bit hard, so we spray some water to make it softer and easy to be woven.
• The top part of the hat might get a bit bent, during this step, we use a hammer to make it flat and nice.

The last step is to apply the lacquer on the hat and let it dry. This will protect the hat from water and fungus. Anyhow it is recommended that we keep the woven hat in a dry place. These finished woven hats can last about 2 years or more.

We can learn about the story of woven hats and we can also learn how to weave them in this fair. When I visited this booth, there were some visitors who are really interested to get some woven hats. The lady who makes the hat is so nice, she offered us the story of the hats and she also offered to teach us how to weave them.

It takes one day to weave one hat, but this can be varied, depending on the design and skills of the person who weaves it. The average price is about 150 Baht or about $5, it is so cheap for a beautiful handmade hat! These woven hats are made by residents, mostly retired ones, in Nonthaburi, Thailand. You can get them at Wat Tha Banthoeng Tham, only on Buddhist Holy days that a flea market is established.

These woven hats are perfect for your summer holidays or even souvenir. So it is time to get some for yourself and your love ones. Buying these woven hats, of course you will get beautiful handmade woven hats but at the same time, you help support the artists who create them and the community sustainability as well.

And this is it folks, a story about Woven Hats from Nonthaburi, Thailand. I hope you enjoy reading this post. Thanks to the nice lady who provided me all the information about woven hats and allowed me to publish her beautiful photo.

Is there any craft in your region? How do you like it? Please tell us in the comment section below.

[Aruni]

Hi @Ant_Bad_Yogi

I enjoyed reading your post about Woven Hats from Nonthaburi. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It is a long time ago I have never seen it. Have you ever tied to do it before? Is it difficult to do it right?

Are they professional or just a hobby?

[HiroyukiTakisawa]

Hello, @Ant_Bad_Yogi

Thank you for joining us! It’s so beautiful! At first, I thought it is a straw hat.

Japanese straw hat is very light and simple. But it looks very tough and colorful.

Her workshop also looks fun:-)

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@Aruni Thank you for your attention to this post. I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Actually I haven’t woven a hat before. But when I was in primary school, I knitted a placemat using Water hyacinth. I took water hyacinth and had it sun bath until it was dried and knitted it. I think weaving a hat might be harder than knitting a placemat. The lady told me that we can learn how to weave a hat and it will take 3 days to finish one hat. This is for beginners who haven’t tried it before.

This is a hobby for retired residents who live around Wat Tha Banthoeng Tham. They will gather together and weave hats together. They sell the woven hats at the temple but only on Buddhist Holy days. The lady also told me that if we are interested to learn how to weave a hat, we can learn it at the temple as well. But we need to wait for their gathering days.

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@HiroyukiTakisawa It’s fun joining #monthlytopic. Thank you for your creative initiative here. I’m sure it’s tough at the beginning of weaving but it will get easier and better later. Yes, the woven hats there are so colorful, I also love them. We can learn how to weave a hat in the fair and at the temple, 1 Wat Tha Banthoeng Tham as well. Thank you again for your attention to this post. I’m so happy you like it.

[KarolT]

Hi @Ant_Bad_Yogi

Very intersting report and nice pictures.

These hats are beautyfull.

Thanks for sharing.

Karol

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@KarolT Thank you for your attention to this post. I’m glad you like it. They are beautiful as you said and it is cheap too, only $5. Thank you again for your nice words.

[MukulR]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi Great post as always. Description and photos, both are great. Thanks for sharing this nice story with us.

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@MukulR Thank you for your compliments. I’m glad you like this post. Is there any craft in your area? It can be a simple thing like some woven toys for children. If so, you might want to join us in #monthlytopic. Thank you for your attention to this post as well.

[MukulR]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi Definitely we have some crafts in our country. My villagers know how to make them. As of now, I am in Dhaka, so I may not make any post on this in this month. But I will keep my eyes open and if I see any, I will make a post here for sure. Thanks.

[NyaiNurjanah]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi

Thank you for sharing with us,my pleasure to read your traveling and hunting craft.

So interesting for making craft by myself, looking not easy,but woven hat very pretty. May i can get one?!

Craft in my region, let me introduce a cup, taken this picture when back from work at traditional market infront factory

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@MukulR OK. Here are some nice posts. This is just to give you an idea about it.

• Crafts in your region:AKAKOMA by @955HIRO
• #TeamJapan - Nanbu Tekki, Experience Japan by @HiroyukiTakisawa

I hope you enjoy reading these posts.

[955HIRO]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi

Good evening. It is a great honor to mention me. I am also very honored to introduce my topic. I will continue to post emotional topics that appeal to your heart. Thank you very much. Regard

[955HIRO]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi

Good evening. Thank you for introducing a very beautiful handmade hat. The green of the cyper lapis papyrus before making is very beautiful. It looks green that seems to heal. The finished product is very stylish with a decoration. I want to call it a hat to be healed. Thank you very much. Regard

[MahabubMunna]

wow nice handmade cap . similar cap also made in bangladesh @Ant_Bad_Yogi

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@Nyainurjanah Thank you for reading this post. Have you made a craft when you were in school? Some of them are easy to make.

I wish you visit Bangkok someday, so I can give it to you as a souvenir.

I like those cups made from coconut shells. We have the same thing in Thailand too. How much is it?

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@955HIRO I like Akakoma and Nanbu Tekki and also other crafts. They are made by heart. So I would like to introduce them to our friends here.

OK, I’m looking forward to reading your post sharing your experience here.

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@955HIRO Thank you for your nice words. I’m glad you like this post. I totally agree that looking at the green Cyperus Papyrus makes us relax and we feel peaceful. I like that “A hat to be healed”. So thoughtful of you as always.

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@MahabubMunna Thank you for the compliment. I’m glad you like the hat. So we have same thing in our countries. What is the hat made of?

[Aruni]

Hi @Ant_Bad_Yogi

It is very interesting to me. Thank you for your information.

Have a nice day, I am waiting to see your new post telling us about your experience here.