WEAVING A PANAMA.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 1857, 4 September 1923, Page 7

WEAVING A PANAMA.

To call a panama a “straw' liat is. \vi ong. Fully two-thirds of all the panamas on the market are made in Fcuador, Columbia., and Guayaquil. The city of Panama is merely the port from wlience the hats are shipped. The matter'for panamas (writes “A Hatter” in the Daily Mail) is furnished by the fan palm, or “I'almicho, the tuquilla plant, it reed somewhat leseinbling sugar cane, and by a rare South American grass. After the shoots are out from the palm branches they are boiled until soft and light yellow in colour. They are then hung up in some shady place where there is a direct current of pure air. Ihe green layers that would have expanded into leaves are now torn out by the teeth of the workers, or else cut into strips with a comb shaped knife. When the material is thoroughly dry the leaves curl in at the edges. In weaving the hats wooden blocks of clay and concrete moulds are made use of. The crown of the hat is proceeded With first, the brim edges last. From seven days to six months may be occupied in the weaving, according to the price of the hat. The hats are now placed in large mud bell-shaped ovens and bleached by means of burning sulphur. The next process is that of “starching.” Powdered, starch is rubbed well into the material and then pounded with wooden mallets. Crushed flat, the hats are now placed in bales about a yard long and sent to the factory. Here the hat is carefully pared with a sharp penknife, the rough brim edges are turned in and a band is affixed to the crown. The hat is ready for l wear. The value of a panama hat depends entirely upon its texture and pliability. It should be of one piece, and so closely woven as to appear smooth to the naked eye. Then, the genuine panama will pass through an ordinary finger ring without the slightest difficulty.