Crafty Beggar: Rachel Frost
Rachel Frost makes, among other things, traditional, period felt hats. It’s not just the shapes that are true to their time; all her methods are authentic to the era she is emulating, so, for instance, hat blocks are only used for headgear from the 17th century onwards. Her flat irons are heated on a wood-fired stove; only natural materials, such as lichen and heather, are used for dying. “I’ve restricted myself,” Frost says. “I know nothing about modern millinery, as it would impact how I think . . . even my sewing machine is hand-cranked.” Living in rural Scotland, her summer workshop is a yurt with a wood-fired stove. “I’m working off-grid,” she says. “I plan my work around daylight hours. This informs the work.”
Rachel Frost, Crafty Beggar
Frost is also mindful of her materials. The finest felt hats were traditionally made from beaver fur, and a beaver hat, or Bieber hut in Germany, denoted a certain status to the wearer, while lower ranks would have worn wool. However, Beavers have been extinct in Britain since the 12th century, so they must be imported. So Frost has been experimenting with more readily available fibres in the UK. She started using the wool of the Scottish Blackface sheep, though now she favours Merino wool, known as the golden fleece, imported from Spain as it would have been traditionally. She admits to having a scientific mind, enjoying experimenting and working things for herself, and, true to form, she has tried lots of fleeces, with different fibres lending themselves to felting in various ways...
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Rachel Frost.
All other images as credited in photo captions.