The Making of a Buntal Straw Hat

The weaving of buntal straw hat originated in Baliuag, Bulacan, Philippines in the early 1900's. My great grandmother , Dolores Maniquis was the pioneer weaver of this straw hat type.

The first step to start a weave is to flatten the bunch of fiber on a heavy presser, this is done to enable the fiber to have a flat feature since the fiber comes in round shape and a bit cumbersome to weave with this texture. After this process, the start of the weave is done by the lead-weaver whose work is to put each strand of fiber into a symmetrical shape. After weaving a concentric circle of approximately eight to ten inches in diameter, the woven fiber is put on a conical wood block which is use to shape the crown of the straw hat. Another weaver takes over to do the crown up to the brim. Once this step is finished, the straw hat is given to the back weaver, this person does the closing of the fiber strands which are individually woven to close the brim. The straw hat is further pressed to tighten the weave and give it a shinier finish. The straw hat is put on a wood block and iron to give the final touch of completion.

With this processes done, the straw hat is shaped into a Fedora, Trilby, Optimo and a lot more other styles. The sweatband and headband are attached and the straw hat is ready to be worn by the person who loves the straw hat of this quality and workmanship.

Please visit our website: http://www.feshc.com/ and browse at the straw hat that is 100% hand woven.