Mary Jane Drews

I first learned to sew when I was eight years old. I have a passion for beautiful materials that can be transformed into functional wearable items. My interests have led me to explore nontraditional uses of materials in garment and accessory design. While needlepoint is challenging to use for hat construction, I have successfully developed a technique to do so. Each individual piece of needlepoint has been created years ago by a craftsman unknown to me. This collaboration with an invisible artisan is part of what makes each piece so individual and unique and so challenging and rewarding for me to construct. My love of all fabric and garment materials has led me to collect orphaned fiber pieces ranging from vintage fabric, to laces and embellishments from around the world to needlepoint. For my hats, I source vintage needlepoint from antique markets and shops. Using patterns I've designed, hats are laid out on the material to decide the most appropriate use of the design within the needlepoint to then transfer the piece into a three dimensional hat. The exterior of the hat is sewn together. It is then lined with silk and linen. All the brims are topstitched to provide structure. The edges of the hats are treated in consideration of the individual needlepoint piece. From beginning to end, hats are handmade and evolve into their own one of a kind piece.