How to make a traditional straw (or rush) hat, Part 2: Coiling and sewing up.

Straw braid was made from winter rye - already a local crop. The only tools needed were a splitter - a simple piece of wood with iron teeth and a tin or brass strip closing over it, and a flattener - with rollers for flattening straw before or after braiding. A braider’s household could provide a barrel of soapy water, for soaking the straw, and a pan of live coals sprinkled with sulphur, to bleach the straw. How was straw braid produced and turned into bonnets? Women and children sorted, soaked

56K views · 144 reactions | In Georgian times, children as young as 18-months-old would plait straw to create hats. But can these adults manage it?  | BBC Two | Facebook