>>How Panama Hats are Made. A Cuencan Tradition.

How we go from the very special and unique toquilla straw to the finished, fine Panama

hat. This toquilla straw is found only in Ecuador in the foothills of the Andes Mountains

where the trade winds of the Pacific Ocean mixed with the down-force winds of the Andes

Mountains create the ideal growing conditions. The straw is warehoused after it has been

peeled, opened, cooked, and dried. Here you see the countryside of Cuenca, a city of half

a million people and an elevation of nearly 9000 feet.

Here we are in the town of San Martín de Bushio. The weaver is buying and inspecting

the straw, and then the weaving begins. Some hats take only a day. Other hats of higher

quality may take two weeks. The Cuencan advantage is that nearly 12 hours of daylight are available,

whereas at lower altitudes the heat of the day makes it impossible to weave but maybe

5-6 hours.

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This is the head of the local weavers' association in San Martín de Bushio. In our factory in

Cuenca there are approximately 100,000 hat bodies. Here the manufacturing process begins

and each hat is washed one by one. The hat is then bleached. The hat or the straw may

be dyed for color. This is where the process of the Black Panama hat begins.

The hats are then all dried individually (sun dried).

The ironing of the hat gives it stiffness.

The pounding of the hat gives it softness and suppleness.

Here you see the very first blocking of the hat. This is the most important process in

finishing the Panama hat properly. This is done three or four times. It has to be done

with hydraulic equipment, and it provides the form and shape of the final hat.

Here the trimming is done prior to the sewing of the edge. This is the lacquering process

for the stiffness of the hat.

And here the outer band is prepared prior to being sewn on.

This is the show room of our factory, the largest Panama hat factory in all the world.

Thank you for this tour of Panama hats.