Materials and Care

Bao is a natural biodegradable fiber from the Baobab tree - Adansonia digitata. They mainly grow in Africa and Australia and Madagascar. They have also been introduced to parts of southern Asia.
Fiber from the bark is pounded and used to make rope, baskets, cloth, musical instrument strings, and waterproof hats. While stripping the bark from the lower trunk of most trees usually leads to their death, baobabs not only survive this common practice, but they regenerate new bark.

It is a superior durable and light weight fibre.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash Bao by hand. To do this, the straw should first be dampened then washed by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Toyo is another popular quality material for hats, and is not made from straw at all, but rather from a shellacked Japanese rice paper that is then woven into a hat. So, it is still a plant-based fibre. Toyo has some advantages over straw, in that it has a more refined profile than a straw. The Toyo weave is usually a herringbone constructing giving it durability and flexibility. Toyo is softer than the other straws and sometimes more comfortable to wear as it quickly molds to the head shape. Usually made by machine. Toyo has a higher sun protection rating as is has a close-set weave with very few gaps.
Toyo is not to be confused with Bangora, Shantung or Shanghai paper which is made in China and is of less quality and durability. Shantung straw hats are made from a flat sheet woven by machine and blocked into various hat shapes.
Bangora straw is sometimes referred to as Bangkok weave or Bandera straw. Like Shantung hats, they are also made from paper yarn and feature a perpendicular weave pattern. Bangora hats are made on a machine.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash it by hand. To do this, the  Toyo should first be dampened then washed  by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over 
rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Raffia is a natural biodegradable fibre from palms of the genus - Raphia. Raphia.taedigera produces raffia from the underside of the palm fronds. Found in tropical, humid climates such as in Africa, South America, the Philippines and Madagascar. Raffia trees only grow near major water sources and are characterised by long leaves that can reach up to eighteen feet, where each palm tree possesses nearly one hundred of these leaves.
During the harvesting process, these leaves are cut and torn by hand in strips.  Only a young branch of the tree is cut; the entire tree remains intact, not chopped. Normally only two or three branches maximum are pruned per tree. Leaf collectors gather the palms and brush them. From this, the fibers are obtained from the manually harvested branches. They go through a cleaning, sorting, and dying process if needed.
The raffia fiber is soft, pliable, strong, and durable making it an excellent material for hats. Raffia can be hand crocheted or woven.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash it by hand. To do this, the  straw should first be dampened then washed  by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over  rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Rush straw is a thick, hollow, stiff straw from  many Genus: Juncus; from the bulrush types sedge grass, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Cyperus papyrus, Typha and other types seashore rushgrass (Sporobolus virginicus) or reed. Rush has a wide habitat suited to warm moist environments.
Due to the thickness of the straw, you will quite often see a section with a wide open weave (vented) to allow air circulation.
The hats are usually left in their natural green/beige colour. A rush hat will keep its natural scent of fresh grass.
At Atelier Royale we only use rush in the ‘dome’ shaped hats, with no sharp edges on the crown, to increase longevity of the hat.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash it by hand. To do this, the  straw should first be dampened then washed  by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over 
rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Seagrasses are a collective group of flowering plants that are biologically grasses. They are ancient plants that evolved nearly 100 million years ago! They are very fast-growing and a single acre of seagrass can produce more than 10 tons a year. Seagrass, sometimes also called water hyacinth is a reedy plant grown very much like rice and it gets its name from the fact it is planted in paddy fields that are flooded with seawater during each growing season. It is typically grown in marshy areas but it is called Dragon Grass when it is grown in more arid soil where it will take on a darker color.
Seagrass is extremely durable and tough, stain resistant; they are non-porous and because of their natural waxy coating and naturally water repellant. As a natural fiber inherently anti-static and mildly anti-bacterial. They are critically important for the marine ecosystem and use enormous amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Seagrass for harvesting grows abundantly in Indonesia, plantations hardly need any additional fertilizers or pesticides as the plants grow naturally. They are quickly renewable the fibers can be harvested every year.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash it by hand. To do this, the  straw should first be dampened then washed  by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over 
rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Toquilla is made from the leaves of Carludovica palmata. The most flexible, long-lived fiber is the toquilla fiber, which is generally made into hats in Ecuador. Coastal farmers cultivate the palm and harvest the stems before separating the fiber from the green outer skin. This
is boiled to remove chlorophyll and dried for subsequent bleaching with sulfur over a wood fire. Weavers take this raw material and begin weaving the crown and the brim of the hat. Weaving a hat can take from one day to eight months, depending on the quality and finesse.
Toquilla straw, is a very high quality material, which is more flexible than most other types of straw, it is light weight, so  particularly comfortable to wear. A practical feature of Panama straw is that it stays clean well in its woven form, as the dirt cannot easily settle on its surface.

Care:
It is possible to sponge lightly or wash it by hand. To do this, the straw should first be dampened then washed  by ‘splodging’ with an all-in-one detergent or a shampoo and a cloth on the surface of the hat,  do not over 
rub or agitate the straw. After washing, the straw, while damp, can be stroked and pressed back into shape. When the straw is nearly dry you can aid reshaping with a  steam iron. Aways use a cloth if pressing directly on to the straw, especially the brim, a tightly rolled towel in the crown will help retain the crown shape. Keep your hands out the way – steam can easily burn the skin. 

Sinamay or Manilla Hemp is a natural straw fabric made from abaca fibers - Musa textilis, a species of banana native to the Philippines. It is woven in the Philippines, from the stalks of the abaca tree and fibers are long, very strong, long-lasting and salt water resistant. Abaca is processed and woven by hand and is often woven with other fibers such as silk.

For ease of blocking, sinamay is often pre-stiffened during manufacturing. Plus, since it is a natural material, it holds dye very well. It was introduced accidentally to the millinery world in the 1990s when someone was wondering if their parcel ‘packaging’ would make an interesting hat. Florists also use open weave sinamay for decoration.

Care:
Sinamay, if not highly stiffened, can easily lose shape if subject to damp and direct moisture. It is recommended not to get sinamay wet.  Please talk directly to your milliner about cleaning.