Home as Hat: Catherine Butler

"Catherine Butler" 2017 from Home as Hat series

I've always been intrigued by the woven conical Vietnamese Leaf Hat known as Nón Lá. Its symmetrical cone shape is extremely efficient at keeping the elements away from the face making it a personal sun roof! Traditionally woven from palm leaves, bark or bamboo, these hats (which have been around for centuries) can also be found in other Southeast Asian countries but is attributed mainly to the farm workers in Vietnam.

When stitching the home above, I was struck by the same conical shape emerging from the roof line. I selected the yellow yarn to help emphasis the shape and color of this traditional hat. I added color to the base to separate it from the hat, as if it were the silk chin strap used to hold the hat in place. There was a palm tree sticking up behind the roof line, so I thought I would embellish the image with a vine-like flourish, tying the local flora to the very material originally used to make the hat.

Julie Green
January 14, 2017