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Crown Club — The Founding Cohort 6-Week Hat Making Class
Learn to make a classic wool felt fedora from start to finish, one relaxed evening a week. Over six weekly sessions, you'll build genuine millinery skills — steaming and blocking, shaping, trimming, sewing a sweatband, and finishing with a curved Petersham ribbon hatband — finishing with a Sunday session where everything comes together.
Run by Lisa under Apes&Apples, our in-house hat brand, from Common Threads' Nelson store. This is our very first Crown Club cohort — a wonderful opportunity to be among the first to learn this craft with us, at Founding Cohort pricing.
This course is designed for complete beginners to hat making — no prior millinery experience necessary or accepted, so everyone learns and progresses together at the same pace. Basic sewing machine skills are required, as parts of the hat will be machine-sewn during the course.
Session Details
6 weekly sessions, Wednesdays, 6:30pm–8:30pm, starting 21 October 2026 (21 & 28 Oct, 4, 11, 18 & 25 Nov)
Plus one finishing Sunday: 29 November 2026, 10:00am–2:00pm
Maximum 3 participants per class (more block dates to follow!)
Price: $695 per person, all materials included — Founding Cohort pricing. Future courses will be priced from $795, so this is your best-value opportunity to join Crown Club.
For absolute beginners to hat making only — basic sewing machine skills required
What Each Week Covers
Tools, materials, head measuring & choosing your block
Steaming and blocking the crown
Shaping and blocking the brim
Trimming, sanding and finishing the brim edge
Fitting and sewing the leather sweatband
Curving and stitching your Petersham ribbon hatband
The Finishing Sunday
A relaxed four-hour session to complete any final touches, ask questions, and experiment with trims and materials beyond your own hat — a proper finale to the course, not just a wrap-up. We'll also take photo documentation of you and your finished hat, a nice keepsake to mark the end of the course.
What's Included
All materials for your fedora — felt hat body, hat block use, sweatband materials, Petersham ribbon, tools and guidance throughout. You'll leave with a general understanding of classic hat-making, the tools and materials involved, your own finished fedora, and a small group of fellow makers.
The Common Threads Difference
A true full-immersion learning experience in small-batch, hands-on craft — because some skills are best learned slowly, one week at a time.
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Event venue
Studio 2, 131 Bridge Street, Nelson, New Zealand 7010, New Zealand
Tickets
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