Joži Košak Straw Hat Making

Joži Košak comes from Ihan near Domžale. When she was a child, her mother used to plait straw and the children would help. She would take these plaits to the Univerzale straw hat factory that used to buy them from the locals, even though they had already started to import them because the supply of domestic plaits could not keep up with demand. At the age of 14 she started working in the factory herself, where the older workers taught her how to make straw hats. She stayed at Univerzale until 1998, and after 37 years of service she says that she could make a straw hat blindfolded.

Name of Craft in the local language: slamnikarstvo
Type of Craft: Straw hat making
Knowledge Holder: Joži Košak
Location, Website: Brejčeva 27, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia
Contact: Straw Hat Museum, Kajuhova 5, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia, slamnikarski.muzej@kd-domzale.si
Year of Establishment: 2012

Materials: Straw, straw plaits
Technology / Tools / Machines: Manual and machine work
Techniques / Processes: Plaiting, soaking, ironing, sewing, pressing
Education of the Craftsperson: Elementary school; at the age of 14 Joži started working in the factory herself, where the older workers taught her how to make straw hats

Best-selling product: Straw hat
Average time of production: 20 minutes

Joži Košak uses wheat straw plait for her straw hats. Plaits differ in width, number of straws and the plait pattern. Straw for plaiting must be long, but nowadays straw is shorter and too rough, so today braids are plaited only for demonstration purposes. Up until now the museum has had sufficient stocks of plaits from the past, but these are running low and will soon have to be sourced from abroad. One of the main problems of straw hat making is a lack of quality plaits. Another pressing problem is the old sewing machines and the lack of spare parts to fix them.
Joži soaks the plaits for a day or two until they are moist enough to be ironed. When sewing she places the braids one on top of the other. She keeps a hat mould at the side of the sewing machine so as to be able to measure the size as she goes. Once the hat is sewn it has to be pressed — the museum keeps old presses as well. Factory workers used to make them in stages, but in the museum Joži makes the entire straw hat herself. She custom tailors every hat to the user’s head and any preferences the user may have related to shape and similar. She sews it in ten minutes, attaches a sweatband and hand sews the ribbon.

Joži Košak makes different styles of hats, but the traditional Domžale Girardi hat with a stiff round brim and flat crown is still her favourite. She sews most of the hats at the museum, but keeps a sewing machine at home as well, for those times when she has to complete a large order.