How to… Make Benny Andallo’s Baker Hat
The London-based headwear designer has crafted couture “crowns” for fashion’s finest. He shares an exclusive pattern with our #LibertyCraftClub
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How to… Make Benny Andallo’s Baker Hat
The London-based headwear designer has crafted couture “crowns” for fashion’s finest. He shares an exclusive pattern with our #LibertyCraftClub
By: Team LibertyFor the latest instalment of our Craft Club, Liberty drafted in the millinery talents of Filipino-British designer Benny Andallo. Born and raised in London, and inspired by the city’s underground scene, Andallo’s idiosyncratic, modern and futuristic style has gained him fans in the finest echelons of the artistic world. From crafting hats for the likes of Rhianna and FKA Twigs, to collaborations with Junya Watanabe: his work is at the avant-garde of British design. Here, he shares the design for his signature baker hat, exclusively with Liberty.
Benny Andallo’s Liberty Baker Hat
“Since 2019, I've been crafting headwear with an emphasis on creating visual noise and impact. Animating the familiar that brightens and contrasts with the London landscape.
The piece I’ve made is a signature of mine as it is the first shape I ever worked on.
My fascination with baker hats stems from my admiration with the stylistic strides of men from various cultural backgrounds sporting this traditional cap on the highstreets of London. The hat serves as a powerful symbol of a diasporic narrative, where donning this particular style becomes a self-crowning gesture of Britishness, signifying their personal integration into British society through style.
I’m really obsessed with creative expressions of freedom through style and a hat is an item that always tops off a look. I reimagine tradition hats by incorporating vibrancy, energy and texture, transforming them into playful crowns that make a striking impact. I enjoy using my hands to create fab things people can wear.”
The Baker Hat: Step by Step
The Prep
• Block fuse and cut outer body shell panels (x8)
• Cut lining panels (x8)
• Block fuse and cut brim panels (x2)
• Cover button with outer shell fabric
Sewing
• Stitch down the 8 outer body shell pieces to wadding and cut the excess
• Sew the 8 quilted outer body shell panels side to side together to construct a dome
• Sew the 8 lining panels side to side together to construct a dome
• Pin the lining shell body to the inside of the outer body shell dome of the hat and sew them together at the head opening seam
• Attach top button snap through the lining and the outer shell
• Hand sew the covered button through the top middle point of the outer body shell of the hat through the middle point of the lining shell. Do multiple tacks
• Attach bottom button snap to the centre of one of the brim panels
• Pin the 2 brim panels back to back and sew along the outer curve
• Snip along the brim seam and trim
• Bag out the brim piece, slide in the stiff brim insert and stitch down the inner curve seam
• Sew the brim piece to the hat body
• Measure elastic to hat circumference plus 2cm for seam allowance and cut. Sew elastic together to create a band
• Pin band to hat entrance seam and stitch down
• Press button snaps together