Millinery for mental health

Outback Arts brought Waltraud Reiner and her Hatmobile back to Cobar this week for a two day workshop held at Cobar TAFE. Mother and daughter, Kylie and Caitlin Harvey, made some beautiful headwear using an old hat by trimming and reshaping it with the aid of a block, before adding some new trimmings including rope, cord, beads, ribbons, wool and lace. Participants could also weave a piece to be placed on their hat or use stiffened paper as a medium. The hat workshop is designed to be a therapeutic tool allowing people to come together to talk and ‘not keep stuff under their hat’. Waltraud reports men have also attended her workshops working on rodeo hats and Akubras.