Palm Leaf Hats

This type of hat is also called as the Panama hats which is most famously made in Ecuador. The hat has extended rim with a deep crown which makes the hat from falling down easily. The brim is also accompanied with a pair of colourful round balls which makes the hat look more attractive. All palm hats start with a natural palm leaf, woven into strips by hand. It can take up to 30 days to weave enough strands to become a hat body. The soft, flexible, durable young leaves of Carludovica palmata are used to weave the famous Panama Hats—handmade brimmed straw hats—and other artisan items such as baskets and masks featured particularly by Panama's Embera and Wounaan indigenous groups. It takes six young leaves to make one Panama Hat.