When fabric was not availiable on the trail or in the area where the emigrants established residence, women found alternatives. They would make sunshades and tie them on with a kerchief. Reeds from wetlands or riverbanks were used, wheats and grasses also provided the material necessary to create a sunshade or a straw brimmed hat.

"Besides making our own dresses we also made hats. We cut the ripe wheat straws, using only the long top joint, we would lay a handful of this straw in the water until it became soft. Then we braided it. Ibecame expert at braiding from 7 to 13 straws. When a strip was about 8 yards long we sewed it around and around, shaping it into a hat. I shaped the crown over a little bucket and pressed the top, sides, and rim with a hot flat iron. Our Sunday hats we made of split bleached straw. For bleaching purposes, we removed the head of a barrel; tacked the hat inside; lighted a plate of sulpher, covered the barrel tight so the smoke could not escape; and the hats came out bleached a pure white. We decorated our hats with ornaments made of straw dyed different colors." --Mary Ann Hafen.(p. 47)

Millinery was a valued part of a woman's wardrobe. It provided a sense of fashion and practicality at a reasonable cost. Hats such as Ms. Hafen made and created were often traded for various other neeeded items. In the 1860s, millinery was destined to become a highly regarded trade for women based on the skill and necessary artistry.

The fashionable bonnet--

"...tho I shall make a black silk hood so as I get a good pattern which will last till we arrive at the El Dorado then I no longer dress as a poor woman...." --Lucy Rutledge Cooke (Holmes, vol. 4, p. 270)

This black bonnet is in the Marjorie Russel Textile Collection. It is built on the lines of the sunbonnet of black silk. It is made by hand. More description needed