He begins with three pieces of palm-leaf in a star pattern. To this he sews palm braid in an over-lapping spiral. In this video he completes the top of the crown, measuring it to see that the crown disc is the right diameter (18 cm) for the size of hat he is making (57 cm - 7-1/8).
Notice that he is doing this all on a treadle sewing machine: powered by his feet, not a motor. Most of the hatmakers use treadle machines. In recent years some of them have invested in motors for their machine. But, until you see his feet toward the end of the video, I bet you wouldn't guess that Juan Carlos' machine doesn't have a motor.
Juan Carlos is one of about 70 hatmakers that sews hats for SunBody. Pueblo to People began in 1979 when it purchased hats from his father, Juan, and a small group of hatmakers. That's 30 years ago!
I worked with Pueblo to People from 1983 to 1995. When I began SunBody Hats in 1996, we began by buying hats from Juan and the group began by Pueblo to People.
The group named itself "Wokaj Kabahujil" after a Mayan shrine in the village of Panaxit where the group started and where many of the hatmakers still reside. Palm-leaf hatmaking in Guatemala actually traces its roots to this village.
Jimmy Pryor