Fans of fascinators can learn the art of hat making and make the most of their millinery skills as part of a workshop by The Northern School of Art (CCAD) at the Festival of Thrift at Kirkleatham Hall this weekend.

The Festival is a hugely popular free-to-enter event focussing on living sustainably in style that takes place on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September at Kirkleatham Museum and grounds near Redcar on the North East coast.

The specialist art and design college is putting on a hat making workshop over the two days where visitors can create their own unique couture fascinator. A must for any wardrobe, fascinators suit many occasions and are perfect for weddings, a day at the races or just lunch with the ladies!

As part of the workshop visitors can develop their design onto a chosen base, with the complete freedom to create colour, finish, decoration and style using a range of provided millinery supplies and no previous is experience required.

For anyone wanting a specific shade to match an outfit, they are welcome to bring along any particular materials they may want to use, including recycled velvet, lace, buttons or feathers etc. It is also a great opportunity to use any broken bits of jewellery to make a feature of the fascinator.

For those who wish to showcase their artistic skills, there may be an opportunity to display the fabulous fascinators on the catwalk at the Festival of Thrift’s OxGlam fashion show, with the thriftiest Festival goers awarded ‘Best in Show’ rosettes and invited onto the stage.

The Northern School of Art offers a range of art and design degree courses at its University-level campus in Hartlepool, including Costume Interpretation with Design. During the two-day Festival, staff from the specialist art and design college will be on hand to offer their expertise and advice.

Jane Havakin, The Northern School of Art Programme Leader in Costume Interpretation with Design will be leading the workshop, and says hats played a big part in costume and everyday life until fairly recently. She said: “Hats were worn by every single person up until 1950s, they were so important for costume because no one would dare to go out of the front door without wearing a hat – even to the bin! So all the period dramas need hats to be created for them and The Northern School of Art offers one of the few courses in the country that has a whole module on millinery because it is so important.

“In terms of fashion upcycling, hats are a fantastic opportunity to use whatever you have around you such as scraps of fabric to tie it in with any outfit you have. They are a perfect ethical way of sprucing up an outfit and also a fun way of making something unique to you in a world of high street and mass market fashion.”

Stella Hall, director of the Festival of Thrift, said: “We are shining a spotlight on young people at this year’s festival – and encouraging them to think about ethical and sustainable future careers. We are thrilled at this first involvement of The Northern School of Art students and staff with their upcycled millinery project – and we look forward to growing the partnership in future years.”

The workshops, costing only £2 on the day, take place from 11am-12.30pm and 2pm-3.30pm on both days at the Kirkleatham Museum, with no booking required. Also on display will be a range of costumes and a mini exhibition from current students and former graduates of the northern art college.