I was in the mood to work with both wheat and abaca plaits this weekend. The result was a sewing fury and not one but two hats finished this evening.
The Mousquetaire style hat combines copper wheat straw and walnut brown abaca plait. I really like how this hat came out. The stripes make the crown look taller than the 5″ it is. One aspect that does make me waver is how much the contrast emphasizes the variations on the copper plait.
The tapered crown hat combines black wheat straw and walnut brown abaca plait. This turned out to be the more difficult of the two styles. While I can probably make this style in my sleep, and often do work in the near dark on this style, it turned out to be a challenge when using two different plaits. I find the stripes throw the eyes, making the tapered crown look more vertical and the crown look more round. Definitely learned a bit with this hat.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 
wow! Both are beautiful. I do like the black & brown as it would compliment a sheer wool I have!
Wow! Love both. The black and brown would look great with a sheer wool gown I have. 😉