Unless you are British or attending a horse race, there is little chance that you wear or order custom hats with any sort of regularity.

Making hats was a booming profession that has become rather obsolete, though it continues to thrive in some parts. Hats have a sort of old world glamour that is hard to find these days. They instantly dress you up and can change your image instantly; a cloche for the ingénue, a fedora for a gangster or a pillbox hat for the classic Jackie Kennedy type.

Alternatively, you could be a little more modern with a sushi or Hello Kitty hat, like those found in the book Saturday Night Hat: Quick, Easy Hatmaking for the Downtown Girl. This book provides easy-to-follow instructions for making everything from a newsboy cap to a cocktail hat. There are and tips for creating patterns and variations, though some require you to find an old hat to base your pattern on.

The book has illustrations so you know what you are attempting before you break out the expensive fabric. If you mess up on one, it is easy to switch to a smaller hat and salvage your materials.

Styles run the gamut from the casual hat you wear to keep the rain off of your head to the coy cloche for that first date.

Another option for learning to make hats is to take a class. Jean Hicks, a milliner from West Seattle, teaches classes through the Experimental College.

“I have always loved hats,” Hicks said. “One day I was wearing one downtown in a fabric store and a man told me he liked my hat and could make me another.” Hicks ended up apprenticing with that hat maker, and has been in the business for 15 years.

Hicks has a background in architecture, but hat making combines design with the opportunity to build.

“One of the things that attracts people to hats is the history — it’s something from the past,” Hicks said. She pointed out that there was a time when women were happy to not have to wear hats, when they felt liberated from them.

“There is a new generation now that is free to wear hats as another accessory, as something fun,” Hicks said.

Different seasons require different materials; wool and felt in winter, straw in spring and summer. Hicks finds inspiration from historical hats, pictures in books and investigating how vintage hats were put together.

Making hats for yourself has another benefit — they actually fit. “People either think they have really big or really small heads,” she said. “This tells me that people have a hard time finding hats that fit in stores.” It used to be that each hat was fitted to the individual’s head, but with mass production this is no longer the case.

Hats have been out of vogue for a number of years, but they have started to make a comeback on the runways. However, they seem to be having trouble transferring to the real world. Hats have a sort of allure — they make women mysterious and men handsome — and bring back some of that old world feeling.