Renaissance Woman Amy Litteral Brings Hat Burning to Greenup

Renaissance Woman Amy Litteral

Brings Hat Burning to Greenup

Gwen Akers

The Ashland Beacon

Amy Litteral, a retired chiropractor and massage therapist, has always been a renaissance woman. Daughter of a fellow artist with a “try-anything” mentality, it wasn’t long before Litteral was trying her hand at jewelry making and now, hat burning.

“I’ve always been creative,” explained Litteral of Moxie Jewelry and Hats.  “I make handmade jewelry. I’ve done that on the side for the last 26 years, but it’s been in the last three years that I picked up hat burning.”

Hat burning is a form of pyrography, involving the practice of burning a design into the brim of a hat. Instead of a traditional canvas, the brim of the hat becomes the host for a variety of art including drawings, shading, color and even beadwork. After seeing hat burning online, Litteral decided she wanted to try it out for herself. It all began with two girls that she found on TikTok.

“I just watched when they would put a video out, or they would go live, and I would watch them burn the designs. Then I just dove into it,” detailed Litteral. “I am the kind of person that will teach myself if I need to learn something.”

Litteral has taught herself all of the skills needed. After picking a vegan suede wide brim hat, she selects a design, either drawing it herself based or by finding a design on Etsy. As a beginner, she would find the design online, print it out into four quadrants, and use press and seal to place the design on the hat. From here, you trace the outline with a black marker before removing the press and seal and burning through the lines. The act of burning it makes the design a permanent part of the hat, and allows for different types of experimentation and creativity. Litteral, since starting her journey in hat burning, has since branched out into more creative and complex designs. The creativity in designing what actually goes on the hat is Litteral's favorite part of the process and this shines through in her finished products.

Ranging from colorful beadwork to hummingbirds, Litteral’s hats combine a rustic western style with the vibrant colors of nature. While she has an expansive collection of her work on Etsy, Litteral also sells her hats at different events.

 “The best part of it [selling her hats] is when it gets sent to the customer and they're so happy because either they've worked with me on a custom design, it’s a design that they want, or them just receiving the hat and being so happy with it. That's the best part [...] seeing how happy they are with it,” commented Litteral.

                  Now, Litteral is expanding into teaching and sharing her knowledge of hat burning. On August 22 she will be teaching a Hat Burning workshop at the Greenup County Ky Extension Office which will allow participants to select a hat and a design for $89. Litteral will show participants the basics of hat burning and help them in designing their hat. Everyone in the class with also have the opportunity to add a design to a community hat to represent the class.

              For more information about Litteral, you can find her on Facebook or at her Etsy shop at Moxie Jewelry Designs. To register for her class through Greenup Arts, call 606.831.1501.