Vogue Magazine Showcases Onalaska Women’s Creative Crochet Hats

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WKBT) – Onalaska resident and Etsy seller gets national recognition for her creative, homemade hats.

Dawn Shelton runs Gifted Acorn Crafts on Etsy, where her handmade crochet bobs have become a hot sale. Shelton recycles beverage containers and cans as frames, weaving them with yarn and other materials to create a wearable hat.

American fashion designer Anna Sui commissioned Shelton after she, along with her nieces and nephews, spent much of her self-isolation in quarantine drinking Spindrift-flavored seltzer water; they sent their used cans to Gifted Acorn Crafts, which Shelton then turned into a work of art. The hats were reportedly worn for Sui’s New York Fashion Week spring 2021 show, but COVID-19 has put an end to that. Even without the runway, the hats were featured with Sui’s “Prêt-à-porter” collection in Vogue magazine.

Dawn says she’s been making bucket hats for 20 years. It was inspired by a popular event in our region where you can see similar hats, and luckily, this festival also leaves a lot of empty cans.

“I started making them after years of seeing people wear them to Oktoberfest (at La Crosse). I figured I wanted to do it someday, so I made it my mission to learn how to crochet and make hats, mostly for Oktoberfest.

Shelton says each hat takes about an hour and a half to two hours, and that she will use whatever type of material her customers choose.

“I like to be creative, I like to try new things, I like custom orders from people, people challenge me. I made shorts, I made vests, I made hats. It’s super fun for me.

To see more of Dawn’s creations, request or purchase your own recycled hats, visit Gifted Acorn Crafts on Etsy or follow the store page on Instagram and Facebook.