My name is Abigail Watson and I am currently undertaking my Masters at the University of Glasgow in Dress and Textile Histories. I have been volunteering at Summerlee for just over a year, and have had the opportunity to engage with many exciting projects, including this re-creation of a Fran and Anna Hat. I have experience in re-creations of historic garments, including a 100-year-old re-make of the Stirling Trades House Deacon Convenor’s robe, and re-creating a Victorian bustle jacket from a pattern I found at my work with National Trust for Scotland.
Summerlee’s latest exhibition (June 2025) Everything Flowsfocusses in on music and musicians local to North Lanarkshire, and highlighting the local area’s significant impact on the industry. One of the groups covered in the exhibition were the well-known double act Fran and Anna. I will admit, I had never heard of the performing sisters, and have been quite surprised at the number of people I have spoken to who know all about them, met them, and even had them perform at a birthday party!
When preparing for the exhibition, the Assistant Curator, Rosie Shackleton, got in touch with me about the costumes of Fran and Anna which were to go on display in the exhibition. The selected outfits were brilliantly tartan and vibrant, showcasing the sisters’ personalities. Unfortunately, one of the hats was missing from the ensemble, so Rosie asked if I would be happy to try and re-create it.
Firstly, we had the hat brought out for measuring to allow me to create a pattern based off the existing hat. When checking over the hat and costumes, we realised that the sisters likely made the outfits themselves, given the hand-made quirks of the dresses. One of the things that captured my attention was that the hat within the collection had an ‘A’ embroidered onto it, showing it to be Anna’s hat. Given this, I added an embroidered ‘F’ onto the replica for Fran.
After studying the hat, the next step was to find suitable fabric, which would best match the original. Having examined this, it appeared the sisters had used the Menzie tartan. Tartan was great as it meant we could get an exact match, which would have been more difficult with a general pattern. A similar fabric was found for the lining and felt was used for the tassels.
Having spent time looking at the sisters’ costumes, I was keen to find images of Fran and Anna wearing them. A quick google search showed them in the matching Menzie outfits – which looked even more fabulous on them.
Having never made a hat before, I was quite excited by this project. The shape was fairly simple with 6 triangles needed, a band, cap, and tassels. Additionally, we found the neck tie was also missing from one of the outfits so I made this as well. The hat was constructed by stitching the 6 triangles of the tartan and lining separately, before stitching them together to create the hat and lining. The cap was then cut, and a sheet of melinex was inserted in to keep a slight shape to it. The band was then added and the ‘F’ embroidered into the lining. The tassel was created with a long piece of felt, each tassel measuring 1cm wide and cut to 21cm length.
Having made the hat, we were then able to dress the mannequins as Fran and Anna for the exhibition. One of my favourite parts of the display is a quote on the wall beside the costumes ‘A pair of tartan garden gnomes who dazzle the screen’. Daily Express, Sat 31st May, 1980
This quote and these costumes stand side by side and give a reminder to the light-hearted sisters who entertained many. Of the people I have spoken to who remembered Fran and Anna, all have smiled and laughed, showing the positive mark they left through their performing.
By Abigail Watson
Abigail Watson is currently undertaking a Masters in Dress and Textile Histories at the University of Glasgow. She has been a curatorial volunteer at NLC for just over a year, assisting with work relating to the collections. Abigail has some experience in historical recreation through a recently completed re-make of the Deacon Conver of Stirling Trades House 100-year-old robe; and the re-make of an 1870s bustle jacket after finding the pattern at the Tenement House, one of the National Trust for Scotland properties she works at. Abigail is also a self-taught hand-loom weaver and loves all things historical fashion and textiles!