Felting along...

My grandson wants to be WWE wrestler, The Undertaker, for Halloween. Himself order a commercial costume. My grandson has to use his own black pants and boots with the costume. The hat may be a problem. It does have the straggly hair, but it might not fit. So... I decided to try my hand at felted hats. I do so wish I had a photo of Himself trying on the hat with the hair attached. It perched on top of his head. I keep laughing at the image. He will not allow me to photo him in the hat and show anyone. Booger.

The first hat is a knitted hat by Arlene Williams- Felted Hat Pattern.
http://webhome.idirect.com/~quanah/patfelthat.html

I modified it a bit. I made the crown a few stitches wider. When it came to the brim, I increased after every inch in depth, every 5 rounds in other words. The hat ended up about 15" or 16"from the beginning instead of 13". It went through the washer twice with a pair of jeans and another hat made using her recipe as printed, using a merino/mohair blend in an electric blue for the brim section. That will go to my daughter's step-daughter.

The Undertaker hat is staked out on the floor, shown below, to make sure the brim stays nice and flat. The character wears a Quaker-style hat. It will get a purple ribbon hat band when dry. I also pinned the edge around the brim to help it keep the proper shape.


The hat below was made using the instructions from-
A Felt Hat using Standard Fabric Store Craft Felt
http://www.costumes.org/advice/costcraftsmanual/tmpjk10.htm

I did not have the foam or anything to form the crown on, so I used a mini-basketball as the form for the crown. When the ball-shape below is dry, I trim it to be the rounded crown for the style of hat. The brim is two pieces glued together and you add wire to the brim if it is not stiff enough. I have to cut the hold, fit it on the ball and then the crown down over and stitch it from the inside.

It is not dry. The glue is SUPPOSED to be clear when dry, not the splotchy stuff as shown below. If it is not, I will have to re-do the brim...or dye it black again? Same thing for the hat band, purple ribbon.

The construction is clever, but I am not too sure how this one will turn out yet. If anything, I learned something new, right?


I will be trying my hand with making flat felt next. I even found a washboard! It will be a workout. Good for the arm wings, no? I have not needle-felted in a long while, and will be doing that too. Stabbing things for art's sake?

I tried to take a photo of the beaded box I am working on, but the light sucked and it came out badly. Next time I have the camera out I will try again. It is sunny today. I should of taken it in a shaded area. My photo light box for taking photos of beaded and shiny items is still in the storage shed, buried under boxes.

Miss Maggie continues to improve. The meds are not giving her any of the bad side-effects that are possible, at least, so far. She has four days left, so I think she will be fine. I will try that probiotic stuff again later on to see if it helps her tummy.

Merry Fall! Crisp air, fog, rain and more! I love this time of year!

Deb

I am a bit ecclectic. This blog is whimsical musings about my various interests and sharing things I am learning. If anything, it will be a good sleeping pill, no?

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