Trying for a hat

[caterina]

Hello.
I have been thinking about making a hat for a while, I wanted a kind of painter's hat, and I thought about a simple circular resist.

First I made a resist adding around 30% all around a hat that I already have. I used only 1 fine layer of tussah silk fiber, and 2 fine layers of merino, so it shrunk a lot, and I ended up with a too small shape. It is quite regular and I decided that it will have a rebirth as bowl/vessel with some stitching all around the sides to help them be stronger. It stays upright, but I would like it to be firmer as a bowl.
I went to a friend's and made wetfelt with her and let her have this resist to make vessels: she was instantly hooked to wetfelt, loved it! Now she is buying wool and planning vessels (she used to make ceramics as a hobby, so making her start by creating vessels was a winner!).
First try:
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/b5zjmto9gg7cvlgfbk2am/IMG_20240206_112404.jpg?rlkey=nh91kvagaldbfduhocoep81pb&dl=0

Once returned home, I cut another circular resist, way bigger, to try again for a hat. I used 1 layer of tussah silk and 4 fine layers of merino. I managed a hat that I can use and I like, although I am not 100% satisfied with it, because I was aiming for something with a regular shape, but I added merino in different colours for embellishment and that influenced the shape, as the wool was thicker on the top of the hat, where the decorative stripes met, I think.
Also,I must have rubbed in an irregular way the sides. Or maybe it was the fact that my layout was in rays from the centre: should I have used a different layout? Anyway, it strikes me as strange that the first try was pretty regular, but the second definitely not: I did not change things and layout much.
Second try:
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kl60nszcihtxpfnqktvfe/IMG_20240224_084425_698.jpg?rlkey=so8u7i60iakacjtsk6jyv84vr&dl=0

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ugqtuq41zzxjewqgw8diz/IMG_20240224_084425_678.jpg?rlkey=bjh0i395ldmpdqaaoatgtvjyi&dl=0

What do you think? What is it that made my second hat irregular?

[lyn]

How lovely that your friend has found a new creative venture!

Your hat is very pretty - I love the colours and pattern - so do wear it as it suits you so well.

To work out why the shape wasn't regular, could it be perhaps because all the layers were in a ray pattern layout?
When I made a large bowl using a circular resist I did 8 layers. Layers 1,3,5,7 were made in the ray pattern and layers 2,4,6,8 were made in a circular pattern.

[caterina]

Feb 24, 2024 17:30:33 GMT lyn said:

How lovely that your friend has found a new creative venture!

Your hat is very pretty - I love the colours and pattern - so do wear it as it suits you so well.

To work out why the shape wasn't regular, could it be perhaps because all the layers were in a ray pattern layout?
When I made a large bowl using a circular resist I did 8 layers. Layers 1,3,5,7 were made in the ray pattern and layers 2,4,6,8 were made in a circular pattern.

Thanks, Lyn.
Yes, it could be that. I used a ray patter layout for the tussah silk and for 2 of the layers of the merino, and then for the embellishment of course.
I kind of remember that I used a ray layout with the first hat as well in the silk layer and in one of the merino layers, and for the other two layers I went for horizontal and vertical. So, I guess, I used the ray pattern but a bit less.

[lyn]

That's the fun, and sometimes the frustration, of felting isn't it? Finding the best way to achieve the result you want

[lyn]

Have you seen Ann's latest blog post?

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/02/25/felted-hat-class/

[caterina]

Feb 25, 2024 7:56:21 GMT lyn said:

Have you seen Ann's latest blog post?

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/02/25/felted-hat-class/

Amazing, Lyn, just the post for me at the moment 😅 what a coincidence!

[Shepherdess]

OOPS, that post won't be back until the 29th. I thought I posted today but I don't. There are several things you did differently. You made your template bigger, added more wool and it sounds like you added more embellishments. It also sounds like you may have changed the layout too. An uneven layout will give uneven shrinkage.

Looking at your hat it is definitely a problem of differential shrinkage. Everywhere there was less wool shrank more. We all know this because we have done it too.

[caterina]

Feb 25, 2024 11:46:12 GMT Shepherdess said:

OOPS, that post won't be back until the 29th. I thought I posted today but I don't. There are several things you did differently. You made your template bigger, added more wool and it sounds like you added more embellishments. It also sounds like you may have changed the layout too. An uneven layout will give uneven shrinkage.

Looking at your hat it is definitely a problem of differential shrinkage. Everywhere there was less wool shrank more. We all know this because we have done it too.

Thanks, Ann.
It seems that I did quite a few things together to make it come out with uneven shrinkage!!

I just did not realise that you actually need just a bit more wool to make a differential shrinkage when the base layers are very thin. I mean, when I tried to get a differential shrinkage before, I could not get such a noticeable result adding some wool to a thin layer, I had to go for a lot of wool added to a good background. But now that I don't want it, just a very small amount is enough!
(I guess that it is a combination of factors playing into it this time, more wool but also ray layout and how I rubbed it, the whole process)

I am going to try again with the bigger resist, and see if I can get a more regular shape by changing those aspects.
Thank you, ladies, for your support!

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

I've just been down the rabbit hole of early posts on the Studio and I've come across Ann's post on making a beret, which might be of use Caterina?  feltingandfiberstudio.com/2014/05/16/a-felt-beret/  Not that I've actually started to read it yet, it just occurred to me to pass on the link.  I hope it helps.

[caterina]

Mar 2, 2024 9:12:19 GMT Ann @ frabjous fabrica said:

I've just been down the rabbit hole of early posts on the Studio and I've come across Ann's post on making a beret, which might be of use Caterina?  feltingandfiberstudio.com/2014/05/16/a-felt-beret/  Not that I've actually started to read it yet, it just occurred to me to pass on the link.  I hope it helps.

Oh, wow, Ann, it seems that she was thinking exactly on the same lines as me! A red beret, just what I was trying for! It seems that she did not give as many details as I would have liked, though: I need to ask her directly maybe, if she remembers after so many years.

[Shepherdess]

Mar 2, 2024 21:20:38 GMT caterina said:

Mar 2, 2024 9:12:19 GMT Ann @ frabjous fabrica said:

I've just been down the rabbit hole of early posts on the Studio and I've come across Ann's post on making a beret, which might be of use Caterina?  feltingandfiberstudio.com/2014/05/16/a-felt-beret/  Not that I've actually started to read it yet, it just occurred to me to pass on the link.  I hope it helps.

Oh, wow, Ann, it seems that she was thinking exactly on the same lines as me! A red beret, just what I was trying for! It seems that she did not give as many details as I would have liked, though: I need to ask her directly maybe, if she remembers after so many years.

didi you get a chance to see the new post on my hat class with a beret? it was done with 3 layers.

[caterina]

Mar 4, 2024 18:29:01 GMT Shepherdess said:

Mar 2, 2024 21:20:38 GMT caterina said:

Oh, wow, Ann, it seems that she was thinking exactly on the same lines as me! A red beret, just what I was trying for! It seems that she did not give as many details as I would have liked, though: I need to ask her directly maybe, if she remembers after so many years.

didi you get a chance to see the new post on my hat class with a beret? it was done with 3 layers.

Thank you, Ann. I have been a bit busy recently, but I will take a look.
Three layers, that's good to note, thanks.