Radagast #3

I recently got to make another Radagast hat :)  YAY!  This one was for Kyle in the US.  It was a rather personalized version of the Radagast.. Kyle wanted a green hat band for tucking feathers and leaves into while out rambling.  It needed to be capacious and look distinctly 'worn' and mossy.

In one of our many conversations Kyle mentioned how much he LOVES the colour green.. he said if he was one of the Istari (Middle Earth wizards) he would be 'Kyle the Green' 'cos he wears it so often :)  I really liked that.. and it seemed appropriate to work it into the design somehow.  The layout and felting process were the same as for the last R hat I posted about (expect this one needed to be 1" wider around the crown so I added a couple of inches onto the resist size all round).  Here are a few photos..

Started with a layer of plant dyed beige silk caps, followed by dyed
dark brown merino (23 micron) then natural brown merino

Scattered lots of brown and black tussah silk over the natural
brown merino

Third and final fibre layer, more dyed brown merino with
some dark sage green, silk caps and flax fibre scattered over

I like to shrink these to the max!  I worked and worked this hat.. it took more than 10 hours of solid work to layout and felt this baby!  I was pretty tired by the end of the day, but happy with how it was coming along.

My usual hat block is too small so I used my 24" canvas head-form, wrapping it in cling film
to keep it dry while I worked.  It was perfect for blocking the hat while it dried too.

Unfortunately I forgot to cover the bottom of the head form.. and ended up standing it in a puddle, the water soaked right through the wooden base - it was wet through to half way up by the time I noticed!  While the hat was drying I worked on the hat band.

Starting with a piece of prefelt I needled some green and brown merino and a woollen
yarn  into  it,  followed by some random machine stitching.  Then I felted it HARD..
and left to dry

Once the hat band was dry I machine embroidered onto it.  I traced my text onto tissue paper, pinned it in place, then embroidered through the tissue following the outline of the words (same as I did with the Hobbit Hole tea cozy).

Kyle the Green
It's not right out there for everyone to see, it's on the side of the head 

Just look at the watermark I now have on my head form!!
In my button stash I found a couple of nice, beaten up with age, plastic
buttons in just the right shade of green

It went off in one of my Middle Earth hat boxes :)  And I am very happy to report that Kyle ADORES it!  He has already taken it adventuring in Scotland.. had a raffle drawn from it.. visited his local bar and even got free drinks from a Hobbit fan in it :)  He sent me this lovely photo, taken by a friend in their bar.

I think Kyle the Green looks rather a cheeky wizard :)

It is such a wonderful feeling to of made something for someone which they absolutely love..

I'm currently working on my 2nd Hobbit Hole tea cozy.. and planning a Hobbit-ish bag :)  Will post progress pics of the Hobbit Hole soon

xoxo