Sunday 24 January 2016

A custom built hat :)

This is the other planned hat project I mentioned :)  A custom topper for regular customer / pen-pal Kyle - owner of 2 of my wizard hats.  

This time he wanted a Top Hat.. similar to the Fin wool and Wensleydale locks one - but in GREEN.

I used my 'traditional' resist with the flange at the top
for this one
Layers of natural black, brown and white Fin wool 
(the diagonal band is just sunlight)
With lovely Wensleydale curls in white, grey and brown
Well on it's way to being felted.. throwing it.
You can see how the flat top is forming really well here
'healing' the edges
Checking the shape and size
I was really liking how it looked at this point.. so the next step was a bit scary :) .. I had to take a deep breath before plunging it..

In to the dye pot
Close-up
It took 2 dye baths to get the colour this deep
Drying..
First time I struggled to dye it in my smaller pot (pictured) and it just didn't have the room to brew properly.  So second time round I dug my HUGE cauldron out from the garage..  which seemed to work better :)

Colour comparison with sample
This made to measure hat is 1 1/4" bigger than my head
size so I had to keep my head tilted to stop it dropping
down over my eyes :)

3 comments:

Annie and Lyn said...

That's a great hat and the variation in colour given by the locks is a lovely finish.

Love the alternative whale tail! Made us smile.

The sketch-a-day is a great idea to kick-start new ideas - like what you've done so far. Sometimes coming up with a different idea can be so hard without a starting point.

RMK said...

Wonderful interpretation, color gradient, & lucky customer!

Terriea Kwong said...

Very pretty color and textures. You make wonderful hats!