Feted Hat
The inside of these hats are generally made from a combination wools and alpaca , Natural colored Shetland wool from my neighbors flock works wonerfully. Adding the alpaca fiber offers addtional warmth and softeness.
The ouside layer is made of from a variety of fibers generally I use wool, mohair, silk and alpaca. Again when possible I like to incorporation some of our local Shetland wools but also use some fantastic purchased rovings from those with an excetional eye for color and content. By far my favorite rovings to date come from : Persimmon Tree Farm, Steam Valley Fiber Farm, Twin Ponds and All String Considered.
I like to retain a small amount of the roving from the outer layer which I spin into yarn and handstitch an edge around the brim of the hat. Occasionally I will embelish them with further hand stitching using handspun yarns or yarns from my line of space dyed yarns.
Various ribbons and notions are used for the bands and I have been known to haunt antique stores in search of pins and 'pretties' to add as well.
These hats are hand made using the wet felting technique. Beginning with wool and alpace roving the inside of the hat is laid down followed by what might be wool, alpaca, mohair, silk or any variety of rovings chosen for the outside layer. Heat, a surfactant and agitation are used to bind the fibers and transfom them into the basic shape. Further shaping is done with more agitation and steam. They are allowed to dry naturally which can take a few days. Once dry then the brims are cut and trimmed and embelished with ribbons and other 'fancies'