Felting a Beret
Happy new year and welcome to my A.D.D. post. This is the time of year where I just can’t seem to focus on the work I am supposed to be doing. I think about cleaning my studio after the Christmas season madness, but then I sew a dress, or look at recipes or go for a walk. I’m hard pressed to stay on one activity for any significant length of time. I’m sure this is a reaction to the Uber attention it takes to get through wholesale orders and winter shows, so I’m just going with it for a while. Today’s procrastination project was wet felting a beret. I don’t know whether you agree, but I thought you might like to see the process a bit. If not to learn how it’s done, then to get a glimpse into how insane you need to be to actually make hats this way. It’s really fun and messy and takes forever.
I started out by making two felt batts from merino wool roving. You layer whispy pieces of wool over a template. I make four layers per batt. It shrinks a lot, so you need to make them much larger than the finished hat.
The first batt goes on the bottom with the template on top. It is wet down with a soap and water solution.
The second bat is wet down and then the whole thing is flipped.
The seams from the second bat are folded over and wet down and then the fun begins.
I had needle felted this flower to incorporate into the beret. It’s not completely felted, so it will attach. I wanted it to be attached both on top and bottom.
Using more soap solution on my hands I rub the whole hat very gently using circular motions. You need to really make sure the seams are well felted. Remember, the bubble wrap template is in the hat, so the insides won’t felt together.
Once the wool is not so delicate, I wrap the whole thing up in a large piece of bubble wrap and roll away. I keep unrolling, rearranging the hat and rerolling.
Now it’s time to make the head opening and remove the template.
At this point the hat is sufficiently felted that the insides won’t stick together. I keep rolling and reshaping for a while. The next step is to knead the hat like dough. For the grand finale you get to throw the hat like a mad woman against the counter about 150 times. Wonderful anger management technique. When all is done you rinse the hat in hot water and you can stretch the head size to however large you need it. I made it fit my head because I really want this hat and if it doesn’t sell it’s mine.
The Truth
When people see my hats they often say, “You must be so happy.” I hear it all the time and I get it. My hats are happy. I’m happy they are happy hats and mostly I am happy too, but here’s a little secret. Sometimes, O.K, a lot of times, I’m a real grouch. Tony and Dusty get to see this side of me more than others and I dare say my parents and anyone else that may have been married to me know this about me as well. One of the things that has made me grouchy lately has been the Halifax Farmers Market. It was a combination of crowds, waking up before 4a.m, children with blueberry smoothies playing with my hats, grown ups setting down oily pastry bags and coffee on my hats, too much noise and not enough money. I realized that I was starting to blow the happy cover. I suddenly heard myself complaining once too often to anybody that would listen. It was time to take a break. That’s what I did. I disappeared from the market for a few months and holed up in my beautiful Lunenburg studio and just made hats for wholesale and internet orders. That to me is peace on earth..Quiet, a beautiful window to look out of, beautiful fabrics and small breaks for good coffee and to walk the dog. Last week I decided I would go back to the market on Saturday and I was scared. Scared of waking up before 4am, scared of spilled coffee on my hats, scared of being exhausted, scared of being broke, scared of being invisible in a sea of thousands of people. And so I made a pact with myself. My one goal for the day was to look for every positive experience there was to be found in the day that had nothing to do with money. Kind of like those eye spy books that Dusty loves so much. This is what I found… I laughed with many fellow vendor buddies, I sat down with a cappuccino and cranberry scone, I listened to my favourite podcasts on the drive in, I met a customer who wore my hat after having brain surgery and she told me how her hat made her feel beautiful at a very difficult time in her life, I saw my 76 year old friend Anne, whose 97 year old boyfriend just died and I gave her a hug. I sold this Suitcase Sally travel hat to this woman in the photo and she was lovely and appreciative. I discovered that my new rain hats make everyone smile. And then, someone spilled their coffee on my table. I looked down and there was this filled coffee cup lying horizontally…. and it was fine. Nothing got ruined and I’m here to tell the tale. I can’t say I feel the need to rush back there next week, but the day sure was a heck of a lot easier with my new found attitude and maybe even worth it.
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Live Well in Lunenburg
This beautiful film about Lunenburg was commissioned by the Lunenburg Board of Trade and features yours truly, with special appearances by Dusty, Lego the dog and Tony’s back. Hope you enjoy.
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I watched this this morning and was surprised when I heard that you lived in Marblehead. I live in Nahant, and hopefully, it won't be much longer before I can retire to Nova Scotia. May your business prosper.
Why does that lovely post make me want to come visit you and give you a hug? After 20+ years, I have a feeling we would have no shortage of things to talk about…. maybe one day I'll do it!
All the best,
Devorah