The Hat

I like to felt. Old sweaters, thrift store finds, you name it- if it will shrink I'll felt it. What do I do with these shrunken wonders? Not a whole lot. I made my nephew a cute Christmas stocking a couple of years ago. That was it until I saw a felted hat pattern in Debbie Stoller's book "The Happy Hooker" crochet book.
This hat was called "Strut" and I should beware of anything that smacks of "proud"- I really should be Amish. I followed the directions and crocheted it to the obligatory size of a house and stuck it in a pot of boiling water to shrink. The directions said run it through the hot water cycle in the washing machine. Why do I have a problem with directions? It's like I can go so far but then have to think of a way to do it better. (sigh) I took it out of the pot and it hadn't shrunk very much, so after my children and husband took turns trying it on and striking all manner of Dr.Seuss poses, I threw it in the washing machine. At the end of the cycle it had shunk to the size of a bird's nest requiring drastic stretching and pulling and molding over bowls and vases to get it into a head shape. The end result was more Devo than Jackie O.

Next time I promise to follow the directions to the letter. To the best of my ability given who I am. Oh brother.