First let’s recap… WOW… for just a small group of people entering the giveaway, there were LOTS of varied vacations amongst you and what fun vacations you all had… Africa, Niagra Falls, out west to The Tetons and Yellowstone, out east to Williamsburg, then all the way across the ocean to Paris! Up to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia and back to Williamsburg, up to Michigan, down to South America, and lastly to Guatemala!
That was really fun reading your stories about your trips… Every trip sounded wonderful and I’m sure you all have pictures to help you remember those times…
Okay, now for the winner of the Lovely Trips goodies…
I put everyone’s name on a piece of paper and drew one out… this time, the winner is…
Congratulations Barbara! Now you’ll have to think up a storyline for your dolls about a trip they’ll be taking! I have your address, so I’ll get it in the mail today!!
I wanted to show you something I have been working on… It all started when I found this cute little doggie hat at our Goodwill. It was brand new and still had the tags on it, but it “looked” like the same size as the Ruby Red Fashion Friends heads… so for $2.24, I bought it. It was actually a costume accessory for dogs called a Doggie Fedora! I was thrilled to discover that it actually DID fit the RRFF heads.
Then I was looking on the internet a while back and saw this man who was fashioning wool felt into human hats… it was so intriguing I actually watched an hour long video of him showing his techniques on how to do it. I found it fascinating… and you know me, I’m up for any and ALL craft ideas for dolls, so the next morning, I dug through my wool felt and gave it a try. His video mentions several times this is not a fast craft… it takes time and LOTS of rubbing.
I know this isn’t an exhaustive tutorial, but I wanted to share it with you… I’ve only made this one, and it’s not finished, but I’ll tell you my story about it.
I knew I’d need a shape of the hat to cover, so I covered my doggie Fedora hat with foil, 2 layers…
Then I took a, probably 16 x 16 inch square of wool felt and laid it out flat and started soaping it up with warm water and Dawn dishwashing soap… he just had a jug filled with soapy water and kept pouring it over the felt and rubbing and rubbing and rubbing it, in all different directions…
The rubbing breaks down the fibers in the wool felt and makes them more “flexible” to go around curved areas… We’re talking rubbing for like 30-45 minutes… You can flip it over and it’s all soppy like and you think it’s going to fall apart, but just keep rubbing… you want to make it as thin as you can, but not have holes in it… As you soap it up, every once in a while, you pour medium hot water on it to rinse all the suds off, but then you add more soapy water on it and rub some more…
Finally when I thought I had rubbed enough… I rinsed it off and draped it over my foil covered doggie hat…then added more soapy wanter and rubbed some more… I thought “this is NEVER going to work… it looked like this…
You have to rub in all different directions and certain directions make it shrink around the crown and certain directions make it shrink on the brim… So here are a few stages of it slowly taking on the shape of the hat form…
I honestly didn’t think those big wrinkles were EVER going to work their way flat…
…but they started to, so I trimmed off some of the excess, making sure to not cut it too short since it was shrinking…eventually it got to this point… and since I was going to make it a Fedora, or possibly a cowgirl hat with a smaller brim, I trimmed it off even more. If I had kept rubbing the felt, I’m sure it would have been totally flat… the man in the video did a great big brimmed hat and it was smooth for probably 4 inches out.
I let it dry for a day and then took it off… the man recommended a hat stiffner and I didn’t know what that was, so I searched and found a highly recommended one by Aleene’s… and used it on the inside of my hat… just so it would keep its shape…
I still have to stiffen the edges and trim the shape of the hat evenly… it’s much cuter in person than in my pictures… it’s a 3-D kind of thing… you can’t see its real shape because my camera just shows it as a goldish blob…
…anyway, here are a few pictures of it so far…
I still have to finish it, but that’s what I have done so far… just thought you might like to see what I did!!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Congratulations, Barbara, on winning the drawing!!
Yes, it certainly was fun to read everyone’s stories about their travels. I have also visited Babyland, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids, but that’s a story for another day.
Well, I see you have added yet another skill to your arsenal, Jeanne! Honestly, I think you can do just about anything!! Can’t wait to see that hat finished and trimmed…and then, of course, there’s going to have to be an outfit!! Perhaps a cowgirl outfit–or a cowboy outfit, for James? Can’t wait!!
We had a quiet anniversary today–Ron was intent on taking me out to my favorite restaurant, and, in fact, got all ready, but when it came right down to it, he just ran out of steam. I had things here, though (contingency plan!), so we had a nice steak dinner at home. (It’s 49 years.)
Congrats to Barbara! Hope to see one of your dolls going off somewhere!
Aren’t we the travelers? It was amazing to see how well traveled some of us are, and i was wondering, Jeanne, what was YOUR favorite vacation?
Well, after seeing how complicated and time consuming it is to make a felt hat, I think I will just buy them!:-) I do have a felt cowgirl hat for Emmy, made by the seller, and I would guess it was done the same way as the one you did.
Did anyone notice how much like a pie crust the hat looked in several of those pictures? 🙂 As a matter of fact, I think I will be making a peach pie today! It looks like your hat making tutorial turned out to be an inspiration for baking, Jeanne!!
Happy Anniversary, Charlotte and Ron! Just one more year till you reach that “golden” number!
Very cute hat! And I commend your patience thru that process!👍😉
A big congrats to Barbara!
Wow, this is going to be one expensive hat with all of the time spent, but I love it. I’m thinking that it might even fit a Siblie, depending on the wig worn. Really looks like fun to make, but don’t think these weed ravaged fingers can take it right now. And finding real wool felt around here would also be a challenge. Guess I’ll have to check out some doggie hats. Do you know what size your little doggie Goodwill find might be? I believe they come in several sizes. 🙂
Saw Linda’s reference of the hat to a pie crust and yes, it does look like a pie. A peach pie sounds wonderful. 🙂
Can’t believe that the week has flown by. So many graduations and activities at this time of year. Saw one of the dreaded mylar balloons floating yesterday. Here, Pacific Gas Electric has put out a huge warning asking that people not buy them. They tangle in electrical wires and cause fires. Not like the balloons we used to have. 🙂
Congratulations, Barbara! Have fun with your prize! 🙂
Thank you for the fun contest, Jeanne! Congratulations on persevering so long and making a wool felt hat! It reminds me of the new Kit’s hat. It would be interesting to see how they make things for American Girl. Congratulations Charlotte and Ron! Today is my parents’ Anniversary. It is their 44th..
Congratulations Barbara! And you said you never win anything. 🙂 🙂
What a cute hat that will make for some outfit. Looks like someone wants to be a cowgirl/cowboy. I saw the RRFF Souvenir doll Emma is a cowgirl.
A very anniversary to you and Ron, Charlotte. I’m sure a cozy dinner at home was almost nicer.
I was definitely surprised to win the contest. So unusual for me. Thankfully this was stuff for 18″ dolls of which I only have two so the noise level around here while I’m deciding who gets the trip and to where should be minimal. Thanks Jeanne.
I really enjoyed reading about the trips of others and the stories often brought back memories. I’ve been to most of the places mentioned but never made it to South America. A friend of mine and her family did that a few years ago and totally enjoyed the experience. Another friend and his family went to Egypt but just before they arrived a busload of tourists on the way to the pyramids had a very bad experience and his wife was afraid to go so he and his two sons did without incident. My sister and her husband are world travelers and have been for years. They said things are a lot different these days than in the past. They are no longer allowed to leave the cruise ships on their own. She said that was a lot the fun of traveling, getting to feel like you weren’t a tourist. Now you can’t help but feel like it. When I went to Europe back in the early 1970s we enjoyed touring on our own as most people were.
Loved your hat tutorial but I must confess it didn’t jump on my “things to do” list. I do need to try making some hats and I have tons of patterns to do so, but this looks like a lot of work. Fortunately this process won’t turn you into a mad hatter like the hat makers of old who used mercuric chloride to make their fabric supple.
Dear Barbara, congratulations! I hope your passport is current because your two dolly children are probably packing their bags as I type this note (laugh).
Dear Jeanne, the hat looks so cute. The color really accents the color of her eyes.
You are a complete dolly ensemble designer – from hats to shoes!