Do you ever have 'Shower Thoughts'? You know, one of those ideas that hit you unexpectedly while you are doing something else. The Unique Felted Pickle Hat with earflaps popped into my hat unexpectedly.
Via Instagram, I met TheFoundFashion/LadyB. She favors thrifted clothing, is unafraid to express her political views about the enviroment and LGBTQ rights, and lastly, has an excellent comic flair! Additionally, She LOVES pickles AND has a hard time finding hats that fit her head size.
Sketch of The Pickle
As LadyB is very theatrical, I wanted to include long earflaps that she could dramatically flip over her shoulders. I made the earflaps out of hand-dyed, silk habotai fabric. I added polka dots of prefelted wool to resemble the bumps on the skins of cucumbers. This section of the hat shrank a lot more than expected
In addition to earflaps, I included an undulating and asymmetrical brim in the design. I find that asymmetry adds dynamic energy to a hat!
The Layout of the Wool
Below, you can see the bumps for the pickle-ness and the fluffy Merino wool for the brim section.
Design Questions
Initially, I was going to attach the tiny Gherkin during the felting process so that it would be connected. But, I wasn't quite sure of which way it should point: front, back, sideways?
Until a hat is felted down, it can be hard to imagine the finer details. I find that most of my wet felted hats need me to wear them, to get the best 'flow' of movement.
I ended up having the stem of the Gherkin pointing towards '11 o'clock'. I'm still not entirely sure if it is pointing the 'Right Way'! Right now, it looks like it's gliding behind the central part of the hat.
Besides, adding more layers of wool for the bumps, I used a wooden dowel and chopsticks to push them out and raise the surface.
Finished Pickle Hat
I found this a hard one to selfie-photograph. Instead, I let Goldie the Mannequin model. She has such a lovely long neck!
TheFoundFashion LOVES her Pickle Hat
In the above photo, TheFoundFashion is wearing her hat. She looks rather fierce. But, if you check out her Instagram account, you will see that she is often quite joyous (and risque) in many of her videos.
Under 'Pickle Stuff' in her highlights, check out the AMAZING costumes and hats that the vaudeville act, The Pickle Sisters, wore!
I loved having this opportunity to create this unique, Pickle statement hat for a comedic friend who is not shy about being seen!