Raw Fleece Helmet
A little while ago I showed you the prototype for a large felt helmet I was planning and the finished hat. http://wp.me/p1WEqk-2rU now I thought I would show you some of the process. There are lots of pictures.
I used a dog brush to fluff up the ends of the horns. I never manage to keep the ends dry. I taped the resist inside the horn to the hat resist and then added some brown wool under the white so it wouldn’t show so much inside.
I wrapped the horn in plastic again so it wouldn’t stick to the hat.
I added the wool for this side then did the same on the other side and added the raw unwashed Wensleydale fleece form a sheep named Wiki. It was important to use an unwashed flees so I could keep the curls and not have them all felted down. You can see the dirt running off when I got it wet. It took a lot of soapy water to get it wet.
The horns were a not very white after the first rolling.
After washing all the dirt was gone.
Even after fulling it was a big hat. I wanted to put it over a helmet but couldn’t find one so I put a hard hat harness inside so it is adjustable.
And here is me in my hat.
23 thoughts on “Raw Fleece Helmet”
Bravo, Ann! Fantastic helmet. What are you going to use it for? I just don’t quite udernstand the procedure about attaching the horn: did you leave the resist in it? What wool did you use as a base, before you started adding raw fleece?
Thank you, yes I left the resist in the horns so I could anchor them in place. It was a natural brown Finish wool. I made it for a show my guild was having. I wanted something different and eye catching.
The curls remind me of hobbits 🙂
LOL
It’s a fantastic helmet! Well made!
There must be lots of dramatic societies and costume hire shops that would just love to have that.
Thank you Lyn, I hope someone wants it. I put a hefty price tag on it, it was a lot of work.
Awesome helmet Ann! I love the curls. It’s definitely eye catching!
It is fun, I think it might look better on someone else.
Awesome job! I love how curly it is.
Thank you . I love the way it turned out.
I think it looks great on you! Perfect for the long winter coming up 🙂 Great idea and I love how it turned out. It looks like a bison.
Thanks Ruth, it would be =good for the Grand Pooba of the Royal Order of Water Buffalos 😉
Haha, I love this, Ann! It’s a little like the 80s meets the film Labyrinth… I think I have curl envy 🙂
Thanks. Yes, it reminded me of the big guy in the swamp.
LOL
What a fabulous piece of headgear! I admire your perseverance in getting the job done.
Thanks, It was a bigger job than I thought it would be.
It looks great, Ann 🙂
Thanks Zed
Wow, how very curly your helmet is. It looks great. It looks like a very difficult to make.
thanks Judy. It was fiddly to make, but I enjoyed it.
My comment is, “Ha ha ha ha.”
Thanks Judy, LOL