A week ago I taught 2 hat classes at Alpaca Tracks not to far from where I live. http://www.alpaca-tracks.com/

I had a small class and then a large class. Both were fun to do. The ladies were a fun bunch and although most do the same hat shape they all turn out very different. Please excuse the quality of the pictures but the lighting was not good  for picture taking.

Here they are all busy laying out wool for their hats. I couldn’t get everyone in the picture.

I got some pictures as they decorated their hats. The silk caps were very popular.  The first one got some silk hanky flowers on both sides and then a silk cap over top it all.  The next 3 also had silk hankies on them. It is very hard to get pictures because as they get wet they almost disappear. All but the thickest parts. Silk hankies ae great at holding everything under them in place so they felt in really well.

 There were a few I didn’t get pictures of.  Everyone starts at the same time but then as we progress everyone one gets out of sync.

Here are some of the ladies are finishing up the shrinking on the washboard  and a boot tray.

Rolling on either of these really shrinks things but remember to roll and not rub. Rubbing seems to abrade the surface.

And now for some of the finished hats.

Here are the front and back of one. I really upped the brightness on the back so you could see some of the colour.

As the hats dry, the silk on them reappears. One trick I tell my students is if they want to bring the silk out more when it’s dry, they can shave their hat with a razor. A light shave to take the surface fuzz off makes a big difference to how shiny the silk appears too. I had a great weekend teaching. I real like teaching, seeing everyone’s amazement as their hat takes shape.