Felted hat workshop #6? It’s a fun workshop with Ann, so let’s take it again!

Nov. 29 2025, I was busy teaching needle-felted landscape for the Ottawa guild in the studio. As you saw recently, Ann took the workshop and was making an impressive forest with mist. She was also making funny faces as we tried to get a group shot!! (This was the best option, and really is pretty good…. I was so tempted to show you her best silly face!)

1) Most of the students from the felted picture workshop (one had to leave early) (Ann sent a shot of her progress on her picture, but I should let her show you in another post!)

 

Nov. 30^th 2025, Wet Felted Hat workshop.  Glenn and I were back in the studio bright and early, but not quite as early as Ann. She had the tables set up and was laying out the tools we would need. I was going to be a student today, and she, the teacher!  She had me in the back by the door (out of the way…. I have taken this class a few times before, I think this is hat 6, or was it hat 7? I can make one on my own, but it feels safer to face the water in a group.).

Glenn was there in case I ran out of rolling power, partway through the day. In the meantime, he was working quietly at the back of the room on one of his game boxes (he was building inserts for the game pieces to fit in the box better). He seemed to be having fun and did stay drier than I did.

2) Glenn at the table by the window

3) Ann with a bag of balls of wool

More enthusiastic students arrived, and we wound up with a class of 7 students.  With a class size of 6, we usually are done at 4 pm, but adding more students adds more time for everyone to finish. We each chose a wool colour and a hat shape. Like my workshop on the previous day, we had students working on the same topic, but each was quite unique.

 4) Sample hat with brim

Ann showed us samples of some basic hat shapes.

5) showing us various types of fibre we can use to augment our hat

She had a full table of fibre to augment our base colour for the hat.  (Various formats: of silk, small curly locks, and other fibres.)

6) Drawing out the patterns for each student

She then adjusted the basic pattern for each student’s head size.

She demonstrated 2 ways to pull out thin wisps of staple lengths of fibre.

7.1-7.2- 7.3-  7.4) pulling thin wisps off the combed top, then laying them down like shingles over the resist.

7.5) A second way to pull off a staple length

 

Our various hats

8) My hat (black, strange shape), side one is done

Ann, helping with dreadlocks to augment this hat.  First lay out one side, then the other.

9) helping a student add dreadlocks to her hat

Now time to add the scary water!!

10.1-10.2) adding water and soap to wet the wool

10.3) Gently pushing down, making sure the wool is wet all the way through.

11.) Side one, turn the edges around the resist.

12) My hat is a bit behind the others!

 

The second side is placed over the resist and wet. Once wet through, flip and wrap edges. Be neat, or you get a Mohawk line on your hat!!!

13.1-13.2) Adding embellishment fibres over wet wool.

13.3) Ann explained about rubbing directions and what happens if you go the wrong way.

 

The gentle rubbing (caressing the wool begins.) I am a bit behind the others in class, but I will catch up if I keep working!

14) The Tupperware juice container lid works great as a rubbing tool

The water was starting to fight back,  I realized as I discovered my apron had dogged to one side, and let my knee take the wet, dripping attack! It was obviously time for the towels to come out, yes pinch test is a success, so on to rolling!

15) Finally, I am rolling my hat!

I am still behind; most of the others are cutting open their felt to expose their resists.

16) Cut a hole to reveal the resist.  Then heal the edges.

 

Once we had shrunk them down partway, we started to try them on.  (Ick!! Cold, wet wool hat….where is the dry warmth I remember from my other hats???)

17) trying the hat on.

One had a flat brim developing; you can see some of the hat blocks.

18) Hat block and brim

19) This was a technique I did not favour, but it seemed to be very effective!

I think my weird hat reputation has been surpassed. This one looks like it will be truly intriguing. It’s not finished, I think.

20.1-20.2) vibrant yellow green hat!

21) These two hats are done

 

5 pm, already?!! I was still working on mine, but the basic shape is done. Next, I will rinse out the soap and do some final shaping. I am going to be run off my feet for the next 2 weeks at least, so maybe I can find time to finish it after that?

22) Packing up the room after the workshop

 

I was wiped after all that wet felting! As we headed to the car, Glenn agreed that dinner out at the pub, Rose and Crown, in Centerpoint (west end of Ottawa, which used to be Nepean), would be lovely, which it was. Then I fell into bed early. The next day was December 1^st, which was the guild meeting. I was in to the studio early to beat the traffic and set up the library. This month I still have more guild work, including prep for teaching inkle weaving, and then there are blog posts and Christmas! For tonight, heading off to bed to get some extra sleep sounds very exciting. Maybe I will get a real rest in January!

If you have the opportunity to take a workshop with Ann, she is a fun teacher (even if there were no Smarties (candy) in her class!)