Felt Hat

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Martha Stewart Living, November 2006

Keep little ones toasty with this winsome felt hat. The cap shown at left consists of two pieces of heathery merino-wool felt sewn together with a zigzag stitch in vivid orange thread. We attached ties made of braided worsted yarn to the earflaps.

Before you begin, learn how to easily transform wool into felt.

Felt Hat How-To
1. Measure or approximate the circumference of the recipient's head and divide the number by two. Enlarge the template on a photocopier so that its length, front to back, measures 1/2 inch less than the halved circumfrence; cut out. Using template as a guide, cut out another hat piece from felted wool; flip the template, and cut out another hat piece that's the mirror image of the first. With a zigzag stitch and contrasting thread, stitch the dart closed on each hat piece.

2. With a zigzag stitch and contrasting thread, stitch together the 2 hat pieces. Thread a tapestry needle with 3 strands of worsted yarn, and pull it through one earflap (X on template indicates placement) to yarn's midpoint.

3. Divide the resulting 6 strands into 3 equal sections, and braid. Knot at ends, and trim. Repeat on other earflap.

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When wool is washed and dried, it is transformed: The fibers pull together to produce the soft, thick fabric we call felt. This is unintentional, of course. But you can shrink a sweater on purpose -- one that's old, with holes or stains, perhaps -- turning it into a medium that's wonderful for crafting. This is comforting news. After all, who doesn't have a few woolen sweaters that, though no longer worn, are too dear to part with? Gather these, or buy sweaters from a thrift shop, and use them to create cozy felt mittens, stuffed animals, and other keepsakes and gifts.

The projects on these pages incorporate the stitch patterns and designs commonly found on sweaters. To begin, machine-wash a woolen garment in hot water, and toss it in a dryer set to a high temperature. (You may need to wash and dry it more than once. If you can snip the fabric with scissors and it doesn't fray, it's felted.) Then it's a matter of cutting out shapes and stitching pieces together. Get started now, and you'll have plenty of presents at the ready for holiday giving.

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Keep little ones toasty with a winsome felt hat and mittens. We cut mittens from a sunny yellow sweater; add detail to the cuffs by aligning that portion of the pattern with the garment's ribbed waistband or sleeve.

First, learn how to felt wool.

You can also use various parts of felted-wool sweaters to create attractive pouches below: A hot-water-bottle cover was cut from a turtleneck sweater and trimmed with a monogrammed felt gift tag sewn with a running stitch; an eyeglass case began life as an argyle sweater; a waistband forms the top of this tiny stocking; a sleeve became a case for an MP3 player.

Basic How-To
Use this versatile technique for items of any shape or size.
1. Trace hand and wrist (if making mittens) or an object to be stored (such as an MP3 player) onto paper, adding 1/2 inch all around; or draw a template freehand. Cut out. Position template on a sweater; cut out. Repeat, flipping template to make a second cutout that's the mirror image of the first.

2. Stitch pieces, right sides together, with 1/4-inch seam allowance. Zigzag-stitch around seam to reinforce. Turn right side out. If desired, add a drawstring or a button.