This is my attempt at the Sorting Hat, one of the most magical objects in the Harry Potter series. My daughter, an avid HP geek, has been wanting a sorting hat of her own for years and I thought long and hard about how to execute this one. Sewing seemed too complicated because I would have wanted to capture all of the wrinkles and rips. I considered knitting and fulling the hat using this pattern from Diane Scott, but I haven't done the tuck stitch that the pattern called for and was pressed for time with Christmas approaching. Finally, remembering some amazing wet felted gnome hats that a friend has, I decided to try to felt one.
I built the mold out of a styrofoam floral cone and some foam padding. I began by needlefelting the wool where I wanted it. If you attempt this, remember to felt the layers of wool in opposite directions. On my first attempt I spiraled the wool down the cone and it seemed to be holding together fine but once I got it in hot water, it fell apart. The second time around, I added a layer on the inside of the hat that was vertical and then spiraled on the outside of that. For the brim, I placed the mold on a regular felting pad and then gradually extended the bottom of the hat out, being careful not to make it too even because the sorting hat is supposed to be somewhat battered.
Once the body of the hat seemed pretty stable, it was into the hot, soapy water. I have learned the hard way to wear rubber gloves for this process, lest my hands end up scalded and chapped. I used some natural dish soap in the water and a bar of castille soap to rub over the hat during the felting process. After rinsing, I rolled it up in a towl and squeezed out excess water.
I wanted to add the slight suggestion of a face without making it too cartoonish. When the hat was completely dry, I needle felted the "creases" in the rough shape of eyes and a mouth. I also sewed on a couple of gauge swatches that I had been saving as patches.
Prepare to be sorted!
