Felted and Beaded Hat

My first felted knitting project: a hat for my mother on her birthday. Knit with Brown Sheep Company’s Lamb’s Pride. The scallop shell ‘bead’ is sterling silver, two-sided. Other beads are glass. This was a fun and satisfying project because it was so quick to knit up and the very nature of felting guarantees surprise results. The change in appearance from the oversized, floppy ‘hat’ into this cute, tulip-shaped hat was dramatic! For step-by-step instructions on how to felt knitted material, click here.
… While hitchhiking through Europe in 1970, after much wistful window-shopping, I spent precious resources on a boiled wool jacket in Salzburg, Austria. I don’t know how closely the process for making my tyrolean gem resembled that of my humble birthday hat, but it just goes to show you that ‘once a knitting fanatic, always a knitting fanatic’!