Betty Burian Kirk
Sculpted Hats of Hand Made Felt
Felt is made with moisture and agitation or pressure. There are many steps to making hand made felt. First the fiber, usually wool, is washed. Next it is picked or teased and then carded into batts or little blankets of fiber. Then the fiber is laid out on a table in layers. This is followed by misting with water and some soap is added as a lubricant. When saturated, the fiber is gently worked by rubbing and rolling it until it starts to felt or mat together into a cloth. At this point it is worked more aggressively and can be molded or shaped. After this the soap is rinsed out and the felt is laid out to dry.
When working on a three dimensional piece (which has no seams) a resist such as plastic is inserted between layers of wool. The resist prevents the layers of wool from felting together and a sculptural piece is created instead of one flat piece. It is this additional skill that is needed to make these one of a kind hand sculpted felt hats.
These hats are made one at a time and can not be mass produced. The hats are of wool and very warm.
Designed for the woman who likes unique clothing.