Rosie & Linda’s ABAA has “felting” as a theme this week and this was one of those lightbulb moments for me. I thought it’d be fun to dress up my gardening/sun hat. It’s a huge-brimmed straw affair which isn’t very flattering (I’m not pretty in hats!!), but it does keep the sun off my face and neck in the summer. It’s just a bit plain, or it was till I decided to make a felted and embellished hatband for it!
Here’s the ‘before’ hat:
And this is what happened to it!!
I took a strip of green felt, some altered bottle caps and some drilled bamboo dominos (all from Ten Two Studios) and sewed them on. Then I got the rovings out and needle-felted shapes in reds and greens in the spaces…
I then added beads from my stash-pot. I finally blanket-stitched both top and bottom right round to finish it off neatly.
Finally, I slipped the entire piece onto the hat! There were 2 blue and 1 pink bottle caps so I used 2 blue and 1 pink flower images for the dainty dominos. It’s very colourful, isn’t it? 🙂
Altered Art & Stuff... 
Kimmie
/ April 4, 2009This is so cool! Love all the detail and color!
Maureen Cross
/ April 5, 2009This is great, hope we get to see you wearing it!!
Rosie ABAA
/ April 5, 2009Woo hoo – now your gardening hat is a thing of beauty! Absolutely love what you’ve done, especially the dominos and bottlecaps!! Great work and good to have you with us again.
Love
Rosie ABAA
Gayle Page-Robak
/ April 5, 2009It is both colorful and beautiful, Rosie…what a lovely hat band. You may come over and start on all my hats…did I tell you I love, love wearing hats? rofl. I have made a few hat bands but never a felt one like this…inspiration of the finest! Thanks girlfriend!
Jaqi Wright
/ April 5, 2009Wow, how clever and useful too.
Im sure your hat will turn heads as well as your lovely garden now. Its fab, well done, JAQI
Lynn
/ April 5, 2009Woo hoooooo, this is really a great idea Rosie and it looks awesome!!! I love what you did with the hat, needle felting too 🙂 I look ridiculous in a hat too, but if I had one I would never have thought of dressing it up like this, way to go!
Artyjen
/ April 6, 2009Ooh it looks so very……………Vita Sackville West! You’ll look the biz in the garden now!
xoxo
Melisa
/ April 6, 2009It’s fantastic! Love the bottlecaps!
Linda Vincent
/ April 7, 2009What a brilliant idea Rosie….and so many different techniques!
Such great inspiration – thank you for joining in with us.
Love
Linda x
Jan
/ April 7, 2009Oh, so pretty and unusual. What a great idea
RubyMay
/ April 7, 2009wow…its not only colourful Rosie its gorgeous as well.
You say you dont look pretty in hats…well you will in this one x
~*~Patty
/ April 8, 2009BRILLIANT and SO beautiful!!! What a treasure this is! It is a rare day when I feel “good” in a hat! I’m not a natural hat person, they are great to have in the garden….keep us looking young and all
Rosemary
/ April 9, 2009Oh my gosh, I love love love this! That is so oriiginal and lovely, my entry isn’t nearly as pretty.