Page Three (Return to Page One or Two?)

Step Eighteen: Roll the hat up in the wrap and roll back and forth a few times. Unroll and repreat in a different direction. See how much water comes out!

Step Nineteen: Pinch the felt to see whether all the fibre has become on layer, if it still comes apart as fibres, keep working the felt. Test by pinching all over the hat to make sure you haven't missed any bits.

Step Twenty: Remove all the bubblewrap (you might still have it under the hat) and wrap the sheet round the hat so that the felt touches cloth all over, not more felt,

Step Twenty-One: Fold the sheet with the hat inside into a small package and put it in the washing machine with any stray bits of laundry that need doing.

Step Twenty-Two: Set the machine for the shortest cycle and keep it fairly cool. This step is to settle all the felt, we don't want to shrink it too much at this stage. Go and have a drink and a bit of a sit down- you might be about ready for it by now!

Step Twenty-Three: This is the scary bit, your hat will probably come out of the machine looking very crumpled and folorn. Don't Panic!

Step Twenty-Four: Cut open the hat along the ragged brim edge.

Step Twenty-Five: Take out the resist layer and trim the brim into a smooth shape.

Step Twenty-Six: Stretch the hat into a hat shape, its still should be far too big an a bit soft- but you can already see how it might look when finished. If you do decide the hat is fine as it is, skip the next section and go straight to the finishing instructions

Step Twenty-Seven: Make sure no bits of the hat are stuck together, then put it back in  the washing machine, with no wrapping, with a load of towels or lumpy socks. Give it a longer, hotter wash (if it needs a lot of shrinking, use a hotter wash)

Next Page