Plant Fiber Hats and Caps

This is the time of year that I usually start making lighter weight hats and caps out of plant fibers such as hemp, cotton, linen, bamboo and silk.  However it's been so cold where I live in Northern California that I just haven't had much inspiration.  People are still wearing their warm wool hats around here, and it's almost June!

So I'm just now getting around to posting the first of my "spring caps" here.  I put this hat up on the website a couple of weeks ago, thinking I would be making more soon.  Hopefully we'll have a shift to warm weather any day now, which will get me in the mood.

This cap is made from medium weight organic cotton, so is actually fine for any time of year, though it's not as warm as wool.  Cotton also works well for those with sensitivity to wool.  The olive and gray/green wide stripes are both cotton, and the thinner accent stripes are tan colored undyed linen and beige colorganic cotton, which is the natural color of the fiber.  

For more views of this hat see http://www.handspunhats.com/green_cotton_round_cap.htm 

To see more plant fiber hats go to http://www.handsunhats.com/spring.htm

Pill Box With Woven Scarf

I made this scarf awhile back.  Since I didn't have a hat to go with it, I put it away and forgot about it.  Then my daughter made some really great thick lumpy yarn and gave it to me.  It was just the right colors, so I got the scarf out and made this pill box style hat to go with it.
 
This is the first woven scarf I've posted on my website, so I'm not sure how it will go over.  Generally I only make woven scarves as custom orders.  They are quite laborious to set up, but after that are fun to make.  I use a small table loom which I can set in my lap while working.  I enjoy the process but doubt I'll ever get into learning how to use one of the larger, more complex looms.

The lumpy yarn at the top of the hat is made from wool, mohair, and silk, and the gray band is undyed Jacob wool. It's all crocheted. This style of hat is meant to fit snugly and cover just part of the ears.

Allie's new hats

My daughter, Allie, has been making some really nice new hats out of organic cotton, hemp, linen and bamboo.  All plant fibers.  She even has some fiber made out of corn.  It looks sort of like the bamboo, which looks a lot like silk.   Hats made from plant fibers are a good alternative for those with sensitive skin or wool allergies.  They're very versatile in that they provide some warmth in cold weather and are fine for warmer weather, too.

 

Aliie's husband, Marshall, asked her to make him one, and this is how it turned out.  It's made from hemp and bamboo and looks great on him.  I love the subtle colors!  She also made one for her yoga teacher.  This one has more cotton in it.  It's a short skull cap, while Marshall's is what I call a round cap, meaning a skull cap that covers the ears.

To see more of these plant fiber caps, go to www.handspunhats.com/allie's_hats.htm

Something for Pink Fans

This hat has bobbles similar to those seen in the green hat below.  It's a tighter knit though, so fits a smaller head.  Probably a smallish medium.  I like the art yarn top that looks sort of like a yarn garden.  It's mostly wool, with mohair locks, silk and some bits of novelty fiber spun into the art yarn.  The pale pink is two ply fine spun Shetland wool.  The bobbles are Corriedale wool, mohair and silk.

Some New Hats

I've been busy getting settled in my new/old home in the country.  Lot's of cleaning up to do, and lots of friends visiting.  I've managed to make a few new hats, though, so am finally getting around to posting them here.

This one is a sort of snood style floppy hat done in a mesh pattern.  It's made out of mostly linen with a bit of cotton in the flower.  Good for warm weather or for those who may be allergic to wool.  See more images at www.handspunhats.com/spring.htm

I've also invented a new style of lumpy knit hat with a stitch I made up for the bobbles.  The yarns in this hat are not quite as bulky as some of my other lumpies.  It's a one size fits all with a slouchy, semi-tam look and plenty of room for big hair.  See more at www.handspunhats.com/lumpy_knit_hats.htm

I've also just finished a modified version of my tassel fez hat that has a slightly wider top that curves under slightly a bit like a tam.  The original tassel fez hat looked like this and seemed to attract mostly male buyers - possibly because I pictured it on a male display head:

 

So I've photographed the new style on a female model.  This does not mean it's only for women though.  Either style is fine for either gender.

 

 

The top of these hats is made with two ply yarns that make it a bit thicker, which helps it hold it's shape very nicely.  The band is one ply natural color soft Romney wool and the beads are hand painted glass.  I didn't use any dyes in either of these hats, though a brighter colored one with dyed yarns would probably look very nice, too.  These hats can be found on my website at www.handspunhats.com/wool_skull_caps.htm

Unusual Necktie

I had to put my hat making aside for awhile in order to figure out how to finish this project. A very nice customer asked me almost a year ago if I could make him a necktie out of his dog's hair. I told him I could make a hat, but a necktie was doubtful. I tried to discourage him thinking that he really wouldn't actually want to wear this thing. So he agreed to the hat and loved the result. (There's a photo of it here at #B.) He still wanted the tie, though. So I finally agreed to try and make it, and this is the result.

I first tried felting the fiber, but that didn't work very well. Felting is something I need to learn more about. So I ended up knitting it on small needles in a seed stitch. It took awhile, but seems to have been worth the effort. The customer is very happy with the result, and I've received some favorable comments on my Facebook page where I posted this same photo.

Poodle Hair Scarf

My poodle hair order is now almost complete. I've finished both the blanket and a scarf and am now getting ready to make a hat to match the scarf. The hat will be a watch cap style with turned up brim.

The scarf is 7 1/2 feet long including the fringe and about 6 1/2 inches wide. The fiber I used for the scarf is a shade or two lighter than the blanket because this very productive doggy is apparently getting lighter as he grows older. So the most recent shaving is almost white. The owners have had the dog since he was a puppy and have sent me about three years worth of shavings. So there is quite a bit left over for future projects.

Poodle hair blanket

I know it sounds weird, but it's actually quite pretty. A customer sent me a very big box of shavings from his camel colored poodle and asked me to make a small blanket with it. I've posted a couple of photos of the project on my facebook page, so thought I should put them up here, too. I don't usually do large projects like this, but am glad I took it on - a new challenge that seems to be turning out well.

I'm posting photos of the start of the blanket and how it looks now. It's about 20X30 inches now and will eventually be 3ft X 4ft., so I'm guessing I'm probably about half way done. The little ball of yarn in the first photo is some natural color tussah silk that I will be using to make a border to finish off the edges.


I don't usually spin skeins of pet hair for people unless they want something made out of it, and I do get some unusual requests! However, if you have some pet hair combings saved that you would like spun into yarn, my daughter might be able to do it. She loves to spin and dye all kinds of fiber and is working on a malamute hair order now.