making a balmoral bonnet

**thescot** · 4th May 10, 09:28 PM

that first picture made you look like Rasta Fluter.

**piperdbh** · 6th May 10, 02:35 PM

If you have a few tennis balls or an old pair of blue jeans, you can put them, along with the slightly damp bonnet in your dryer (with no heat) and let it tumble for a while. That'll jock it pretty nicely. To make the toorie, make a pom-pom and dunk it up and down in hot water for a few minutes. Don't agitate it; just dunk it and maybe swirl it a little, then rinse it in cold water. Set it aside to dry, and when it's dry you can trim it round with a pair of scissors, then sew it on.
Good looking work!

**fluter** · 7th May 10, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by thescot

that first picture made you look like Rasta Fluter.

There's a rule of thumb that some knitted items shrink to about 50 percent original size when felted. I think the circumferential shrinkage was a little less, but the vertical/radial was very impressive. OF course the trick is to stop when it's just small enough.

Originally Posted by creagdhubh

Oh my goodness....

Indeed! I wish now that I'd had SWMBO take a picture of the proto-bonnet covering my head. Ah well, one day I'll make a plain blue one, and I'll be sure to get a photo. In the photo referred to, I had stuffed an old shirt in it, so that it'd sit on my head.