Felted Cloche

Okay, I have a good reason for eating ants on a log instead of cooking today:

I was busy finishing my first ever felted cloche, and the first hat I've knit in a long time! All my other hats, purchased or knit, are getting a little ragged. So I made this with a ShuBui Knits pattern, which always have kind of a retro flare. I'm not sure I'm in love with the fold-up brim, but I was past the point of no return a long time ago.

For those who don't knit, felting involves knitting a big slouchy oversized item and then agitating it in hot water and soap so that it shrinks into a stiff, thick fabric with no visible knit lines. As youi can see, the so-called hat before felting is hardly something anyone would wear.

After felting, it becomes perfectly respectable, if I do say so myself. I might need to move the knit coil a little higher up on the flap, but other than that I'm pretty happy. The hat is very slightly big for my pin head, but it's warm, breathable, easily collapsible, versatile, and now I have a pretty good handle on how to make more.