Wet Felted Tiny Top Hat

Sculpt your own tiny hat out of wool! This wet felted mini top hat is a great beginner project for those interested in wet felting.

• 0.5-1 oz of Wool Fiber
• Frosting Container – Wash out a standard 16oz frosting container to use as the hat form
• Resist Material (this can be any flexible non-porous material. I personally like to use the Amazon packing material for this as well)
• Resist Template
• Ribbon, optional
• Alligator Clip, optional
• Headband, optional
• Glue Gun

Wet Felting Supplies You'll Also Need

• Bubble Wrap
• Tulle or Mesh Fabric
• Olive Oil Soap
• Pool Noodle
• Towel
• Ball Brause, optional
• Wooden Dowel, optional
• Palm Washboard, optional

Download and print the free pattern to make the resist (be sure to print it out full sized without margins).

Use the pattern to cut your resist material (I like to use the plastic Amazon packaging).

(The resist is used to start shaping the wet felted item, as well as prevent the sides from sticking together)

If you prefer video, you can watch the steps

Pull off small amounts of wool and lay them in one direction on top of the resist. Overlap the ends of the wool and make sure the wisps hang off the side a bit.

Lay down another layer of wool, perpendicular to the first.

Cover the wool with the mesh fabric and wet it with water mixed with olive oil soap. Gently press the water into the wool.

Flip it over and go around the edge and fold over the wisps.

Repeat the process on this side. Again, two layers of wool in opposite directions.

Cover it with the mesh and wet it again. Repeat the process of flipping it over and tucking in the wisps. Then repeat it all over again so that there are 4 layers of wool in total on each side. Try not to add too much to the edges for these or they will be thicker than the rest.

Then gently rub across the top for a few minutes to create a skin to the top layer of wool.

Place the pool noodle to one side of the bubble wrap and roll it all around the noodle. Roll the towel around everything.

Roll it evenly 100 times. More tips for rolling can be found in my ultimate guide to wet felting.

Unroll it and then roll it up again from the bottom. Repeat this from each side. Then flip it the hat over and repeat the rolling process again from all 4 sides.

After rolling, the wet felted hat should pass the pinch test (which is when all the fibers come up at once if you pinch it). Then you can be more aggressive and roll around just the pool noodle.

Once you can feel it shrinking down and can feel the resist is now too small, remove the resist by cutting the bottom.

Rub the inside of the hat with soapy hands to make a skin.

Full (shrink) the hat however you would like, such as rolling the wet felted hat on a wooden dowel, evenly from all sides.

When the hat has shrunk a good amount, pull it over the frosting container hat form and trim the brim.

Rub all around the hat form to shape the hat and rub the brim so there isn't a rough edge. I find using a palm washboard really helps finish it off, especially the top.

Rinse it and then soak it in water with a splash of vinegar.

Squeeze out the excess water or run it through a spin dryer.

Then pull it over the hat form and let it dry completely.

This is now when you can add a ribbon around it or attach an alligator clip with a glue gun. You could also attach a headband instead.

Then your mini top hat is ready to wear!