At this stage, you can sew in the sweatband and prepare the ribbon if you like. That leaves only the brim shaping to be done. Finishing the brim

Step 3: Squeeze excess water out of your project before gently rolling it up inside a towel and pressing down lightly to remove excess water. On a flat surface, a mat is ideal. Pin the knitted items, placing the pins at an angle, with the top of the pin pointing away. In the pictures I am using knit pro T-pins which are super sharp (so please take care!), robust and easy to use, however any rust-proof dressmakers pins should work too. Leave your shawl to fully dry. If you remove pins too early and the shawl is not 100% dry, all your hard work won’t turn out well. An alternative for straight edges is the String Method. A long length of smooth scrap yarn threaded through a darning needle and the yarn is threaded along the edges. TIP: The first time you use them, wipe them to remove manufacturing residue.

First, fill your basin with warm - never hot! - water and a bit of wool wash. Do not run the tap directly onto your knitwear, as it can weaken and break the fibres. Add your knitted piece to the warm water and leave it to soak. Make sure it is completely wet, but do not agitate it too much. This can cause felting. It straightens stitches and evens the tension in your knitting. It defines intricate knitting patterns, relaxes the pattern, and dries it evenly.

Once your item has finished soaking, lift it out of the water, making sure to support its weight evenly so that the wet fabric doesn’t sag and stretch the garment — wool can absorb a lot of water and become quite heavy! Gently squeeze (never wring) to remove excess water. Then roll your item between clean, dry towels with light pressure to further remove moisture. Lay your shawl out on your surface. Mats are great but if you don’t have these a dry towel, clean carpet or a bed will do. That doesn’t mean you can’t use any technique for any yarn, but you should be careful & keep certain aspects in mind. Yarn With Animal Fibers & Wool We make Dolly heads to fit specific head sizes. If you’re looking for an average female head size then we would recommend 22.5″ / 57cm. With all the different options available, choose which features are important to you. Then decide which material you would prefer to work with (lime or balsa). We’ll be answering more of your questions soon, in the meantime if you’re looking for inspiration and millinery projects why not head over to HATalk? With this code GMB20 claim 20% off a new HATalk Subscription.

What’s the best way to store hat blocks?

A ribbon board is a must-have piece of equipment for the millinery workroom. It is primarily used for shaping Petersham ribbon or bias fabric so that it will fit round the edge of a brim without wrinkling. This allows you to make perfect bindings for your hats every time! In this blog post you will learn how to use a milliner’s ribbon board. If you want to flip the front down use a little steam across the front. This allows you to bend the front of the brim down to complete the shape. You can add a small amount of delicate dish soap, rinseless wool wash, or Tuft Woolens Wool Soap to the soaking water if you wish; if not rinseless, you will need to re-submerge the piece in clean water once or twice to remove the soap from your fabric.

yarn, or twist it out of shape, you’ve only messed up your swatch and not the sweater you’ve spent months Place on a dry towel and gently roll up. Don’t wring it out. Rather stomp on the towel with clean feet to remove excess water. You many need more than 1 dry towel.

We’ll be answering more of your questions soon, in the meantime if you’re looking for inspiration and millinery projects why not head over to HATalk? With this code GMB20 claim 20% off a new HATalk Subscription. The same goes if you are working with any other delicate fibre. Keep the heat / steam at a safe distance. The sheet will protect whatever is underneath it from the pins. Also, if your project bleeds dye, the sheet will absorb it, not the bed. Towels can also be used in place of a sheet for the same reasons. Tip 2 – Don’t Use A Surface You Use In Everyday Life. Your knitting has to dry for a while. Put your knitting somewhere out of the way. The surface gets damp, don’t use a surface that will mark with moisture.