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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    DruidGirl

    Join Date
    Apr 2019

    Default crafting a wizard hat, Gandalf style, best material to use?

    Not sure how many people on this forum are into sewing or costume design but I am trying to make a wizard hat and was wondering what material to use?

    It seems most tutorials I have seen use some sort of Felt however the only Felt I can get around here is the cheap acrylic stuff that melts when you take an iron to it. I have seen sites where you can order wool felt but they are all really expensive that it would cost me over $100 - $150 for the felt alone.

    Was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for fabrics that of a decent quality that aren't overly expensive?

    To those curious mostly following the steps from this tutorial

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxKUhQnEQDg&t=369s

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    diremage's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2015

    Default Re: crafting a wizard hat, Gandalf style, best material to use?

    Probably a bit late for your application this year, but hey, maybe this'll be useful next year! (Sorry)

    It sounds like you were looking at buying an entire bolt of felt, which is enough felt probably to outfit an entire Hogwarts class with pointy Gandalf hats.

    Apparently most craft felts are quite thin, and will produce a very floppy hat that does not stay tall and pointy like a proper wizard's brim.

    Since the tutorial suggests having a lining that nobody's going to see anyhow, I would use the lining as a structural element and maybe think about an old pair of jeans or a worn-out sweater for the liner, to give it some bulk, and just worry about putting felt around the outside. Gandalf would probably use a worn-out robe, but I don't know how many people have one of those taking up closet space.

    If your liner is doing all the work, you should be able to get by with lower-quality felt. If your hat isn't all floppy and wrinkled because you've got a nice thick structural lining, you probably don't need to iron it, although the tutorial does mention giving it a few strategic stitched-in folds.

    Gandalf doesn't seem like the sort of fellow to carry an ironing board on his way from the Shire to the gates of Mt. Doom; it seems like the sort of thing that would get lost the first time he encountered a bad batch of trolls or a lake kraken.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    New Jersey
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: crafting a wizard hat, Gandalf style, best material to use?

    Wool felt should not be that expensive for what you would need. You could probably get away with just 1 or 2 yards at most. $100 sounds like the price I spent for 8 yards for a wool frock coat I made.

    Though if you want to go for a much cheaper option, get some linen and a material called interfacing. Linen is cheap and has a very good "older, rugged, fantasy" look to it. Interfacing is what you use when you want to give a fabric firmness in places. Think shirt collars and cuffs. It comes in different thicknesses, depending on how stiff you want it, and it does involve a few more steps to get it attached and hidden under the main fabric, but it's still a less expensive option than wool. It's also less painful to the wallet if you make a critical mistake and mess up a part of it putting it together! (And with the price of wool, its stressful to think about! I've been there!)

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