Sweater Fairy

The sweater fairy came to my office today and dropped off a sweater to use for hats. I love it when this happens. This one is oh so soft and heather green. My earlier post was to show the stages of creating a hat, but I am too new to blogging to understand how to put my photos in order, so it doesn't make sense. Maybe one day I will fix this. People always ask me - how long does it take to make a hat? Well, the answer is - it varies. First, you have to gather the materials (like a hunting expidition) - I love, love, love to shop garage sales in the summer - definitly the best fodder for recycling and the prices are great! .25-.50 cents for a sweater generally compared to Goodwill which can run up to $10! My daughter and I love to get up early Sat mornings and shop garage sales - the thrill of the hunt. You NEVER know what you might find. Then of course, the sweaters need to get washed and the wools ones felted, so the washing machine runs quite alot, and always has a lot of sweater lint. When I get inspired, I pick out a few that I like together and cut until my fingers are bruised. I finally broke down and bought two new pairs of Ginger scissors after my husband pointed out that this is one of my main tools! They cut sweaters like butter. After I have stacks of cut pieces, I make piles and decide how to put them together for maximum cuteness.

I usually sit down at one of my sergers (I have 4 berninas now thanks to E-Bay!) all threaded in different colors, and I start to assemble the tops. When I have about 20 crowns sewn, I start to select bands. This consists of looking through piles of t-shirts looking for ones that co-ordinate and have maximum stretchyness. I cut strips and measure to the right lengths. Next comes the brims - add interfacing and a lining that looks great with the hat and sew this part and attach it to the hat. Last is the trim. I sew each hat with the JAX logo in embroidery thread or yarn in a color that pops - you want this to be seen. Buttons are last. All of my buttons are made by me from polymer clay.

I spend 2 whole evenings making buttons about once a month. I try to make a variety - at least 100 per batch in about 5 different colors which can match a lot of different sweaters. This is one of my favorite parts - the magic of clay. I use the pasta machine and make fantastic buttons which I bake in the oven. After these are done, I use a 2 part epoxy to finish them and give them a great shine and depth. The bad thing about this is that it is very toxic and I had a bad allergic reaction a few years ago and ended up going on steroids to get rid of it. I was careless and didn't wear gloves once - ONLY ONCE! 2 days of drying the epoxy and I drill the holes. Buttons are ready!

Last, I audition buttons on the hats - usually trying 2 or 3 before finding the perfect one!