HATalk Competition Entry 2023

Joy Verrinder

Maker
Joy Verrinder

Country
United Kingdom

Name of Hat
The Medusa Hat

Description

The Greek theme of this year’s competition has led me to design a hat inspired by one of the most famous of Greek myths, the snake-haired Medusa. This legend has been famed in art, from Greek sculptures, Roman mosaics and even modern logos.

I wanted also to make a hat that would represent the element of earth. This is the name of our fragile planet.

Two themes I picked out as most important were life on Earth and the seasons.

Life is represented by the snakes, each one based on a real species, illustrating the diversity of colour and shape.

With winter approaching I wanted to make a hat that was really warm, cosy and comfortable to wear.

I wanted to make a hat that was created only from a fully sustainable product. Every sheep has to be shorn annually, and the wool is a material that is shamefully wasted in today’s society.

Materials:

The Medusa hat has been crafted totally from dry felted sheeps wool.
No form of stitching or other fastening has been used in this design.
The only tools used to make this hat were felting needles

Techniques:

Each snake was sculptured individually by stabbing the wool into shape with specially barbed needles.
The snakes were then coiled to form the hat shaped; the needles were used to join the snakes together.
Very soft wool was added to the inside of the formed hat to form the cosy lining.
The whole hat was consolidated by stabbing it from the outside to ensure the structure was firm and durable.

Note: Entries have been not been edited or proofread to protect the integrity of the maker's original meaning.