Crafting Wet Felt Hats

This course is designed to teach the basic art of wet felting with merino wool fibres.

This technique will then be used to create simple flowers which will become a brooch.

Once the wet felting is mastered we will go onto learning how to felt with a resist and then block and shape the felt into a hat.

2 hat styles will be taught – cloche and small brim. The week will culminate in learning surface embellishment techniques that can be used to decorate/enhance an additional hat.

Participants will walk away with wet felt flower brooches and 3 hats.

Enrol
  • Full days - Monday to Friday - 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
  • Suitable for ages 15 to adult
  • Beginner
  • Nearly full

Course Info

Day One
Introduction to wet felting and fibres. Techniques for laying up fibres, felting and fulling.

Day Two

Learn how to create flowers and create wet felt brooches to embellish your hats with or put on a scarf or jacket.

Day Three

Create a merino wet felt cloche style hat.

Day Four

Create a merino wet felt small brimmed hat.

Day Five

Create a merino hat with a difference – learn surface decoration /embellishment techniques as you create a 3rd hat cloche or small brim style.

No previous skills or experience necessary. Anyone with a love of fibres or who would love a new hat.

Please bring the following on your first day of class:

  • Apron
  • Sewing needle
  • Old towel
  • Small tabletop mirror, if you have one
  • Any brooches, large buttons or feathers for embellishment

Your class has an extra cost of $135 – this cost includes:

  • Australian Superfine Merino Tops
  • Bubble wrap
  • Resist material
  • Soap
  • Brooch pins
  • Lace
  • Fabric
  • Kangaroo leather lacing will be covered in an additional supplies fee

Payment details provided on booking.

Happy Camper Reviews

Joanne is gorgeous, and the class was amazing! Might have to do it again…
Great hats. Felting brings out the best smiles! Well done Jo and the new hatters.
We spent a day at @makersshedgleninnes with the entertaining Jo from @jambmillinerydesigns learning the art of wet felting and hat making last weekend. We had a terrific time and came away with amazing, totally wearable creations. And now we have templates, plus the knowledge to add to our growing hat collections on our own.
I loved this so much. Heaps of fun while learning something new.
Who would believe as a raw beginner I could walk out of your felt hat making workshop with a wearable (albeit still damp) hat which fitted perfectly and looked great. ….. as was the case with every other workshop participant. One participant wore his hat from the moment it was finished and walked out at the end of the day with it still being worn.
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Jo-Anne Barr
Course Tutor

Jo-Anne Barr

Jo Barr is a Milliner and farmer based in Currabubula, she has a studio near Walcha NSW. She runs a small millinery business called JAMB Hats and Millinery.
She has qualifications and experiences in a range of areas including textiles, education and training and agriculture.

She has had a passion for textiles most of her life, that began with her grandmother teaching her to sew as a child. She studied Textiles and Design throughout her schooling and then went on to study Applied Science specialising in textiles at University. This led to her being employed in a textile mill (spinning, knitting, dyeing and finishing mill) as a technician. Her work within the Textiles Industry continued for many years where she took on many different roles for various companies.

She has always had a love of fibres, textiles, fashion and agriculture. An interest in hats and learning the art of felting has enabled her to blend these passions, where she gets to work with Australian agricultural produce (fibres) to create beautiful hats. She has been making hats for over 18 years and has been creating wet felt hats for 5 years. She has recently given up her full-time high school teaching job to allow her to focus on her farm and on her Millinery business, specialising in wet felt hats.

Having an education background, she was always interested in opportunities to share my skills, love of Australian Textile fibres and experiences with others. So they too can appreciate the benefits of the great creative art of felting and hat making using beautiful fibres.

She has run workshops across NSW and in 2023 will be teaching throughout NSW and in Central Queensland. She has  also been invited to exhibit her work at the Deepwater Art Show and at Merriwa Art Gallery.