The Fairies that I remember and know best from childhood are flower fairies. I have always imagined large floral hats to be villages for communities of fairies. Many of the fairies are hiding under flower petals or leaves but the daring ones are peeping out at the ‘big people’ world. A large fairy wing is the town statue. The gossamer veil mirrors the look of fairy wings.
I used a number of techniques in knitting, crochet and needle felting to make this hat. One of the biggest challenges was to enlarge the hat form with wire to make it moldable and then to create a cover for the ‘superstructure’. But the first thing that I played with was the plumes. I wanted the feathery plumes that you see in period hats. I would have liked more time to work on the needle felted fairy heads but time was running out. The veil is a modification of Tunisian crochet. I really enjoyed the lacy look that it created.
Judy Casserberg
Knife River, Minnesota, USA