Felted hats for tiny people

It's so nice to be writing on here again after a big break! We seemed to have a never ending chain of illnesses at our house for a few weeks, and with work to juggle around it I decided it was best to let my internet world sit quietly for a bit.

But it's also fun to put a little post together. So! Last month I put up my 'Woodland peg people' tutorial, and talked about how I was going to make these little wooden people with one of the schools I'm working with at the moment. I made the original hats by coating the heads with PVA glue, and then winding wool around it to make a little beanie. But the children I'm working with are only 6 years old, and I quickly realised this would be very challenging and quite unfulfilling for them. So I put my thinking hat on, and came up with an easier way to keep those tiny heads warm.

First I made several large sheets of felt, using the method I showed in this tutorial.

It wasn't easy because they looked so nice, but I then cut them up into lots of small triangles.

Taking a soon-to-be tiny peg person I coated the top and back of the head in PVA glue.

I wrapped the longest side of the triangle round the head, and used a blob of glue to hold the ends together at the back.

I then added a bit of glue to the top,  and folded it over to meet the back.

Creating a really sweet little hat! I think I like it so much because it looks a little bit like animal ears. You could also sew to it, making it likely to last longer and adding a bit more detail.

I took this example into the workshop, but what I loved was how the children used the felt triangles in lots of different ways. Some skipped the last step to make pointy hats, others stuck the felt on to make long hair, scarves or cloaks, and some made big headbands. Making art with kids I always learn so many new ideas because they are basically much more creative then me! Here's an example of one of their completed peg people.

It was great fun seeing all their tiny unique people be created. Hopefully those little triangles will have inspired them to make lots more peg people at home!