Frequently Asked Questions
Take a soft measuring tape and place it around the middle of your forehead above the ears and at the looseness at which you would like the hat to fit. A hat should neither squeeze your head or fall over your ears unless it’s specifically designed to.
If you have trouble finding hats that fit you because you need a more shallow crown, I will also need the measurement across the top of your head from front to back at the points you want the hat to come down to.
“But where would I wear it?”
Anywhere you like! Seriously. My silly answer is “to the grocery store when you’re feeling low and need a compliment”. But it’s true. People everywhere of all walks of life LOVE other people in hats. If you hate compliments, don’t wear a hat. You’d think as much as people obviously love OTHER people in hats, there’d be more people brave enough to wear them. Almost no one actually looks bad in a hat.
‘How do I choose a hat?’ - Some tried and true suggestions
Small faces: Choose one proportionate to the size of your face. Avoid large brims or crowns. The opposite is true for large faces: avoid face-hugging styles. Some suggestions would be Irene, Eliza or Ruth.
Long faces: Choose a hat that sits lower on the forehead. Cloches often work well with a long face. Circular brims help widen the face. Avoid crowns that are too high or too shallow, which can accentuate length. Some suggestions would be Daphne, Gertie, or Mariposa.
Round faces: Choose hats with angles or ones that have a more malleable brim to create those angles. Don’t wear anything too far down on the forehead. Hats with round shapes mimic the face and are less complementary. Some suggestions would be Lady Astor, Phileda or Sally.
Square faces: Choose hats with round features and curves. Floppy hats are generally flattering for all, but they are especially good for square faces. Some suggestions would be Danielle, Naomi or Vinda.
Heart-shaped faces: Avoid hats with wide brims because they accentuate the narrowness of the chin. Short brims are perfect for you. Some suggestions would be Bertie, Lisette or Zoe.
All that being said, the Irene is the most universally flattering hat for all shapes and sizes so if you’re shopping for a friend, that one is a safe bet.
‘What color should I choose?’
Hats do not need to match your outfit. In fact, it’s better if they provide contrast. Beyond that, if you ARE trying to match something, we do our very best to try to match our wool options via email, but sometimes it’s necessary to mail swatches if you are looking for a close match. See the Customization section below for more info. If you are shopping for a gift hat, pale turquoise is the color that looks good on any skin tone or hair color.
‘Do you do custom work?’
Please email me before ordering if you would like to customize an item.
Since almost all orders are made from scratch, I can accommodate the following customizations for no additional charge:
Wool Color - I work in over 200 colors of roving so I can usually get pretty darn close to any request. However, some colors don’t play well together so if you want a 2 or 3 color hat, I may need to do a test swatch to make sure they felt evenly.
***A further note on color: If you are trying to match a hat to an existing outfit, it’s always best to request a sample sent by mail. Monitors and photographic lighting can be misleading despite my best attempt to represent a color accurately online.***
Trim color - I am more limited when it comes to the silk binding and ribbon colors, but I can usually accommodate a request.
Flower color or style - If a hat comes with a flower, you can choose any other color or style available on the website.
Crown depth - If you have trouble finding hats that fit because they usually come down too far on your head, I can block most any hat with a more shallow crown. See above for how to measure your head for this customization.
Brim Width - This primarily applies to the wider brimmed hats such as a Witch, Wizard, Daphne or Traveler but I can make small adjustments to brim width on other hats if needed.
Additional charge customizations:
Feather color changes are much harder to accommodate and will usually come with an additional charge.
Adding ears, antlers, a bat or other critter - Please email me for a quote.
One of a kind design work:
If you have an idea for a hat or other item that you would like me to design and execute, please reach out. I’ll let you know if it’s something I can make and give you a quote. The research and design process is a little easier to track and process on my Etsy site so if you are familiar with Etsy you can head over there and message me.
‘How do I care for my item?’
Soft hats (without stiffener) should be spot cleaned with cool soapy water and a very soft brush and left to air dry.
Hats with stiffener such as witch or wizard hats, bowlers and top hats can only be cleaned on the inside band with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. If your hat has met with a tragedy, please reach out and I will let you know what options you have for cleaning and repairing. I offer one free refurbishment for top hats, bowlers, witches and wizards. You would just need to pay the shipping both ways. I do have access to less expensive shipping options so please contact me if your hat needs some spiffing up.
All other items: Pretty much everything else can be gently hand washed in cool soapy water, air dried and ironed or steamed as needed.
When in doubt about the cleaning of a particular item, do not hesitate to reach out and I will give you more detailed instructions.
Storing your favorite wooly item: When not in use (but particularly in the summer) you will want to store anything made of wool out of reach of those voracious Clothing Moths (yes, that is literally what they are called). I suggest a zip up vinyl sweater storage bag or airtight box with a few cedar blocks thrown in. I do not recommend moth balls as they are toxic and make you smell like death. If you’ve already found some larva or small holes you can brush off any detritus, put your item in that vinyl sweater bag I just mentioned and stick it in the freezer for a few days to kill off anything remaining in the wool.
Moth damage and other small repairs: If the holes are still small and not extensive, I can sometimes do needle felting repair work. Please contact me if you need this service or any other small repairs and I can give you a quote.
‘How do I wear this thing?’
How to wear a hat: Well to some extent it depends on why you’re wearing it, right? If it’s dang cold out and you just wanna stay warm, pull that cloche down over your ears and head out. If you’re stepping out and looking for compliments (just about everyone loves to see a good hat and I’m highly suspicious of anyone who doesn’t), here are a few tips.
For brimmed hats, put it on towards the back of your head rather than tipped forward. Then try it at different angles until you find the most flattering way to tip it. The look of almost any hat can be improved by tipping it one way or the other ever so slightly.
Play around with the brim. A lot of my hats, with the notable exception of the hats with stiffener in them, have a brim that can be pulled up or down to change the look of the hat. The same hat can look very different if you change the position of the brim.
If you have short hair, pull a little bit out from under the hat around your face if you can.
Other items: *We will be shooting some video demonstrations on how to style the following items. For now, these links ain’t takin’ you nowhere baby.*
How to style your dragon.
How to wear your ruffled collar.
How to put on your wings.
‘What about shipping and returns?’
How long will it take to get my order?
Since almost everything is made to order, it takes some time to make and ship things. For more on my full process, click here. It can take up to 2 weeks to get something made and shipped if it’s a busy season or if I’m on the road at a show. If you are in a hurry for something, it’s best to email before ordering to find out if I have something in stock or if I can do a quick turnaround.
I ship almost everything using USPS Priority which is typically a 2 to 3 day service. For larger items that require a box larger than 12” (like a witch or wizard) I sometimes have to ship UPS ground. You will receive a notification with a tracking number when your items ship.
Shipping Included?
Shipping and handling is included in the price of everything on the website. This is primarily because I also do a lot of business on Etsy and they pretty much forced us to go to the ‘free shipping’ model or get shunted to the bottom of the listing pile. I found it was confusing to my customers that there were seemingly different prices across different sales platforms. Shipping is a significant cost for most small businesses and the profit margin for ‘handmade in America’ products is already small so there really is no such thing as ‘free’ shipping. I’m attempting to be more transparent by letting you know that that cost is simply included in the price.
Returns or exchanges?
If you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason you can return it or exchange it within 30 days provided it’s still in resalable condition. You would be responsible for the return shipping unless it’s a genuine mistake on my part.
Where do you ship?
I do ship worldwide, however if you are purchasing from outside the US, please contact me first. There may be a small additional charge depending on where you are and how soon you want it.
This is a gift for someone, how can I make it special?
If you are purchasing an item for someone else and having it shipped directly to them, please contact me and I will make sure to leave out the invoice. I can also include a personal message upon request! If you're having a difficult time choosing an item as a gift, we also sell gift certificates here so they can pick something out themselves!
‘Where else can I buy your delightful creations?’
In Person:
You can visit me in my studio in Durham North Carolina by appointment only. My hours are erratic and I’m on the road a lot so be sure to check plenty ahead of time if you wanna come by.
I do between 12 and 19 in person shows a year. Check my calendar to see if I’ll be in your area any time soon.
Other than this website, I also sell on Etsy under Moss Fete. The products and prices are the same, but due to Etsy’s search engine algorithm the names/titles will be different. Since you’re already here, I kindly ask that you purchase through this website rather than Etsy as they charge significantly higher fees for me to sell through their platform. The exception would be if you would like to place a special order, as Etsy does an excellent job streamlining the special order process.
Gallery of the Mountains at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville North Carolina and Emporium Collagia in Baltimore Maryland are currently the only places, other than at one of my shows, you can buy in person.
Do you sell wholesale?
I am not taking any new wholesale accounts at this time.
***A note about my products online: If you see my items for sale online anywhere except here or on one of my Etsy sites, beware! It is not my product and I have no idea what you will get if you order that $17 hand-felted dragon from China whose headquarters are mysteriously in London. But if you do order it, by all means write and let me know what you actually received. I’m dying to know.***