Well...lesson learned, from now on I will do a gauge swatch. All was not lost with the 35mm hat, there was quite a few road blocks though. I tried some felting in the sink, but not a whole lot was happening after about 30 minutes (especially with the lighter wool) so I rounded up some blankets that needed washing and popped the hat into the wash on the hottest setting. I read on the ravelry boards that some light dyes can cause the wool to be more resistant to felting. After taking it out of the wash and seeing very little change I put it in the dryer as well. It shrank a little but not enough. I went out to Michaels (had to get some yarn for my Jayne Cobb hat anyway) and bought some elastic stuff for jewelry stringing and threaded it through the base of the hat. The elastic has improved it quite a bit. Hopefully I'll be giving it to my brother on Sunday (weather permitting).
Some people stick tennis balls in there to bang around and make things felt more. I haven't done it personally, but it's supposed to be a huge help.
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