JW, I just opened the new issue and went straight to the Hat artical you mentioned. I've had a hat like that for years. Used to have a girl that was into textiles. She even made me a tuk(?), french fur traders hat) from goat hair from the farm I worked on and from my dog. She made these felt hats too. They are knit alpaca and are as big as a lamp shade when first knit and reminded me of Mush Mouth's hat from Fat Albert, then they are felted in the sink and shrink up to a size to fit. I wear mine all the time in the cold. I just flip the brim on mine and it stays up, no pin or anything. I have a few pics to post, and the day off tomorrow so I'll try to post a pic of the two hats she made me. I could probably get you one if your really interested. I'll do my best to post pix tomorrow morn.
Have a gooder, dpg