Writing Prompt: I felt (v.) like wearing my hat made of felt (n.) on Felt (adj.) Hat Day…
Posted by lindamartinandersen on September 15, 2013
“Writing Prompt: I felt (v.) like wearing my hat made of felt (n.) on Felt (adj.) Hat Day …” by Linda Martin Andersen
“A Writer’s Playground”–A place to find wordplay, writing, and monthly calendar activities for kids and those young at heart.
September 15, 2013 is Felt Hat Day. September is Fall Hat Month.
Hats off to this month and to all who wear hats! Robin Hood comes to mind. Others too.
To celebrate Felt Hat Day and Fall Hat Month, fantasize about wearing a felt hat alongside a famous person or book character who wears one. Then, complete the suggested writing prompt about your fictional experience. If you have a favorite character who wears a straw hat, a ball cap, or some other type hat, substitute that instead.
Step one: Brainstorm the names of famous people or book characters who wear felt hats: Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Riddler and Penguin (Batman villains), Captain Jack Sparrow (johnny Depp), Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), etc.
Step two: Choose the name of a character who wears a felt hat and pretend to spend time with him/her while wearing your own felt hat. Complete the writing prompt below. Include as many words beginning with “f” as you can. (alliteration)
Step three: Please share your completed statement in the comment section below.
Writing Prompt: I felt like wearing my hat made of felt on Felt Hat Day…
Sample: I felt (v.) like wearing my hat made of felt (n.) on Felt (adj.) Hat Day… while fantasizing about fighting alongside Robin Hood and Friar Tuck.
**BONUS: Create a writing prompt of your own about hats. **
How did I come up with this writing prompt?
I thought: What can I do for Felt Hat Day. My answer: I’m going to wear a felt hat for Felt Hat Day. If someone asks me WHY, I can say, “I felt like wearing a felt hat on Felt Hat Day. Using “felt” as a verb, noun, and an adjective all in the same sentence, gave me pleasure. Wordplay is fun. It also tickled me to respond to WHY with “I felt like it” as a come back. That’s like answering WHY with BECAUSE.
More About Felt. More About Hats…
How is Felt Made? To learn more, check here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt
To learn more about felt hats, check the video links below:
How Are Felt Hats Made?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXW2RKOxyco
http://www.akubra.com.au/creation.html
What is a Fur Felt Hat?
http://www.akubra.com.au/create_making.html
An Amazing Hat Trick–It Pops Back in Shape
Crushable felt hats can be flattened, rolled, and packed in a suit case and still pop back in shape. Watch this video. http://www.villagehatshop.com/mens_crushable.html
Making Your Own Felt Hat–Peter Pan Hat (works as Robin Hood Hat too)
http://sewinharmony.com/peter-pan-hat-tutorial/
Famous Characters Who Wear Felt Hats (Bowler Style)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_hat
Can You Wear a Hat Well? These People Do:
http://www.catalogs.com/info/bestof/famous-hats
Why is There an X on a Hat?
http://www.westernhats.com/what-does-the-x-mean-on-a-felt-or-straw-cowboy-hat.html
I tip my hat to you, readers. For A List of Idioms About Hats, check here:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hat
Thanks for visiting “A Writer’s Playground.” Enjoy wordplay about hats today. I look forward to reading your writing sample or comment. Come again soon. Bring a friend.
Copyright © 2013 Linda Martin Andersen
A Writer's Playground 
maureen@wartski.org said
I’m on TOP of the world wearing my TOP hat alongside Winston Churchill on VE day! His cigar smoke, however, was most annoying… so I used the TOP of my TOP hat to wave away the smoke. “Got no stomach for cigars, what?” quoth the old warrior and, with a wink, he blew a very large smoke ring into the air! 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Maureen,
Your writing sample is TOPS! How fun to include Winston Churchill. I hadn’t thought of him. I loved the sense of humor that you included. Which word came to you first? Top, top hat, or Winston Churchill? Would you be willing to share your thinking process? Readers would benefit. Thanks!
maureen@wartski.org said
Hi, Linda… first, I thought of words that would begin a sentence, Berets, beavers, cloches or…? Of course, TOP! Thus, top hat. Next I imagined people who wore top hats… and there was Winnie with his cigar. I love Churchill’s wit, so he definitely had to be a witty participant in my hat spoof. The whole thing came very quickly and naturally! 🙂 xx, Maureen
lindamartinandersen said
Maureen,
Thanks for sharing your technique. I am always amazed at how great minds work! You used association, one thing linked to another. You also managed to get in some characterization when you showed Churchill’s humor. Kind of you to stop back by. Thank you!
Joan Y. Edwards said
“My hats off to you” for writing this fun blog post. Hats are fun, entertaining, and distinctive looking.
Have a great day!
Carl and I had to chase his hat on top of Pike’s Peak once. The hat almost fell off the side of the mountain with Carl chasing it. A funny experience. It ended happily. Carl caught the hat before it disappeared off the mountain.
Joan Y. Edwards
lindamartinandersen said
Hi Joan,
Thanks for taking your hat off to me. Augh (blushing).
If all the hats in Carl’s collection could talk to each other, this one might boast the most daring adventure and most likety the greatest distance traveled in one outing. Maybe you’d like to write a dialog between two or more of your husband’s hats. Think about it. You could find a way to make it a learning experience for your readers. Plus, as you say, “Hats are fun and entertaining…” Works for me!
As always, it’s great to have you visiting “A Writer’s Playground.” Thanks for commenting. I know you always have a wonderful story to share~
Janelle said
I love this idea, Linda! I’m also thrilled you high-lighted Robin Hood — one of my favorite felt hat wearers! This post also reminds me of one of the most hat-friendly kids’ book ever written: “Caps for Sale.” first published in 1938. It’s an old children’s book but a timeless one! 🙂
Here’s the link to see it on Amazon.com 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Caps-Sale-Peddler-Monkeys-Business/dp/0064431436/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379281780&sr=1-11&keywords=100+hats
lindamartinandersen said
Janelle,
Thanks for celebrating Felt Hat Day here. Robin Hood is hard to beat, isn’t he? I appreciate the compliment about this post. It was fun to write. I always enjoy reading your quality posts too. Keep them coming.
Caps for Sale is definitely timeless. Thanks for mentioning it and even providing a link for readers. I need to reread it. Hard to believe the book was published so long ago. Wow!
sarahsbookreflections said
This is such a cute blog, Linda. I do hope you have lots of children reading it. Sarah
lindamartinandersen said
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for the compliment. Some of my readers do share with their children. I’ve been told so. A librarian told me that she used the post on happiness as a introductory lesson for this year’s classes. Hearing things like that does my soul good. I appreciate each and every one who reads my posts and I especially appreciate those who take time to comment. Thank you for both.
joyacey said
I want to wear a lemon yellow hat and be like the man who always wore the yellow hat and tried to control a very curious monkey. By George, I’ll do it, I’ll put on my yellow hat and clean up messes and mistakes that others have made and I’ll laugh all the time I’m doing it and then take that rascal monkey home.
lindamartinandersen said
Joy,
How could I overlook the man in the yellow hat? I love Curious George books! Thank you so much for taking me along on your adventure with that rascal monkey. By George, I believe you could pull off each and every thing you mentioned. You’d probably recite your original poetry as you skipped along.
Thanks so much for taking part in this one. I’m glad you did! Come again soon.
Donna Earnhardt said
You have such great posts, Linda. I don’t always leave a comment… but I need to! You are such an encourager, too. I hope you know how very much I appreciate you!
lindamartinandersen said
Donna,
It’s good to be appreciated. It’s also good to hear that you enjoy my blog posts. Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad I’m able to help keep you encouraged. You are also very good at encouraging others. Thanks again for the compliments.
Wear a hat today. Better yet, ask the whole family to.
Tracy Campbell said
Linda, I can’t believe I didn’t comment on this fabulous post. I love hats of all kinds, wacky, felt, straw, bird hats, etc. Your post and your jester hat has provided a great story idea, now to write it down. 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Tracy,
I’m glad you found time to comment. Yesterday, today, or tomorrow–any time is a good time to hear from you. It’s wonderful to hear that reading this post led to a writing idea for you. Yay! You’ll have to fill me in once it’s fully developed. I look forward to it. Thanks again for visiting!
Tracy Campbell said
Glad to know I can drop in anytime, put the coffee on. Now to find time to put my ideas together. 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Tracy,
I image you will brainstorm story ideas while working on art projects or other things on your to-do-list. I bet you pull the majority of the story together while doing something else. If not, enjoy making the story your focus and I bet art ideas creep in too 😉
Tracy Campbell said
I’m a combination of all of the above, my mind is constantly whirling like the post you wrote about whirl-a-wigs, and then I have to force myself to sit and do the work. You know me so well. 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Tracy,
Your mind may whirl constantly, but you produce quality output. That, I know well too!
Tracy Campbell said
You’re too kind. 🙂