Yesterday I attended an internationally themed bridal shower. No, I've never heard of such a thing either. What is more, in what is truly *not* a logical move, I was chosen to represent Jamaica. I found a crochet pattern on ravelry (on ravelry | on the web) to make a big, floppy, Jamaican colored hat to wear to the party.
the hat
now with dreadlocks
I made the dreadlocks by spinning some large diameter yarn from naturally colored brown wool roving. I lightly felted it by soaking in hot soapy water and then running the entire length of yarn though my fingers a few times. I broke apart the yarn into appropriate lengths but then trimmed the top end with scissors to make things neater. I sewed the dreads down to a piece of fabric (with my machine) so that the ends were tucked inside a double fold tape situation and then sewed the fabric into the hat. That seemed to work well and was easier than sewing each individual dread into the hat. It looked creepily like hair...
The event itself involved several sticker-based activities. It took me a while to put the pieces together, but I eventually figured out that the bride's great-aunt is Mrs. Grossman. What crafty lineage!