Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Sunny days; shady heads


This has to be the quickest time I've finished a project ever!  The hat was finished last night (Tuesday), and I only started it on Sunday afternoon.  I guess I was spurred on by the sunny weather and tiny alternative hat.  That, and the amazing >1 hour nap that baby took yesterday.  It's amazing what you can do in an hour if your baby actually sleeps when the pram is stationary!


The pattern was from Oliver + S (see here).  I made size "small" (19" head) and it fits quite well now; hopefully it will last at least a few months.  It is quite a nice shape: some hats can be a bit peculiar, but this one isn't.

The pattern gets you to machine together the two hat-tops (like funny brimless caps), then you create the brim.  Next, you machine one of the caps to the brim.  The final cap is supposed to be hand-stitched on.  I did this, but it's quite a faff.  I think you could totally machine it on with the following method:
  1. Make the two caps and brim as the pattern suggests.
  2. Baste one of the caps to the brim, using just less than the 1/2" seam allowance.  This is just like the original directions but using a bit less seam allowance.
  3. Pin the other cap around the same seam.  For this, you'll need the caps right-side together and the brim all squished up and caught between them.
  4. Machine all around with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a gap of a few inches for turning right-side out.  This seam line will mean your basting-on of the first cap won't show on the outside of the hat. 
  5. Trim and turn out.  Hand stitch the gap closed on both sides.  (One side won't technically be a "gap", but it'll be basted at a slightly different distance than the rest of the seam, so you'll still need to hand-sew to fix that.)
I used two bits of leftover quilting cotton from the Joel Dewberry "Modern Meadow" range.  The spotty one is "Acorn Chain" and the flowery one is "Sunflower".


The hat is reversible, but I prefer the spotty side.  You don't get a photo of it on the model because he's napping again.  Amazing!

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