You'll have it made in the shade with this pretty and practical reversible hat you can stitch yourself.
The sun hat: It's cute, colorful, and cool. And when you pick out the fabrics and sew it yourself, you can add original to that list, too. You don't have to be an expert seamstress to make one of these toppers from scratch -- even a beginner can start stitching in the morning and have a new hat to wear to the beach in the afternoon. The simple silhouette looks equally good on adults and kids, and the reversible design lets you mix and match patterns to suit any style. These hats pack like a dream, and the wide, floppy brim offers plenty of protection from the sun. So pick a print (or two), start sewing, and get ready to go under cover.
Dynamic Duos
With a reversible hat, you double your fun. Choose two fabrics that look great together, but don't hesitate to try unexpected combos. Some of our favorites are below.
1. Irish linen (L1384), 58 inches wide, $27 per yd.; B&J Fabrics
2. Japan cotton (L1380), 44 inches wide, $33 per yd.; B&J Fabrics
3. Cotton (L1381), 45 inches wide, $13; B&J Fabrics
4. Cotton canvas (L1383), 56 inches wide, $20 per yd.; B&J Fabrics
5. Yuwa Honeycomb, in Rust, 41 to 43 inches wide, $14.75 per yd.; purlsoho.com
6. Lecien Dots Small, in Orange, 41 to 43 inches wide, $10.30 per yd.; purlsoho.com
7. Robert Kaufman Metro Living Circles, in Carrot, 41 to 43 inches wide, $10.20 per yd.; purlsoho.com
8. Cotton canvas (L1382), 56 inches wide, $16 per yd.; B&J Fabrics, 212-354-8150
9. Freespirit Voile Jenaveves Pebbles, in Merlot, 53 to 54 inches wide, $16 per yd.; purlsoho.com
10. Liberty cotton lawn (L1379), 54 inches wide, $37 per yd.; B&J Fabrics, 212-354-8150
I've made several of these hats and they are very sweet. Two keys: Get the pattern right. Use the capital 'L' marks on the pattern to match, BEFORE U cut out.
Sewing a circle to a tube. U need to mark the crown into 1/4's. Also 1/4 & mark the side piece. Call them N-S-E-W. Pin S to the seam, then go across & pin N. Then pin E & W. Then pin 1/8's. Then pin between those. USE LOTS OF PINS. When sewing, have crown material on top, ease-in side material. Go slow. Sorry if this isn't clear
I've given up trying to get this thing together! I'll buy a commercial pattern - it will be a lot easier.
What a waste of time.
Getting the template together was by far the most challenging part of this project but the hat turned out super cute. Because I hate hand sewing, one thing I changed was that I left the opening in the brim and then did a decorative top stitch to close it worked great and adds a bit of flair.
This has been the most difficult pattern I have tried to piece. I tried to use the tips in some of the other comments and overlap the pieces. Apparently I didn't overlap enough and have had trouble getting the crown and side pice to match up. I feel like I have wasted a lot of time on this and I really wanted to make it for my daughter.
The key I found is to not cut them out before hand. The full printed pages have little tick marks (half squares I believe) that line up with the page that it goes next to. There is alot of overlap (something I wasn't expecting). Tape them all together and then cut.
The problem I'm having is that I can't get the crown to be the right size as the side piece and have it line up with no gathers. I have to fudge the size of it.
I spent hours trying to put the pattern pieces together what a mess !!! does anyone have any suggestions...JS
I'm having a heck of a time putting the template together. Isn't there a way to identify which piece connects to which piece to make it easier? I've got the fabric and am ready to begin but I'm getting frustrated trying to put the plan into action!