A Hoot and a Holler: Sweater Surgery Hat

It's been pretty cold in NYC lately. I decided to make a few hats for my girls the other day and they turned out pretty cute. I just may have to make a few of them for myself. I put together a tutorial to share how I made them.

For this project you will need:

An old sweater with ribbing around then bottom

2 colors of 100% wool felt-One for the flower and another for the center.

Matching thread

needle

embroidery floss

scissors

A hat that fits the lucky little girl or boy who will be taking your mad sewing skills for granted.

Warning!!!!

You will be performing "surgery" on this sweater. Make sure that you are not too attached to it! Don't be afraid to "cut". Your a seamstress. That's what we do. We cut. We change lives. We save. To be a good seamstress you have to think like a seamstress. Emotions can be messy. You need to tuck them away and step into a clean sterile studio where the procedure is simple. You cut, you suture, you close. Now let's do this!

Take the hat and place it on top of the bottom of the sweater. This is your "pattern". I placed mine a little bit above the ribbing because I wanted it to come down a bit lower on her than the old hat. Take a deep breath. Hold the scissors steady, and make the cut.

Good job.

Now you sew a seam along the outer edge.

Now lay your hat flat with the seam going down the middle. Your going to want to sew another seam across the top. (My hand looks a little creepy in that photo).

Then, you take another deep breath, hold the scissors steady, and make your final cut across the top. This will give it it's shape. Excellent!

THis is what the inside will look like inside out when your done.

And now right side out.

Now for the felt. This is the shape of the flower petals I chose. They are three inches long and about an inch wide. I cut them with pinking shears. Take some liberty with the shape, size color and make it your own. This is the fun part.

Pin your petals to the hat.

And sew them on. I did a straight line down the middle of each of them.

Now for the flower center. I just cut out a circle and folded it in half. Next, I took the embroidery floss and made a few stitches in the fold. Then, I folded it in half again and made a few stitches. This makes it stand out a little. Then just sew it on the center of the flower.

(Ok, my hand is really freakin me out in this photo. It looks more like a claw)

Thats it! I am investing in some good hand lotion tomorrow!

The final step, put this hat on your little one. Watch the relief in her little face as the warmth settles in. As a seamstress, you can't help but get "involved". They say, that practice makes perfect. Theory is that the more you think like a seamstress, the more you become one. The better you get at remaining neutral. Clinical. (It's not gonna happen)

Comments

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Hi Lve this, sounds easy enough. I have twins (boy and girl), any ideas on something to put my little boys hat. Lve this, sounds easy enough, thnx

Posted by: Bexter | February 04, 2010 at 05:50 PM

Very cute, I'll give it a try this week end. Big thank you from Switzerland :-)

Posted by: Myriam | February 19, 2010 at 10:12 AM

Love this hat idea! I have a 10 month old son who has cancer and his hair is a bit on the sparse side right now. Currently it's a little chily and rainy here, and later it'll get really hot so these hats would be perfect to protect his little noggin! He also has a twin brother and 2 year old sister who would LOVE some of these hats too! Thanks! They look easy to make and I'm not expert at sewing LOL Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: Mae | March 12, 2010 at 11:01 AM