This hat has been the perfect pattern for this winter. Felted wool doesn't bother us near as much as the non-felted wool.... but we still have itching issues when wearing wool. Especially when sweating. So the addition of the sweatband was a natural progression for our sensitive family.
You need:
A felted wool sweater
an old tee shirt
Sewing machine and matching thread
sharp scissors
rotary cutter (optional)
1. Cut the pattern out using the bottom of the sweater as the rim of the hat. The rotary cutter is helpful here, but not essential.
2. Sew up the Y shaped slit in the hat first wrong sides facing. Trim the edges well. Then sew up the rest of the hat wrong sides facing each other. Trim the excess. The felted wool will not fray like fabric will, so don't worry about leaving that 1/4 inch usually required with projects like this. You can get close to the threads... just don't cut them. ;)
3. Turn your hat right side out!
4. Once you have the hat part finished, (and feel free to stop here... you just made a hat!) create a band for the bottom out of 3 1/2 inches of the tee shirt material.
** Tip ~ Cut the 3 1/2 inch piece of the tee shirt so the stretch is the long direction, like the bottom 4 inches of the shirt all the way around. This way your sweatband will have stretch in the same direction as the hat.
**Another tip~ Also make sure to match the length to the bottom of your hat (like in the picture).... NOT to the pattern. Your hat may be slightly smaller than the pattern now and you don't want the band to be too big.
5. Make the sweatband by sewing the short sides of the band together. Then folding in half the long way and placing inside the hat with the fold just below the rim of the hat... like so:
5. Pin all the way around, with the sweatbands seam in the back center.
7. Starting at the back center, lock stitch, and then start sewing where you think it would look best. You do have to sew at least two rows of stitching so the band is stable... but if you want to sew more than that it is up to you.
** Tip ~ I usually use my presser foot as a guide for my measurements between lines of stitching. It is super easy to get straight and even lines that way (as long as you did a straight line the first time.)
8. When you are done with the stitching, this is what the inside of your hat should look like:
9. Trim the edge of the band.
Once again, this fabric will not fray like wovens... so you can cut close to the threads. It WILL however, roll and make a unattractive ridge under the wool hat. So make sure you cut pretty close. Like so:
That's it! This hat is especially good for those of us who have a hard time with wool touching our skin. The wool never touches his face, but he will get all the benefits. Alex's hat is all ready for snowboarding. Now he just needs snow pants. (Tell me why again, teens grow out of their clothes so darn fast?)
*Disclaimer: I like this hat ok and it will work well with Alex's black snowsuit, but I didn't show it because it is the best one I ever made. The sweater hats are variable (just like all recycled crafts) to the materials you use. The bottom stitching is really long, making it not ideal for a hat. However... this is the one I took pictures of. So it made the tutorial. I should have taken more pictures of the one with ears. But I am running out of sweaters. Ok... enough caffeinated babbling. ;)
1 comment
Wow! I really, really love this! Fabulously cozy. Thanks so much, I'll be linking.
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