So chuffed with myself; I made Lili a felt kabouter hat. I couldn’t find a pattern I liked on the internet. Also, the only felt I could get in town was pre-cut squares. Of course, I use the term square very loosely; none of the sides were the same length and none of the squares matched – basically had to use the smallest for the common denominator.
No matter how I placed the pieces, I knew I had to use 2 squares and sew them together. I wanted a tall pointy hat that will flop down, but the squares were too short. I made another plan. The design itself will have a curly point… with a bell on. And the brim will be in a different fabric, folded back and be all zig-zaggy like a real elf/pixie/kabouter hat.
Here’s how I made it:
You Need:
- Enough felt (I used 2 x pieces, roughly 22cm x 25cm) in colour of your choice
- Extra piece of fabric for the brim
- Silver bell
- Needle and thread in matching colour
- Pins
- Paper and pencil for design
- Scissors for paper and for cloth
Method:
I played around with some shapes and settled on one I liked. Then cut out the shape.
Pin your pattern to the felt and cut out 2 shapes.
With right sides facing *snicker* sew all along the edges of the hat, but not the brim (where the head goes). I used double thread and sewed by hand; so I managed to sew relatively close to the edge, and I think the curl would have been too tricky for my sewing machine (at least for the monkey working it).
Carefully turn it out and check for holes. Use a pencil to gently shape the curly bit.
Here’s where I hit a snag and nearly RUINED the hat. I couldn’t figure out how I was going to attach the brim. Sewing isn’t my forte. But I figured it out.
Turning the hat back inside out (but I left the curl as it was, just don’t crease it too hard) measure and pin the brim to the hat – you’re going to have to look at the image above to see how I mean what I’m going to explain next: Place the cut edge (that’s not going to be the zig-zag part ) of the brim fabric along the edge of the hat that is still open – right sides facing – all around the hat.
Sew this edge together (Might be common sense to some, but I’m new to this – I aligned the seam of the brim fabric and the back seam of the hat)
Turn the hat right side out, fold the brim up, and press lightly using a damp cloth.
Sew the bell on the tip of the hat.
I thought the metallic fabric might fray if I cut it too soon, so I waited until the night before to cut the zig-zag shapes. I was too lazy didn’t want to go through all the effort pressed for time to hem the zig-zag pattern, but the fabric held it’s shape and didn’t fray at all!
Alternate title:
#34 – Sew 3 items for Amelia (3/3) Completed!
Huzzah! Another goal achived. I really enjoyed sewing things for Amelia. It’s not THAT hard. And with a whole wide web full of a gazillion ideas – I can’t help not being inspired to get busy.
Hi! You’ve got a great blog here. I’d love it if you’d stop by my site sometime. I host a linky party every Tuesday called Tot Tuesdays which is for all things toddler and I thought you might be interested. Have a great day!
http://www.mydeliciousambiguity.com/2010/06/toddler-busy-bag.html
thanks so much the instructions. i made this for my daughter and it turned out real good. thnx agan