Baby Sun Hat Tutorial

Materials


Baby sun hat pattern
1/2 yard of fabric (You may wish to use two different fabrics, one for the outside of the hat and one for the lining)
1" piece of 1/2" wide Velcro (I used 1" Velcro and cut it in half widthwise)
Thread
Sewing machine
Scissors or rotary cutter
Tape measure or ruler
Pinking shears
Sewing pins
Iron
Fabric marking pen

Download the free pdf pattern here
(Or right-click on the images below and save. Please note, this pattern is for personal use only.)

The pattern is sized 9 - 12 months (18" head circumference). Both pattern pieces include a 1/4" seam allowance. All seams are 1/4" unless otherwise noted. The first page of the pattern, the brim, will need to be printed on two sheets of paper and taped together. The easiest way to do this is to save the pdf and open up in Acrobat. In the print menu, under "Page Sizing and Handling", select "Poster". Make sure to print the pattern at full scale.

Instructions

Begin by tracing the pattern pieces for the crown lining only onto your fabric. You will need to cut 4 crown pieces out of the lining fabric.

Pin two of the crown pieces right sides together.

Sew and press the seam open.

Repeat for the other two crown pieces.

Place the two halves of the crown right sides together, pin, and sew along the top of the crown.

Trim and press seams and turn right side out. This would be a good time to fit the crown on your baby's head and make sure it fits well.

If it fits, you can now cut the rest of your pattern pieces. Cut 2 brim pieces from both your outer and lining fabrics, and 4 crown pieces from your outer fabric. You will also need to cut one 7" x 2" and one 8" x 2" strip of fabric for the chin straps.

Continue with the lining. Place the two brim pieces right sides together and pin each of the short ends. 

Sew each end together. 

Open up the brim and press the seams open.

Pin the crown to the inside opening of the brim, right sides together. Align the two pieces so that the brim seams hit in the middle of a crown piece. ie you want the brim seams to be at the sides of the hat and a crown piece to be centered at the front.

This is what it should look like on the outside when pinned together

Fold the 8" x 2" strip of fabric for one of the chin straps in half lengthwise and press. Open up and fold each half toward the middle. Press. Fold the top corners down to form a triangle, then fold the triangle down.

Fold in half lengthwise. Press and sew 1/16" to 1/8" in from the edge. Repeat for the 7" chin strap.

Mark a 2" opening in the back of the hat. It's very important to leave an opening so you can turn the hat right-side out after sewing the lining and the outside together.

Sandwich the chin straps in between the brim and crown, right at the seams on either side of the brim. Pin in place.

Sew the brim to the crown. Don't forget to leave an opening and make sure the straps are straight and not bunched up when you sew across them. Trim any excess from the raw ends of the straps.

Lining, turned right-side out. My scissors are there to show the 2" opening at the back, between the brim and the crown.

Repeat the above steps for the outside of the hat, omitting the straps and opening in the seam. 

Place the outside of the hat and the lining right sides together and push the crowns into one another so the brim sits flat on the table. Make sure the straps are tucked inside, away from the outer edge of the brim. Pin.

Sew around the outer edge of the brim.

Trim the edges of the brim with pinking shears. This will reduce the bulk in the seam and give a smoother curve when the hat is turned right-side out.

Turn the hat right side out. Sew the opening in the lining closed with a slip stitch. Topstitch around the edges of the brim and the crown, 1/16" to 1/8" in from the edge.

Take the soft side of the velcro and sew it to the inside of the longer chin strap. You want the soft side to be facing baby's skin so it doesn't scratch. Sew around all four edges of the velcro. Sew the other side of the velcro (the scratchy side) onto the outside end of the short chin strap.

To make the bow, cut a 4" square of fabric. Fold in half lengthwise and press. Stitch along the edge, leaving an opening in the center for turning. Clip the corners and trim the edges. Turn right-side out and press. Sew a basting stitch down the center of the bow and gather. Cut a 2" x 1.5" piece of fabric for the center of the bow. Fold in half lengthwise and press. Open and fold each half toward the middle. Press. Wrap around the center of the bow and hand stitch together at the back.

Hand stitch the bow to the base of the crown.

Since this hat is fully lined, it could easily be made reversible. All you would need to do is omit the chin straps and bow...

although it may not stay on baby's head long without the straps :)

You could also sew button holes on either side of the brim to pull the straps through. I'll probably try this for the next hat I make. If I do, I'll share it here on the blog.

UPDATE: Read the reversible sun hat post here.

Please let me know if you have any problems with the pattern or tutorial, and I would love to see pictures of any hats you make!

Lined Curtain Panels and Tie-Back Tutorial

I've been working hard to check things off the nursery to-do list, and started with what I consider one of the more important projects, the curtain panels. Black-out lined curtain panels...to encourage nice loooonnng naps.

For four curtain panels, I ordered 12 yards of Sweet William Teal cotton duck fabric from Tonic Living.

Note: I did not pre-wash my fabric. The fabric manufacturer recommended dry clean only. Plus, I would be adding black-out fabric to the back. I decided that if the curtains ever needed a good cleaning, I would take them to the dry cleaners.

I had an idea of how I wanted to sew them, but did a little internet browsing to get some ideas. The tutorial I liked best was by House of Hepworths, but I made a few changes.

I started by raising the curtain rods nearly to the ceiling, just 3 inches down the wall. Our ceilings are standard height, 8 feet, and I wanted to give the illusion of height to the room. Also, I had plenty of fabric to make the panels nice and long.

I wanted my curtains to hang about 93" from rod to floor, so I cut each panel 101" long, allowing for 4" on both the top and the bottom for the hems. When cutting out my fabric, I made sure that the pattern would line up from panel to panel, so I cut the top edge of each panel at the same place in the pattern (I used the brown flowers as my guide).

Curtain Panel Instructions

After cutting out your fabric, press the long sides over by 1" then again by 1". (House of Hepworths recommended using a 1/2" hem on the sides, but I found this a bit too narrow.)

Press side 1"

Press side again, 1"

Next, press the top edge of the fabric over by 1/2" then over again by 3".

Press top 1/2" then again 3"

I decided to make a pocket top panel, but also wanted the option to use curtain ring clips, so I added small tabs to the back of each panel.

For each panel, cut out 7 pieces of fabric, each 2.5" W by 3" L. Press each piece of fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, then sew along the edges with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a small opening for turning. Clip the corners and turn right-side out, making sure to push out the corners with your fabric turner. Press, then top-stitch along the edge with the opening.

Measure and mark off the spacing at the top hem of each panel (I spaced my tabs 8 1/2" apart). Pin the tabs in place and sew the short ends onto the top hem of the curtain panel, lining them up at the bottom edge of the hem. Only sew through one layer of fabric so the stitching is not seen from the front.

The next step is to cut out the black-out lining. Line up the black-out fabric with your curtain panel and tuck it inside the top and left hems. Smooth out. Cut off any excess at the right side and bottom. Tuck into right side. Pin in place. Using a walking foot, sew the sides first, followed by the top, stitching as close to the edge as possible. The walking foot will help keep the fabric from bunching up as you sew.

Line up the black-out fabric with your curtain panel

Cut off excess black-out fabric at the right side

Tuck under and pin in place

Note: There are two sides to the black-out lining, one is light gray and has a rubbery feel to it and the other is white and has a more cloth-like feel. After reading several different opinions online, I went with personal preference and put the white side out, the gray facing in toward the panel.

The last step is to hem the bottom. Fold over 1/2" and press, then fold over another 3" and press, just like you did for the top. Sew along the edge.

A finished view of the back:

Here's how they look hung as pocket panels...

and here's how they look hung with curtain clips. You can see the rings barely stick out from the top because they're attached to the tabs instead of the top of the curtain.

Tie-Back Instructions

I used a tie-back from a set of curtains we already owned as my template. With my fabric folded in half, I lined up the straight edge of the tieback at the fold and traced it onto my fabric, adding about 1/4" for my seam allowance. Then I cut out and pressed, right sides together, lengthwise. My tie-back was curved on one side but you could also create a rectangular tie-back. To do so, you would cut out a 3.5" x 23" piece of fabric.

From bottom to top: tie-back from purchased curtains, tie-back loops, tie-back body, finished tie-back

Tie-back body, pressed lengthwise, right sides together

Next, cut out two pieces of fabric, each 2" W x 7" L. Press right sides together, lengthwise.These will become the loops for the end of the tie-backs.

Tie-back loops, pressed lengthwise, right sides together

A trick to turning narrow tubes of fabric is to lay a piece of ribbon or cord inside before sewing.

Sew around the edges with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving the end open. Then pull on the ribbon to turn the fabric right-side out. It took a bit of wiggling to get it to turn. Once turned, I just cut off the ribbon since the ends would be hidden inside the main piece of the tie-back. Press with the seam at the side, and fold in half.

Pull on ribbon to turn fabric right side out

Press tie-back loop and fold in half

Tuck the loops into the ends of the tie-back, with about 1/2" of the raw ends sticking out, and pin in place. Make sure the seams in the loops and tie-back face the same direction. Sew around the edge of the tie-back, over the loops, with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a small opening for turning.

Clip any excess fabric from the end of the loops. Turn right side out and press. Top stitch 1/8" in from the edge, making sure to sew the opening closed.