There isn't much of anything that is cuter than a little guy in a hat. When my aunt asked if I would make a hat for my cousin's soon-to-be 2 year old, I was excited to take a stab at a sewn hat (I've always made her knit hats in the past). I think for my first hat it turned out cute...and I can't wait to see it on his sweet little head this winter.
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Here's what you'll need:
main color fleece
accent color fleece
(amount depends on hat size you’re making)
A small piece of embroidery floss or string
(to secure your pom on top)
Scissor, cutting mat, rotary cutter, etc.
Pencil or white charcoal to mark fabric
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Since I was making this hat for a 2 year old, I went to this website to find what size would fit best. I have found this website to be the most helpful when it comes to measurements. A 2 year old hat calls for a 18-20” circumference and an 8” hat height. I cut my main fabric 19” wide and 7.5” tall (since I’m going to add a rim on the bottom). Make sure when you cut your fabric you cut with the stretch. You want your fabric to stretch length wise (along the 19” side) so that the hat will stretch around the little guy’s head.
After my fabric was cut down to size, I divided it into 4 equal pieces. Make a mark with your pencil. From these marks, measure 3” down from the top. Cut along these lines.
After you have your fabric divided and cut into 4 equal sections, free hand a “football” shape on the top of the first quadrant. Cut away extra fabric. Do this to your remaining quadrants. To make things even, I folded my first quadrant over onto the second (and so on) until all of my sections were cut.
This next step is optional. You could leave your hat just a single layer, but I chose to double mine up so that it would be a bit warmer. I simply laid my first piece of fleece on top of a new piece of fleece, traced it and cut it out.
With your fabric doubled up, fold your first quadrant on top of the second quadrant. Line up your seams and sew the left side together (see picture below). Continue all the way around your hat. Sew 2nd to 3rd quadrant, 3rd to 4th, and 4th to 1st until you have something that resembles a hat. Set this part aside for later.
Next, cut a piece of your accent fabric the same width as your main color (in my case, that would be 19”). I wanted my brim to be about 1.5-2” with flaps so I cut a piece 6” x 19”. Remember to cut your long side with the stretch.
Note about size: there really isn’t an exact science to this…I just leave a little extra room for seam allowance.
Divide and mark your piece of fleece into 4 even quadrants (like you did with the top of the hat)...only make your marks on the bottom of the fabric this time.
Measure down 2 inches from the top and make a mark for the width of your brim. On the left side of your fabric (using your ¼ mark as a guide) free hand a little flap and draw it up to your 2” mark from the top.
Fold your left flap over onto the right side of your fabric and trace your flap (so that both sides are even). It should now look like this:
If you’re doubling up your fabric, place your brim on top of another piece of fabric (keep in mind the stretch) and cut out a second brim. Sew the bottom of the brim together leaving the sides and the top open.
Fold down your brim and top stitch around where the brim meets the hat (this helps the brim lay flat). I also did a top stitch around the base of the brim and around the ear flaps (but this is optional – I like the way it looks).
For the pom, take some scrap accent fleece and cut 10-12 – 4” strips. Tie together in the middle with some embroidery floss. Secure to the top of the hat.
Final step: give to a cute little guy :)
So cute!
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