Monday, December 07, 2009

Vintage Inspired Fleece Hat Tutorial


In my never ending quest to figure out cool, simple projects to do with little money I came up with this tutorial after one of my many visits to fabric store (it feels like I am always there!!). I am a little obssessed with looking though the remnants bin- they are cheap and often I find fabric I could never afford in large quantities to use in smaller projects! This week I discovered that it seems this time of of year EVERYONE is buying fleece- I am assuming that winter fleece projects are popular right now? After digging through a huge pile of fleece remnants I found 3 great colors- 1-2 yard at $1.50-2.00 each...what a DEAL!!! I decided right there that I wanted to figure out how to make a hat out of the fleece that I could wear but would also be a great gift idea for all of you out there in blog land!! So here we go!

While I don't consider myself to be a really girly girl (I wear motercycle boots and black almost every day!) I do love a vintage spin and a little "throw back style" in my wardrobe (one of my favorite books of all time happens to be Anne of Green Gables!). So I decided I wanted a warm girly hat with a big flower that felt a little vintage.

Please note that I don't like patterns- they give me anxiety- so I came up with my own way to create this hat without using a pattern -I am sure there are lots of patterns and maybe even easier ways to make a hat but this worked for my simple brain :)


Start with fleece- I decided I wanted three different colors and I wanted a really pretty color- grey, plum and black combo (color is EVERYTHING!)


Measure your head by wrapping the fleece around your head and mark.



Cut a strip of fleece to size.
Keep in mind that this strip will be the main part of the hat so the taller you want your hat- the wider this strip will be.



Cut another strip of fleece in a contrasting color- this is option- but I wanted the look of band around my hat.


Fold the strip in half and sew down to the bottom of the wide strip of fleece making sure to sew only at the bottom of the band- this will force it to stick out a little on top and have a little depth to it.


Once the band is sewn on- turn everything inside out and sew the ends together.


At this point it should look like a hat without a top :)


Now it is time to make the top of the hat- You could have fun making the top a different color or use the same color as the bottom of the hat.


Trace the outside of the hat.

Cut it out.


Note- before sewing it down make sure the two pieces fit together you may have to trim a little excess off the edges to get a clean fit. It also helps to pin the two pieces together and then sew the top to the bottom.

Sew together- I chose to let the stitches show because the black stitching compliments the black band (and I just love the look of stitching!!)


At this point you could leave your hat simple or add a flower.


To make a flower- use a bright and colorful piece of fleece.
Cut out circles and stack on top.
The more circles the bulkier the flowers will be.
I used four layers.



Sew the layers together with a pretty button in the middle.



Attach to the hat.



I had quite a bit of leftover fleece so I whipped up a quick scarf that is made from the leftover squares and then stitched on the outside.





The end result is a pretty vintage combo perfect for the winter months :)

28 comments:

Jamie Fingal said...

Pretty cute Alisa. Thank you so much for sharing. I love the visual instructions and you've inspired me to get out my fleece and make a hat. You are so creative!

Nicole Maki said...

Patterns send my creativity scurrying away - they are too scary. This on the other hand looks really doable and super cute.

Thanks for the instructions. I can't wait to try it.

Unknown said...

Alisa you are to cute!!! Love it. My daughter, Jessie and I are both going to make a hat.
PS Jess doesn't know how to sew and when she saw your directions she exclaimed " Hey I can do that!"
XXOO

TamV said...

So cute! Lovely. lovely colors. Thank you for being so generous in sharing your creations with us!

Cate said...

I love it and want to try it! now, this may sound dumb but how do I get that cool stitching on the outside? is that from a serger?

awesome hat!

Danyeela said...

Both hat and scarf turned out beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Becky New said...

Gorgeous! You are so inspiring! I don't do patterns either, so this is way cool to me! :)

nadia said...

genius!! love it! ciao!

Carla Trujillo said...

Cute! Thanks for being so generous and sharing your tutorials!

David and Christine said...

I love this idea, now to find fleece.

Anonymous said...

You just look so lovely in your new creation. I must try it myself.
Thanks for sharing
Norma A.

Anonymous said...

Love the hat! So cute!
Hugs! Barbie

Maya Kuzman said...

Such a lovely tutorial for an awesome outcome!

Pamela said...

Thanks Alisa,

Love the vintage vibe. I have a big bin of fleece in my storage room that I bought two summers ago on sale, with plans to cut out a wrap for myself. This is the perfect excuse to dig out that bin.

Unknown said...

i love it! i'll have to make one of these for my sister. she has short hair too, except she's blond :) and she would love it.

jennifer lorton said...

Thanks, I'm not highly skilled in the sewing department put with your tutorial I think I could pull this off. So cute!

Emma Alvarez Gibson said...

Love this. And so happy to see someone like you say they don't like patterns. They make me panicky as well, and I love a little bit of arough edge. Can't wait to make this.

jana said...

I am interested to know how you did the stitching... is that just a zigzag stitch on a regular machine, or did you use a serger?

Søs said...

Hi Alisa, thanks for a super guide, has today made a hat for it. I am very pleased with the outcome. Thanks from Denmark, Ravnhild

Unknown said...

merci pour ce beau tuto
je découvre votre blog et me réjouis de découvrir le reste...

thank you for this Hat
y go see the rest from this lovely blog

elenor said...

your hat looks great! thanks for sharing!
best greetings from Austria!
heidi

mizdarlin said...

Alisa-
Love this look, and have a similar one from the 70's-gonna try it by crocheting the pieces, then 'sewing' them together by hand..thanks for the inspiration!

Theresa Bride said...

My beautiful, trendy daughter was diagnosed with alpecia just weeks ago. I have been searching for a hat or scarf pattern to make for her. I have looked at many and found nothing until I saw your vintage hat. It looks easy to make and she will love it !! Thank you sooooo much!!!
Theresa Bride :)

Kathleen Colquhoun Halm said...

Beautiful!! Thank you!

Mariquita said...

Thanks for explaining how you created this hat. I've wanted to make a similar one, but felt too intimidated since I didn't have a pattern. I did a couple things differently, but your explanation inspired me to try. I made 3 hats in 2 hours!

I am wondering how you got the flowers to petal out. Did you scrunch them somehow when you sewed them together? When I tried it, they just look like 4 pieces of fleece, one on top of the other.

Unknown said...

These hats are great. So pretty. Very nice pictures also. Thanks for posting.

Heidi
Exede

Anonymous said...

Going to make one of these lovely,thankyou,

Unknown said...

Adorable!! Question. Did you use a serge for the stitching or a regular sewing machine and if you used a sewing machine, what stitching was used?
Toni

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