Happy Holidays Everyone! I’m kicking off my season of gratitude and giving back with a fun project. During a socially distant sibling get together, my brother, Scott, told me that my sister-in-law, Jacki, was spending her days off helping people in need. Jacki is a nurse, so she spends her work days caring for others. Then on her days off she heads to Main Street, downtown Middletown, CT to help those who need it most. She got my brother on board to help out with sandwich lunches. He’s a pro at that because he owns a pizza place.
On the drive home, I started thinking about how I could help too. I checking in with Jacki and we came up with hats to keep heads warm. I had just finished a knitted hat, The Crush Chapeau designed by Bknits Handmade. It only took me a few hours to knit… So, I started thinking that my knitting friends could knit a hat like that very quickly because I’m a super slow knitter. Then I decided to make a fleece hat pattern that’s a similar shape because I love the way it covers my ears.
I got to work and made a few of the fleece hats. As I sewed along, I thought to myself, maybe some of my sewing friends might want to help too… If you’d like to make a hat, get your free fleece hat pattern and check out the steps below. To thank you for helping out, send me the hat (fleece or knitted) and your email address, and I’ll send you a coupon code for a free PDF pattern of your choice in my shop.
My address is 91 Alton Street, Manchester, CT 06042. I will bring every hat that I receive to Jacki, so she can give them to those who need a hat to keep their heads warm.
Step-by-Step
Use your sewing machine to construct this hat. The stitch length is 2.5 mm. That way you can finger press seam allowances open to reduce bulk as you sew it together.
Step 1: Cut out the paper pattern pieces and position them on the fleece so the stretch is going across the width of the pieces. Cut 4 Crown Pieces and 2 Brim Pieces (on the fold)
Here’s what the cut out pieces look like.
Step 2: Sew the side seams of the crown pieces.
Step 3: Put the two half crown pieces together matching the seams. Finger press seam allowances open and pin in place. Sew the two crown pieces together.
Step 4: Put the brim pieces right sides together. Sew along the short sides and lower edge of the brim. Trim the corners and turn to the right side.
Here’s what the finished crown and brim look like.
Step 5: Wrap the brim around the crown, matching the short ends, butted up against each other at the CB seam. Pin the brim and crown together.
Step 6: Sew the brim to the crown.
Step 7: Finger press the seam allowances up toward the crown. Tack the seam allowances down at CB to reinforce the ends of the brim.
For more detailed steps (including how to make these tassels) check out this week’s Fit Tip Tuesday Video. If you have any questions, please comment below and I’ll help! Happy Sewing (and knitting everyone!) PS… This fleece hat also makes a cozy gift for someone on your list!
