This cute hat is warm and a guaranteed "oh my gosh how cute is that" stopper at the grocery store.
Time it takes depends on experience but it took me aprox 2.5 hours. Time will vary depending on experience and materials used.
The pattern that I used is one of my own that have made in the past and have modified from an baby pattern I had years ago. I find that the “patterns” themselves never vary much. I often find myself using the pattern pieces more then the actual pattern. Once you get the hang of how a garment is made, you will find yourself pinning less, and falling back more on what you have learned from your last project.
Really, all I need are the bones, from there I added the Owl eyes, wings, and hooters, and made a one of a kind pattern.
Step 1: Pick the fabric
Again, I am lucky enough to have my own “store” of materials. If you are avid sewer, or once was, then chances are you have one too :)
For this pattern I have chosen 3 different prints to use for the appliques and fleece for body of hat-material. Fleece is stretchy which ensures one size fits all and it is so warm. No matter what the season, babies love to be warm.
For the ears/hooters I have picked a red lacing with a sparkle running through it. Other options would be ribbons, rickrack, or simply 2 small triangles sewn together and turned inside out.
I have stuck with smaller print/patterns for the eyes and wings as a larger print would loss effect on such a small item. However if you were to choose to do a larger size hat, mid size prints could work.
Another option for fabric is to use old clothing. Is there a sweatshirt that just doesn’t fit anymore, perhaps you got a stain on your favorite blouse but hate to part with it. Used clothing is often more cost worthy then buying by the yard (thanks china) and is a great way of recycling those too pretty to part with items.
Step 1: Measure 2ice cut once
This old adage really holds true. In the 10+ years I have been sewing I have always kept this in mind and only had a small handful of items that I have had take back to the drawing board usually because of wondering minds or rushing deadlines.
When using fleece for the first time it’s a good idea while pining to be cautious of puckering. Use long pins as they are easiest to put through the layers. The great thing about fleece is that it sticks to itself making it easy to sew, and it doesn’t fray eliminating need for finishing edges.
Be patient when cutting. Depending on the thickness of your fleece and the sharpness of your scissors, the layers may be difficult to get through easily. Be sure you are cutting both sides of the fabric at once.
Step 2: Make the hooters
Once I had the material for the body of the hat cut out I know it’s time to put together the Owl face, wings and ears (hooters)
For my hooters I cut 6- 5” pieces of sparkly lacing.
3 pieces for each side and folded them in half and pinned in the seam. If you are new at sewing things like ears into a hat.
Tip: ensure you are pining the bottom of your ear to the edge of the seam. Put both right sides together and pinch at seam and turn right side out. That way you can ensure your ears are in a good placement and pinned properly before you actually sew the piece together.
Pining the hooters in place I put a pin tightly on either side of the lacing and made sure all ends were visible before I made my first seam.
Step 3-5
Eyes:
For the eyes I used a circle that was 2 1/2” in diameter for the outer and a circle that was 3/4” for the pupils and cut 2 of each size.
I use heat and bond for almost every appliqué I make. My method is to trace the shape on the back of the heat & bond and rough cut it out. Then I affix the shape (following the H&B instructions) to the back of the fabric and cut again along my traced edge. I find this method stretches my H&B further.
After cutting both size circles out, I removed the H&B back and placed them as evenly as I wanted (this is for your creative eye to decided) inside the large circles and pressed. Keep in mind that you will be stitching on the eyes so leave a seam allowance for that when placing pupils on.
Even though you do not want to press anything on to fleece...Extreme Heat + Polyester=Melty...I did lightly adhere the eyes on to the fleece being careful to only touch the eye appliqués with the iron.
Once the eyes were lightly affixed I ran a medium size zig zag stitch along the edges of both the eyes and the pupils. Another option is to NOT zig zag the pupil however, after the hat is weathered the H&B may lose it’s adhesive...it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
Tips: Slow and steady wins the race. The more time you take when cutting and sewing those eyes on the more symmetrical the stitching will look. You don’t want to burn and turn unless you have previous experience with these types of appliques.
Beak: Simply, I cut 2 triangles to scale, sewed them together on 2 of the edges and turned inside out. If you are using a bulkier fabric trim the edges at the point before you turn it inside out.
Centre, Pin and baste beak on to owl front.
Wings: I cut out one wing shape and used it for both sides. First, I traced 2 onto the H&B and rough cut them out. Then affixed them to the material and cut them along the lines. Now you have one side of each wing.
Peel the H&B backing off the wing and affix to the wrong side of your material. I used a plaid so I was sure to match lines up before I pressed. Cut wings from material using the H&B wing side as your guide.
Tip: I cut in 1/8” and followed the line. If your hand/eye co-ordinations is not so good, keep as close to the edge as you can.
I used a zig zag stitch for the edges to finish them off.
When sewing the wings on there are different methods you can use. I chose to stitch them into the seam between my hat top and bottom pieces. My pattern allows for that however if you are following another patter you may have this option or may have to stitch your wings directly onto the side if the hat does not have a bottom band.
Step: 6
Now that you have your parts done. It’s time to put it all together. Follow your instructions on the pattern you have chosen to use OR click here to purchase my printable pattern.
If following another pattern be sure to attach wings before sewing any possible seams where they could fit in. Also be careful not to catch the wings, lacing or hooters into any seams while sewing
