fedora sewing instructions

McHats Reversible Fedora Style Hat Pattern Toddler in two sizes Fit 19”- 21.5” Headsize

Hello from Australia and thank you for your purchase of my oval top, fedora style bucket hat in 2 sizes.

Please read this document 1st to see my method of construction, before you start sewing.

I have included into this document a method of turning this hat into a cap as well.

Seam allowances are 1/2�.

Cut out fabrics and interfacing as marked on pattern pieces.

When cutting interfacing, cut pieces 1/2� smaller on all sides of pattern pieces.

When you have cut out the pattern To make for accuracy and a hat that goes together readily, I always use the method below of ironing in quarter marks. I will demonstrate below.

Iron quarter marks in your crown piece (main fabric and lining fabric) this will help you to put the hat together perfectly

If using interfacing, iron to wrong side of corresponding fabric pieces.

Start by sewing up the side seams of the side wall main fabric together, right sides together, then press the seams open. Turn the side wall right side out and fold into quarters and press with an iron so that you have markings at each quarter.

Match the folded crown to the side wall, by matching the ironed quarters pinning them together at the quarter marks on the side wall. Sew the 2 pieces together

sew on the circle-side of the crown rather than the sidewall side, stretching the sidewall slightly to match the crown if necessary. It is really important to keep the ironed marks matching, to achieve a good finished result. If you are having difficulty getting the sidewall to fit exactly, just put little clips with your scissors, at the points where it doesn’t want to go together.

I will contiinue with the main hat in a moment, but just want to show you how to turn it into a cap if you prefer it without a brim. What you would do is trace off one of your favourite peak pieces on another cap, an add seam allowance then treat it as such below Fuse interfacing to wrong sides of the peak pattern pieces x 2

Pin brims together right sides facing at outer edge and stitch. Trim brim right side out and press. Slip in a piece of buckram for extra stiffness, if you prefer, if not you can use heavy plastic. Cut this shape from the finished shape of your brim.

Fold the peak in half (vertically) and make a little mark in the centre of the peak piece, then match that to the mark in the centre front and sew the peak to the main pattern piece, matching the ironed quarter mark – the peak has a ironed mark in the centre of it like the photo below, the match that crease mark to the main hat.

Fold the peak in half (vertically) and make a little mark in the centre of the peak piece, then match that to the mark in the centre front and sew the peak to the main pattern piece, matching the ironed quarter mark – the peak has a ironed mark in the centre of it like the photo below, the match that crease mark to the main hat.

Lining piece make up the lining in the same way as above without the peak, and sew it on the inside of the cap right sides of fabric, leaving a small opening where you can turn the hat to the right side out later on, then slip stich the hole closed. This can be done on the inner side seam, to disguise the opening.

If you want to put a belt on the outside of the hat, just cut it to the headsize that you want and lightly stitch it into place, covering the join with a button.

Materials list

1/4 yd main fabric 1/4 yd co-ordinating fabric for reverse side of hat 1/2 yd fusible interfacing I tend to use scraps that I have at home, to make up small hats.

There are different methods on how to top stitch a hat, and the one below, is just one method (more later on in this document) This hat in the picture is double stitched on the brim, by threading two reels of thread through a sewing needle with a large eye in it, at the same time, to give it a distinctive stitch. Please note the stitching is done in concentric circles, to avoid starting & stopping join marks at each row. Starting at the brim edge, just behind the seam, towards the back of the hat, run in your stitch, gradually increasing to a machine foot away from the edge and keeping sewing in circles until it reaches the top, please see where stitching has ended in the diagram below up near the sidewall. (I probably could have even put 1 more row of stitching) then run the stitching off to the edge as I have done

Hat with brim, follow the below instructions at the bottom of the document for full instructions, but 1stly glance at this photos, because it is easier to demonstrate on calico light fabric than in the construction photos on colored fabrics below in the document

I sew my applique on to my main hat half way between the centre ironed mark and the quarter ironed mark, or side seam(side seam which sits approximately above the ear. )With my applique you can use iron on fusible webbing, it gives it a nicer finish, than appliques with no backing on them.

For your hat with the brim, sew up the seams of the brim pattern piece, following the seam allowances given, then fold the pattern in half, and iron a mark as previously, and then fold into quarters, and iron a quarter mark, and match this up with the quarter marks in the sidewall. These steps are important to the success of your hat.

with Best Regards Sue www.mchats.etsy.com

step by step instructions for the making of this hat

1. Place cut out patterns on fabric ready to cut out

2 Place patterns on fold of fabric where specified

4. cut out interfacing

2 Place patterns on fold of fabric where specified

3. all main pieces of fabic cut out

5 main fabric and interfacing cut out, 1/2’ smaller than main fabric

6 iron on interfacing to wrong side of fabric

7. interfacing ironed to wrong side of fabric

8. sew side seams on sidewall 1/2� seam

9. iron open side seams flat

10 pin crown to sidewall in prepartion to sew

11. sew crown to sidewall following seam allowance

12 crown & sidewall attached turn right side out

13 stitch inside seams downwards, wtih a topsitch on the outside, (optional)

14 sew up main fabric brim pattern piece following seam allowance given on pattern

14 Iron brim seams open

15 you now have main crown and brim pieces prepared

16 cut out lining pieces in preparation for sewing

MAKE SURE TO LEAVE A HOLE IN THIS SEAM TO TURN THE HAT TO THE RIGHT SIDE OUT LATER ON

17 sew side seams of sidewall lining piece following 18 iron crown into quarters and side wall in to quarters, seam alllowancewhich you will match together when you pin them

19 pinned crown and sidewall are then stiched together

20 Pin brim pieces, right sides of fabric together in readiness to sew together

19 leave a hole in the side wall seam because you will turn the hat to right side out through this hole later on

21 sewn brim, turn right side out and press open flat

22 topstich on the outside of the brim pattern piece as many rows as you prefer. I sew 1 machine foot away from the edge.

23 Iron the brim into quarter marks to match up with hat in the next step

24 can you see the ironed quarter marks on hat above which I will pin to quarter marks on brim

25 Pin hat brim matching ironed quarter marks to the main body of the hat and stitch around with machine foot away from the edge 1/4� to attach brim to hat (later we will use 1/2’ seam)

26 Brim is stitched to hat using a 1/4� seam as mentioned previously, then when we sew the lining in the next step, we will used a 1/2� to conceal the placement of the brim to the sidewall

27 Pin the lining of the hat (right sides of fabric together) to the main hat and sew around the bottom edges using the 1/2� seam allowance. The hat will be turned to the right side out, through the hole in the side seam in the next step and then slip stitched closed.

28 Now the hat is turned to the right side out through the hole left in the side seam. If you have forgotton the hole, then just unpick a small amount of the seam and turn the through the hole and slip stitch closed later on.

29 Turned fully to the outside the hat is now slipstitched closed where the hole in the side seam was. Next step is to iron iron iron, to get a nice finish on your hat. I use an ironing ham that I made out of scrap fabrics, to get a good finish.

I decided to put a band on the outside of my hat, (but dont know if I like it yet), This was done by cutting and joining a bias strip out of left over fabric, to the width you want.

I then topstitched the band to add firmness and definition, and slip stitched into place on the outside of the hat. You could use appliqued pieces of fabric or store bought appliques as well

This hat in the above picture was made using the smaller pattern pieces, whereas the one on the front page was made using the larger pattern pieces

Thanks for your purchase from www.mchats.etsy.com Your business is most important to me.

Please feel free to comment on this publication or offer suggestions.

Until next time.

Cheers Sue