It's Spring in the Midwest....so I made us some HATS | Week 15 | #52wonderfilledweeks
Another busy week and another project under the wire. Between taxes, an orchestra cycle (of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 no less) and a graduation (let the season begin) it was a packed week and I really thought this might be the week I didn't pull through. But I couldn't fail myself so I thought of something simple and fast that I could make. It came to me Friday...FRIDAY. Boy do I like living on the edge I guess! A spring time hat for those days where the weather is nice but the wind is cutting. I find that I can deal with a lot more if my head is warm and snugly. This FREE Slouchy Headwarmer pattern/tutorial from Patterns for Pirates fit the bill. I made one at Christmas time using scraps from our coordinating PJ's.
I didn't have enough fabric to make the hat officially 20"x 20" so I fudged it and I loved the finished product. I wanted to try it with my luscious rainbow hearts in double brushed poly from Knitpop in the correct size, so it was the perfect project to throw together in the short time I had some downtime Saturday morning before a rehearsal and concert. It is such a quick sew that I decided to then make a smaller version for P, matching of course, and then that went so quick I printed and threw together another FREE pattern/tutorial from P4P, the Slouchy Beanie in the smallest size for Bubba, again in the rainbow hearts. The outcome is that we have some really awesome, super soft, warm but light weight hats to throw in our stroller for when we're at the park and the wind picks up.
While the Slouchy Beanie is really only a hat (albeit super cute) the Slouchy Headwarmer is a four in one pattern. My favorite use is the hat though because it looks like the slouchy beanie with one major exception, it has a nice little hole in the middle to accommodate a pony tail, bun or other hair accessory...I love this feature! I really prefer to have my hair pulled back when out walking and I almost always put P's hair in a ponytail when out and about. This hat allows you to keep your pony tail in tact but also wear a hat comfortably. Gone are the days of your hat not fitting because it is trying to fit over a pony tail or large hair clip. It's also the perfect "park hat" because if it's too warm to wear a hat you can quickly convert it to the ear warmer, and keep the wind from those cute cupped ears my kiddos inherited from their dad! It can also be used as a regular head band with a cute twist in the middle or pulled down around the neck as a warm neckie. It's really quite versatile and I find it so comfy (especially in this double brushed poly) I didn't take my hat off until it was concert time yesterday!
P's head measured at 20" and since mine felt a little loose and I tried mine on her I decided to size down by 5 inches. It's actually a tad too small and does not make a slouchy beanie at all but she probably won't wear it as a hat anyways. However when out running errands today she asked me to flex it out to cover her ears because they were cold and I was so happy she had that option.
Bubba's hat was a total throw together, last minute, let's see how fast I can make this. He was napping so I guessed at his head size and made the smallest size and it's perfect. I even screwed up and sewed the band together inside out but opted to leave the seam on the outside for the "design element" look. HA! He looked like such a little hipster out at Costco today! I actually love the look of his so much I plan on making myself a few of these styles as well.
The best part about these hats and headwarmers (besides the fact that they are FREE) is that they take very little fabric and only require 2-4 seams. I think I put them all together from start to finish within an hour! And I had to find, print, trace and cut out Bubba's hat as well. So while I HOPE we see spring here in the Midwest soon, we have some really cute, comfy and practical hats to tie us over!
Wow! It all look so great! Congratulations!
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