Pass it on

I spent the afternoon with a wonderful young woman who wanted to learn the art of milinery (or hat making).  Jadee had seen one of my hats at a local craft fair and since I knew that she was in 4-H and learning sew, I asked if she would like to make one herself.  She took me up on the offer, and we made a hat this afternoon to accessorize her fashion review outfit.  She was a very quick learner for only have learned how to sew a couple years ago!  I had so much fun passing on things that I've learned and I also planted a few ideas about projects for next year! 

It's reversible, too!

Cutting out the pattern pieces.  Jadee learned how to use a rotary cutter on the main body of the hat.  This project pushed her a little outside her comfort zone because there was no pattern to follow.  We used a pattern that I designed and have never written down directions.  Jadee and I are now the only people to know the secret!

Sewing the bill of the cap.  This is a tricky part because of the thick interfacing used to stiffen the bill.

Pinning, pinning, and more pinning.  Because the structure of a hat is circular and the pattern pieces are rectangular, pinning is a must.  But because of her patience prepping the pieces, the sewing went smoothly.

This is the final step of topstitching the bottom edge of the hat so that the hole used to turn the hat right-side-out gets closed.  Jadee and I agreed that this project is unique in that it doesn't require the edges to be zig-zagged since the unfinished edges are all hidden inside the hat.