Buffalo Check Country Earflap Hat

First order of business: today is my first post for Petit a Petit + Family. I'm sharing a pattern for a sewn pixie bonnet called the Blizzard Bonnet. I must knit a million pixie bonnets every Christmas, how did I not think of sewing one sooner?! Cute. Fast. Seasonally appropriate if your city got slammed with 22" of snow over the weekend. Go check it out.

In the spirit of fairness, and toasty ears, I made J a hat too. You can never have too many in the dead of winter when things get lost between home and school, or coat closet and front door. This bright buffalo check is not likely to be mistaken for someone else's in the school coat room. So, new hats for both kids made with the last odd pieces of Robert Kaufman Mammoth Flannel in Red Buffalo Check left over from my Tamarac Jacket. I can't rave enough about this flannel, sturdy and soft all at the same time. Perfect for outerwear. I used what sherpa fleece I could get at Joann, but I don't recommend what they have on the shelf. The quality is pretty poor and not equal to the flannel. I recommend the Shannon Fabrics Sherpa from fabric.com. It is thicker and warmer, but still acrylic so it's won't retain moisture from melting snowball fights. 

The pattern is the Country Earflap Hat by Worthy Goods. This hat is fun to sew and fun to wear, possibly explaining why this is my fourth one. I used black corduroy from my local fabric shop for the bias binding, and the underside of the brim. The pattern is not written for bias binding but I wanted the detailing to have something in common with the Blizzard Bonnet. 

Maybe you noticed that the mittens match. If the kids ever go back to school I will have the mitten pattern to share, too. 

Things are getting out of hand. I think it's time to go home. 

Credits:
Pattern: Country Earflap Hat by Worthy Goods
Main Fabric: Mammoth Flannel by Robert Kaufman
Lining Fabric: Shanon Fabrics Sherpa Fleece from Fabric.com
Bias Binding: Self Made with Black Corduroy from Fleishman Fabrics on Fabric Row

Pixie Bonnet Pattern in all the same fabrics on Petit a Petit and Family today!

STYLO Restyled : Worthy Goods Country Ear Flap Hat

My online crafting career started with an Etsy shop in 2010. One of my very first favorite shops was Worthy Goods filled with Dory's effortlessly cozy hats and accessories inspired by her enviable Maine lifestyle. Lucky for the online sewing world her designs are available as PDF patterns. I made the Country Ear Flap Hat for Hansel's Stylo look, and immediately saw it's future potential. So many opportunities for cozy linings (sherpa, fleece, flannel) and durable exteriors (tartan, moleskin, corduroy).

It is really hard to find interesting sewing patterns for little boys that aren't too fussy or too weird (FYI Worthy Goods has other hat patterns!). As everybody already knows, I have a son and a daughter, the Country Ear Flap Hat is exactly the sort of pattern I will make again and again for both kids, and their little friends. I'm starting my Holiday gift making with a bang with two new hats for a couple of J's friends. They are reasonably fast to make, and require little fabric relative to most clothing. Our friends will have toasty warm ears this winter.

PATTERN: Country Ear Flap Hat by Worthy Goods is available in a child's size and two adult sizes. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know I love a basic, well fitting pattern that allows for a ton of customization. The Country Ear Flap Hat is exactly that. Simple changes in fabric make each hat totally different. After taping together 7,000 sheets of paper for PDF garment sewing, it's a breath of fresh air that this pattern doesn't require a single piece of tape and consists of only 3 pieces.

FABRIC: The dark green exterior is moleskin, the light green is heavy weight wool blend. Both are lined with bright orange flannel, and the earflaps are lined with faux sherpa. I whole heartedly recommend all the fabrics except the sherpa. I was too cheap to buy the organic cotton, and too impatient to wait for the nicer polyester on back order. In a pinch I bought this at Joann, and the quality is pretty terrible. Next time I would spring for the organic cotton version, the expense is totally worth it to match the quality of the other fabrics and the design. I used a covered button kit for the moleskin. The wool was much to thick for a kit covered button, so I found an acceptable vintage button in my stash.

FIT/SIZE: For Stylo I made J the child size. Its a bit snug, and the boys I have in mind for these hats both have lots of thick hair, so I made the adult small size just incase. This size fits me, but since I also have thick hair, I will be making the adult large for myself. The child size fits L (5) well.

ALTERATIONS/SEWING TIPS: No Alterations. Next time I would cut back the brim facing in a smooth line. I don't remember what the pattern calls for but I instinctively notched it, and the notches show through the moleskin fabric. The wool is a bit thicker and hides this flaw. When I sewed up the brim, I gave all the seams a good pressing before sewing the last one. Its tough to get your iron up into the top of the crown after the whole thing is assembled.

You can find Dory's fantastic ready made accessories and patterns in her Worthy Goods shop. Please check out her website, and I highly recommend her instagram feed for lots of examples of her recent work. I guess I should say I got this pattern for free. I wanted something unique so I went outside of the normal Stylo pattern providers (and outside of my normal introverted comfort zone) and asked Dory if she would give me a copy on my own. Therefore, I feel like my praise is genuine.

The only Stylo piece I have left to highlight is the self drafted vest. I am hoping to share the pattern I made, but as all you sewist can imagine, that is taking longer than I thought. It is very nearly ready...Stay tuned!

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More STYLO Restyled

Free Toddler Witch Hat Sewing Pattern

I have a vast archive of homemade halloween costumes that I have never blogger about. If L looks conspicuously young in this photo, its because its two years old. And the hat was made almost two years before that. Yes, L was a witch for her first halloween. I wanted to make her a hat that would stay on her little toddler head, and that she would be pretty likely to keep on. The result has a very tall point, a very short brim, and very cute on a tiny little witch. 

This free pattern includes a PDF download of pattern pieces, and the pictorial instructions shown below. There are only 3 pieces to this hat, and only 4 seams to sew. I made the hat out of synthetic felt from Joann. Sewing with felt is sort of like sewing with construction paper, it's easy to work with and there are no seams to finish. All of this makes this little witch hat the perfect starter sewing project. 

For me the fun part is adding the decoration. Sure it could be a plain ol' witch hat, but I love this oversized purple felt bow. I sewed on a giant green plastic spider that was a birthday party favor, but you could use one of the mountains of spider rings your kid brought home last year, or pick some other little creepy crawly up at the party supply store. 

Download Pattern Here:

FREE TODDLER WITCH HAT PATTERN

Sizing:
12 Months - 2T approximately 18 1/2" head circumference.

Supplies:
Scissors
Tape
1/2 Yard Black Craft Felt  54" Wide
Matching Thread

Optional Embelishments:
Ribbon
Yarn for pompoms
Plastic Creepy Crawlies

1. Print pattern pieces, use the 1" square box on each sheet to be sure it is the correct size.

2. Match up the grid and the letters in the corner of each page, then tape the pattern pieces together.

3. cut out each pattern piece on the cut line. Pin pattern pieces to fabric, aligning with fold where indicated, but out fabric.

5. Here are the pieces first folded in half, then unfolded. You will have cut 1 Hat Crown, and 2 Brim pieces. One will be the Top Brim, one will be the Bottom Brim.

6. Right sides together (hint - wool felt has no wrong side!), fold the crown piece in half at the fold line. Sew a line of stitching 1/2" from the open edge. Back stitch at the beginning and the end as close to the cut edge as possible. 

7.Trim the corner of the tip. Press open the resulting seam. Carefully turn the crown piece right side out. Use a knitting needle, or pencil tip, to push the tip of the cone of the crown to the sharpest point possible without pushing a hole in the end of the cone. 

8. Using a long basting stitch, sew 1/2 line around the bottom brim piece. Trim from edge up to (but not through) the line of basting at 1" intervals. Flatten the tabs to be perpendicular to the cone of the crown.

9. Place the top brim over the point of the crown. Align the inside edge of the top brim piece with the basted line on the crown. Pin the top brim to the tabs along the bottom edge of the crown making sure they are flat up against the top brim piece. Sew the crown to the top brim by sewing a seam 1/8" from the inside edge of the top brim.  

10. Place the Crown/Top Brim assembly on top of the Bottom Brim piece. Make sure that all of the edges of the two Brim pieces align, and that the tabs of the Crown are sandwiched between the two Brim pieces. Pin along the inside and outside edges.

11. Sew the Bottom Brim piece to the Top Brim/Crown assembly 1/4" from the inner edge of the Top Crown piece. Sew the two Brims together 1/4" from the outer Brim edge.

12. Lightly press your hat (make sure to use the lowest setting on your iron if you are using synthetic felt). Embellish as desired. 

This is my first attempt at multi piece pattern sharing.  Please send any helpful feedback to:

 sweetkm1 (at) yahoo (dot) com 

Share your finished projects on instagram:

@kristi_sweetkm

#sweetkmpatterns

Boy's Winter Hat and Mittens

This year's hat and mittens for J have been a long time coming. I finished the hat so long ago I can't remember when he started wearing it. The mittens are hot off the needles. Yesterday, while walking home from coffee I realized J was wearing a picture worthy outfit, so we hurried home to document my triumph over procrastination.
The body color is  Paton's Classic Wool in Dark Gray Marl, that I impulse bought at A.C. Moore. The blue is also Paton's Classic Wool (Royal Blue, maybe?) from a  few years ago, and the green is from my Wool of the Andes stash (Grass, I think). I fully intended to keep it simple this time around, and knit matching hat and mittens in solid Marl, for the understated sophistication befitting of an almost 7 year old. But somehow a few bright colors found their way onto the needles (as usual!).

Both patterns are my own, and an expansion on the basics. The mittens are a soon to be added size for the Simple Ribbed Mitten pattern.

Color Pop Hat and Mittens

Sometimes I buy a yarn because I love it, and I want to caress it, and gaze at it, and hold it close to my heart forever. This, is that kind of yarn. I have been hoarding this mottled ball of perfection for just the right moment. Its super soft and warm, and the single ply gives it a little halo of snuggly softness. But, its time to stop being stingy. Winter is well upon my corner of the world, and this yarn is perfect for a 14 degree wait for the school bus. 

Both hat and mittens have a rolled edge and a pop of color, the minimal shaping lets the color and texture of the yarn speak for itself. L will be wearing this set at the bus stop tomorrow morning. Get your HAT and MITTENS at SweetKM.

Simple styling, toasty wool, the next polar vortex doesn't stand a chance. 

Listed : Big Kid Pixie Bonnet

My pixie bonnet pattern has grown with my kids, and this is the logical next step. I replaced the chin strap with strings for little ones who want to dress them selves. This version has a double thickness of worsted weight yarn to keep tender ears extra warm on the recent 20 degree days. 

Finished versions, in colors perfect for a March Easter, are available in the shop.

Ribbed Bonnet

Here is a little preview of the hats that will be showing up in the shop in the next few days. Cozy and simple, great for a boy or a girl. This gray blue really makes L's blue eyes pop.

I'm hoping for some sunnier weather so we can take some brighter photos. The weather and I are clearly not on the same schedule.

Not a Pixie Bonnet

How many pixie bonnets can one baby wear? Answer, 5 0r 6, but its nice to have something a little different every now and again.

Pattern: My own.

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

Striped Hat & Mittens

My contribution to the Ginia18 & SweetKM trade. A worsted wool, striped hat and mittens.
This will definitely be in the shop, probably as the set.

iddy Biddy Bonnets

SweetKM is back up and running, and I'm ready to whip up more pixie bonnets.
Pure wool worsted weight yarn to keep ears toasty, embellished with a rainbow yo-yo and vintage button.

I was contemplating adding a few new colors, but for now its the standard coral, green and purple.So I just added mittens, with a handy little pull tab.

Eight

For a blonde I know who is turning 8. I'm not sure 8 year olds appreciate homemade gifts, but she is probably used to it by now. She might like it better if there was a matching one for her doll. Hmmmm...

Beret Pattern: Hannah Fettig, Simple Beret

Glove Pattern: My own variation on a vintage style

Yarn: Knit Picks Worsted Weight Wool of the Andes Wonderland Heather

Next time I may go with a chunkier yarn or bigger needle for the beret. My gauge swatch was right on, but it seems a little small for an adult. Lucky I was making it for an 8 year old.