List of cap and hat links
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Steps in making a baseball cap: 1. Select a pattern and make a mockup. There are a number of commercial patterns to choose from. Virginia Avery's Hats: A Heady Affair, is an excellent book on hatmaking, with patterns included. The mockup is a practice hat so you know it fits and looks well on you, and you get experience using the pattern of your choice. Pick fun, lively fabrics-make the cap reversible, so you understand how the lining works when you make the crazy version of the cap. Try different versions-make sure you find a hat you like before you embellish one. NOTE: We won't make a mockup hat in class.
2. For the crazy hat, trace the pattern onto muslin. Cut out the pieces with a wide margin; the cutting doesn't have to be accurate, but be sure to leave plenty of room outside the lines, to allow for distortion of the fabric after the fashion fabrics are applied and then embellished. I find it helpful to use a black felt-tipped pen that will show on both sides.
3. Place your fabrics and pin them in place, then sew them down. I like to sew by hand, but it's faster by machine. Now embroider to your heart's content. I chose a theme for my caps; gardening for my first cap, and butterflies for the second. Since the cap is quite small, it helps to have a theme to unify the sections of the cap. When I'm finished embroidering, I take the pattern and lay it on top, and trim the excess fabric away.
4. It's difficult to machine stitch the seams after embellishing, so I wait until the sections have been sewn together. Then I go crazy with beads, buttons, and other findings. The brim is attached later.
After turning the cap inside out, I whipstitch the seams down, which helps give the cap body.
5. After the brim is fully embellished, it's sewn to the lining and the interfacing to stiffen the brim. There is a wide variety of interfacings to use; I've been satisfied with buckram, though I have had to use a wire to keep the brim's shape. After the brim has been turned right side out, use your finger inside the brim's seam to smooth it out.
6. When the brim has been sewn onto the cap, you're ready to sew the lining together, then attach it to the cap. Turn the cap right side out and at the seam line, hand or machine stitch the seam allowance down. The arrow in the photo below is pointing to the beads I used to hide my stitches along the seamline where the brim meets the cap.
7. The last step is to finish the back of the cap and add the elastic closure. Pin the elastic band on one side, sew the opening until you reach your second to last pin, then slip the end of the elastic into the opening and finish sewing.
The finished cap
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Introduction * Book List and Useful Websites * Class Instructor Getting Started * Embroidery * Embellishments * Finishing edie53@acsalaska.net     Site sponsored by Caribou Web Design