I made some hats!!!

 I really enjoyed making these little hats. I keep a Pinterest board specifically for hats and these banded cloches/toques (?) have been calling me for some time. They seemed so easy to make and so ripe for decoration and embellishment. When caring for my skin cancer situation on the top of my head I needed some sort of coverage. It had to accommodate twice daily washes and applications of Vaseline and no head under the shower. To say it was nasty was an understatement and that lasted a few weeks. Baseball hats put pressure in the wrong spot and I never liked their style and kerchiefs seemed too tight. The looser top of these hats and the tighter band around the face held things in place with this hat and they looked like they would work out really well. However, I would have made these hats anyway. I think they are cute and they have been on my "to be made" list for a while. I now had the perfect excuse.  I will run you thru how easy they were and give you front, side and back views of the two I made. 

 The hat consists of three bands. One is the measurement around your head with a bit of ease. You decide but I found a bit under half an inch just right. The next two bands are both equal in size but an inch and a half larger then the facial band.  They are pieced together and gathered onto the facial band. 

The edge of the top band is stitched to a circle. I used and 8 1/2 inch circle but you can have fun and go smaller and gather it on. You will see different looks to the circle size on Pinterest. You decide.  I then made a lining for this one out of silk using just the circle and the two top bands and serging that all to the facial band. 

The fabric I used for this hat is one I dyed many years ago. I treasure my hand dyes, no matter how small the pieces and find they can be such fun to pull out and play with. They are the Barbie Dolls of my dotage. This is actually a vintage damask tablecloth I dyed maybe 30 years ago. It is so soft and I love the way it slouches in this hat. I like wearing it to the side and the scrimshaw pin to keep it that way. 

This hat is the same "pattern" but different fabrics so it falls differently. It does not want to drape to the side but looks good draped straight back and down. Without intention, the color and stiffness bring to mind the glorious headwear many of our black sewing sisters wear and that I admire. 

The orange bands are Essex Linen blend, one of my favorite fabrics and the white areas are some bull denim I stenciled and had leftover from a handbag project I did. I added a bit of piping to the join between the top band and the circle. I love the fun colors and I have a couple of outfits this hat will be perfect with. 

After getting the pieces all sewn together, minus the circle, I decided something was just missing. As I stared at the mess on my cutting table all the bits and bobs of leftover Essex linen stared back. I grabbed them and started raw cutting and sticking them down on the bands. Tadah! I went to the machine and did a raw edge applique on top of the painted band and it all came together. I put the whole thing together and then threw it in the washer and dryer to soften up the paints like they now were on my bag which had been washed many times and to give the raw edge applique a bit of a fluffy edge. It worked. The hat softened the bull denim and the paint and made things more wearable. I think it is great fun and can't wait to wear it with my periwinkle linen dress. Needless to say I will be keeping my head quite covered from here on in as well as other skin. I recently learned that a dear uncle who passed when I was a child passed from melanoma. I always thought it was throat cancer. So another family member to add to this scary list. I am so glad I love to wear hat and even happier I love making them and am able to share them with you . Stay covered, friends. Happy Sewing..................Bunny