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Transcript:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Helen:​ Hello and welcome to Love To Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew and it’s basically all we wanna talk about.

Caroline: We’re back for the spring season with an episode all about sewing hats. We talk about special materials and techniques you’ll only see in the world of hat making, talk about hat styles from easy to advanced, and reveal the hats that we made.

Helen: If you love to sew, this is your show.

Caroline: Hi.

Helen: We’re back, baby.

Caroline: We are back for the spring season. I’m so excited.

Helen: Me too. And before we get into it, as always…

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: We want to give you a little reminder that you can join us over on Patreon. If you missed us over the winter break, we were over there chatting up a storm about everything that’s going on in our lives and sharing it with our Patreon and Apple Podcast subscribers. So you can always join us over there if you want more content. You get access to bonus content every month and we have a lot of fun catching up on those more casual episodes.

Caroline: We really do. It means so much if you’re able to support us, even if it’s just for a month or two. But if that’s not in the cards right now, we totally get it. If you want to support us for free, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. We haven’t asked for this in a while, and we would really love to get some more recent reviews, so please do.

Helen: Yes, please do. And above all, thank you so much for listening. Thank you for joining us for our Spring 2026 season of Love to Sew. Oh, it’s gonna be a good one.

Caroline: It is.

Helen: We have so, so many fun things planned.

Caroline: Yes, we have a great season planned. So like we said, this is the first episode of our spring 2026 season. We have so many exciting topics and guests coming up, plus lots of our new favourite format, the We Sew episodes, including this one today. But before we get into the main topic, let’s do, like, a little mini-catchup, Helen. Give people a taste of what we do on Patreon and Apple Podcasts.

Helen: It was a pretty great winter break. Obviously, the holidays are always lovely, and we came out swinging in the new year with a couple of new patterns. We had our Solstice Hoodie and our Evergreen Sweatpants come out the first week of January, which was really fun. Great way to kick off the new year. And I have even more exciting news because, later this week on March 12th, we’re gonna be launching a new pattern, and I’m so excited. The Holmes Dress will be coming your way on March 12th, so keep your eyes peeled for that. And other than that, it’s officially my wedding year, Caroline. It’s official.

Caroline: Oh my gosh. I am so excited that I’ve already booked my ferry, my hotel. We’re, like, eight months out and I’m like, “I can go now. I’m ready.”

Helen: That’s good, though. Things get busy around here in the summer, so I’m glad to hear it. And we’re not eight months out, Caroline. I got the six month notification the other day.

Caroline: It’s true. Oh my gosh. Six months. What month is it? I don’t know. It’s been a blur.

Helen: And by the time this episode comes out, it’s gonna be, like, five months, like, it’s…August feels so far away. But I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not, because I have so much to do and, like, it’s still winter, so I’m just like, “Whatever. I mean, I got tons of time.”

Caroline: You’ve been really checking things off the list, though. Every time I talk to you, I feel like you are working on a new project. You’ve got so many things on the go. You’re totally making progress.

Helen: Yes, we’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting at this point. I’ve got my photographer, we’ve sorted out all of our rentals, all the stuff we need to rent for the wedding, which is more than you think. So many things. Turns out every person needs a fork. What?

Caroline: That’s crazy.

Helen: Yeah, a lot of that kind of detail stuff has already been sorted. So we’re in the, like, DIY phase where I’m like, “What can I make for the wedding and how long is it gonna take me to make it?” So that I can make sure that it gets done, including the wedding dress. So I am working on my own wedding dress, which I’m sure we’ll share more about as time goes on, and I’m very excited to share with our listeners. So more on that later, but so far, so good.

Caroline: Oh my gosh, yes. I have seen a couple of iterations, but I don’t think you’ve decided on your final design yet.

Helen: No. I’m still in the design phase. I’m just, ideas, you know.

Caroline: Like I said, you have so much time and you’re so not a last minute person, so I just, like, have so much faith that you’re gonna get it all done. And also, you’re in the best phase right now. The DIY phase? What a dream. With lots of time ahead of you.

Helen: That’s true. So fun. And we’re doing a lot of stuff for the wedding ourselves. Like we’re catering it ourselves, which I know people are gonna be like, “Oh my God, don’t do that.” Don’t worry. It’s okay. It’s gonna be great.

Caroline: If anyone can do it, Sam can do it.

Helen: Sam can do it. Sam and Melinda, my friend who’s hosting our wedding, both worked as professional caterers and event food people. So they have a lot of experience and they know what they’re doing and it should be good.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Yeah, and the wedding’s cazh, so we’re just gonna pull it off and everyone’s gonna get something to eat and it will be fine. And then we’re also all growing all of our own flowers.

Caroline: Wow.

Helen: So that’s the other thing we’re doing right now, is starting all the flower seeds so that we can grow all the flowers. My friend has a big garden that she’s just, like, letting me grow, the entire thing is gonna be flowers.

Caroline: Wow. Is this the pepper patch? Have you converted the pepper patch into a flower patch?

Helen: The pepper patch is now a flower patch, plus the rest of her garden. ‘Cause she’s like, I’m just gonna focus on the wedding. I’m not gonna do tomatoes. I’m not gonna do veggies.

Caroline: Oh my gosh.

Helen: I’m just gonna do flowers. So the whole thing is gonna be flowers, which is gonna be so fun and so beautiful. And yeah, we’re probably gonna have a lot. So that’ll be magical, to have all these flowers that we grew ourselves and, yeah, I’m excited.

Caroline: Wait, what kind of flowers? I’m so excited for you. That’s so fun. Have you picked all your varieties?

Helen: So many. I don’t, I want just, like, a smorgasbord of color and texture and, like, I don’t really have a strong theme. If anything, the theme is rainbow. Like, give it to, everything, I want it all. So we’ve got lots of straw flowers and…

Caroline: Oh, I love straw flowers, they’re so beautiful.

Helen: We’re gonna do dahlias and zinnias and, oh my gosh, sunflowers, everything, purple tansy. We’ve got a bunch of dried flowers from last season that we already grew and dried. So there’s tons of like, textural things like sea holly and stuff like that. It’s gonna be really cool.

Caroline: Wow. And you’re gonna make all your flower arrangements, of course.

Helen: Yes, of course. I mean, I’m sure they won’t be professional, but they will be flowers in a vase and they will look great.

Caroline: Oh, that’s fun. I have great memories from the day before our wedding when all of the gals from my family came together and we all arranged all of our, like, table flower arrangements. ‘Cause we got flowers from a farm in bulk. That’s gonna be great. It doesn’t have to be, like, a fancy professional arrangement. Flowers just look good no matter what you do.

Helen: No, flowers are beautiful. Yeah, exactly. And I’ve been collecting all these glass coloured vases, so it’s just gonna be, like, a real feast for the eyes. And our wedding’s late August, so I think that will be good timing for a lot of the flowers, plus the dried ones that we have. So I think we’ll have a, an abundance. It’ll be great.

Caroline: Oh, I love it.

Helen: Yeah. I’m so excited. More on the wedding as the months go on. And then when we come back for our fall season, I’ll have much to talk about because I will have just gotten married, so that will be really fun.

Caroline: Aw, okay, well, we can look forward to that. We’ll look forward to our next beginning of the season catch-up already.

Helen: What a teaser.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: No, you’ll have to join us on Patreon if you want all the nitty gritty about the wedding.

Caroline: Yeah. We’re gonna be catching up about it every month. It will be the focus of our catch-ups. Absolutely.

Helen: But Caroline, tell me about your winter break and what’s been going on with you. What’s new?

Caroline: It was really nice. I mean, I feel like I got a lot of relaxation in, and we stayed here in Vancouver for the Christmas break, the holiday break, and our families came to us. Shea’s family came down. I hosted a dinner with them and my brother came to that, as well, with his family. And then my parents came down and we did a whole Christmas dinner with them a few days later. And It was just, like, really lovely and cozy and tons and tons of family time and lots of just, like, recharging for the new year. Last year was wild. And it ended up working out, things worked out, things were fine, but it was, like, a stressful year at work. And obviously, so much going on in the world that was stressful, as well. So it was really nice to just have some downtime. And that’s kind of my ,like, mindset going into this year, too, is like, I just, I don’t wanna be stressed. I feel like a broken record. ‘Cause I know I’ve talked about this on the podcast before, but owning a business can be stressful and I’m just, like, really focusing on balance, really focusing on, like, taking the time off that I need and getting outside, seeing the sun every day, even if it’s covered in clouds.

Helen: Very important. Mmhmm.

Caroline: So yeah, this year so far has been a lot of that, like, just balance. I’ve been getting into swimming again, which I’m really excited about. So I’ve been doing, like, a weekly lap swim at the community pool near me, and that has been really fun. And I, I used to be a swimmer, synchronized swimmer when I was a kid, so it’s also very nostalgic, just like, the pool smell and pool vibes.

Helen: So great.

Caroline: So that’s been really good. And lots of walks and things. Shea and I have been getting into the habit of going down to this dog beach near our house. So we go a few times a week with our two dogs and they love it so much and it’s just been this, like, really nice kind of ritual that we have now where it’s like, “Let’s just drive down to the beach.” Takes like 15 minutes and we get a good like 30 minute walk in and the dogs run around and they get to socialize with other dogs a lot. And, um, having that as, like, part of our routine has been really awesome, too.

Helen: Oh my gosh, and the days are getting longer. So, soon you’ll be able to go after work and watch the sunset.

Caroline: Helen, yes! I know. Yesterday when I left work it was still light out and I, like, did a happy dance. I was like, “Finally, I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting for this day.” Yes. Oh my gosh, it’s the best. But at Blackbird, we have exciting things happening, too. We did some little experimentation before the break, before the holidays, with in-person shopping. We set a few days and wanted to try it out and see how it went. And I can’t remember if I’ve had a chance to talk about it on the main podcast, but those in-person shopping days were so successful. Like, we heard the local community loud and clear: you all want to come and shop in person. We had so many people come in, they were so busy, they were so fun. Everyone really showed up and just showed us, like, okay, this is something that we need to be doing. And so we committed to doing once a month in 2026 and it’s been going really well. So I’m excited to keep doing it. And we’re trying to announce the dates as far in advance as we can. It’s a little tricky because we kind of have to time it with, like, our big releases. We don’t want to be really busy with, like, shipping orders when we are also doing an in-person shopping day ’cause inventory can get tricky. So we can’t announce them too far in advance, but we’re trying our best and we’re also trying to have some variety in terms of, like, what day of the week and time. And we might experiment with a weekend day in the next few months, So it’s just really exciting. It’s a really nice change of pace to have people in our space and get to, like, meet our local customers. And there’s been people traveling from out of town to come and you got to come to one of our in-person shopping days.

Helen: Oh, it was so fun. I loved it.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: The vibes were so good and seeing the fabrics in person, even for someone like me, who buys a lot of Blackbird fabrics and have experienced most of the things you carry, like, getting to see the deadstock and the, like, more unusual fabrics in person was so fun. And it really gives you a better idea of the textiles and what you’re gonna make with them. And you can look at them in the mirror and see how they complement your skin tone and stuff. It, it’s so fun. And there’s so much of that happening in-store and everybody was, like, deciding what they were gonna make and talking about their projects together, which is just delightful. It’s a great place to be.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s, it’s such good vibes. Like, it is so fun to talk to people about what they wanna make. And when you were there we got to have some really fun chats with folks about what they were planning and helping them pick out fabrics. It’s fun to see what is popular in person, too. ‘Cause sometimes it’s different than what’s popular online. So I think it could impact our buying decisions a little bit moving forward. And another fun thing is that, historically, we’ve sort of declined certain types of deadstock, like, from local designers that is in small pieces. ‘Cause it takes time to photograph and make listings and, you know, ship out fabrics. So small cuts are not worth it to put on our website, unfortunately. So we’ve had to kind of pass up on some really cool deadstock in the past because we just were like, we can’t justify putting five meters online. You know? It’ll sell in a second. But now, because we’re doing this in-person shopping thing and we can just sort of price things as they come in and not have to put them on the website, it’s opening some doors in terms of what we can accept. So that’s really exciting. If you do come in person, you’re gonna be seeing some exclusive deadstock finds and, you know, little things that you’re definitely not gonna see online. And we’re also thinking about what is gonna sell in person. So more, like, cute things that are tough to ship or, I don’t know, the kinds of things that you would see in a retail shop versus online.

Helen: Yeah, totally. Fun notions and stuff or just, like, sewing accessories and things. I could see people grabbing that kind of stuff in person, for sure. Yeah. Ooh, I’m excited for you. And people are definitely gonna travel if they know that it’s an option. Like, Vancouver’s such a great travel destination and I’m sure people would love to visit Blackbird, so they’ll be planning their trips around this.

Caroline: I know. Especially in the summertime, it’s such a great time to visit. So we will try to announce our dates in advance as much as we can and we’ll be definitely doing a weekend day upcoming. So yeah, looking forward to that. Well, on that note, should we move on to talking about hats?

Helen: Yes. We’re back again. We’re ready to put on our thinking caps, so to speak, and talk all about sewing hats, which is a subject we haven’t explored much on the podcast, and we also have not explored much in our personal sewing practices. So this was a really fun opportunity for us to try sewing hats and experiment a bit more. I know we’ve both sewn bucket hats, but today we’re gonna talk about all sorts of other hats that you can make and, yeah, let’s get into it.

Caroline: Let’s do it. So hats are a little bit like lingerie or bags…lingerie, linger, lingerie? We’ve talked about this on the show before

Helen: I think it’s, uh, I think it’s, linger-y.

Caroline: Linger-y. Okay, perfect. However you pronounce it. It’s beautiful, but it is a lot like lingerie and bags. They don’t use a lot of fabric, which is really nice. And there are some styles that are really simple to make and quick to make, which is amazing.

Helen: Mmhmm.

Caroline: There are also special techniques and materials that you don’t see in regular garment sewing and that can scare people away. So today we’re gonna talk about some of those and hopefully demystify them. And we’ll also talk about different hat types and patterns. And to cap it all off, surprise! It’s not really a surprise ’cause we’ve already teased this, but this is like a hybrid We Sew episode, so at the end of the episode, we’re gonna do a big reveal and talk about the hats that we sewed. ‘Cause we sewed hats today. Well, not today, but…

Helen: Yes, and I cannot wait to see your hat. I’m so excited.

Caroline: Oh, I am so excited to reveal it to you. So yeah, let’s get going Helen. Let’s do it.

Helen: We’re gonna start by going over some of those special hat materials and techniques. The biggest thing that separates hat sewing from garment sewing is probably the structure. There are definitely less-structured hats that are easy for beginners to sew, but there’s also a whole world of highly-structured hats that you can learn about, and there are some in-between hats that have just a little bit of structure.

Caroline: A lot of hats, especially the kind that you can buy patterns for, use regular degular fusible or sew-in interfacing. And the weight you use depends on the style of hat and how flexible you would like your brim to be. So the shorter the brim, the less structure it’s gonna need to hold a good shape. For example, if you’re using a lightweight cotton to make a bucket hat, you can use medium weight fusible interfacing on the brim. And if you’re making a sun hat with a wider brim, you might need more structure, either a stiffer interfacing or millinery wire around the edge or both. So we’re gonna talk about that wire in a minute. One benefit of using regular interfacing is that they are waterproof and washable.

Helen: Buckram is an interfacing that’s specific to hat making. It’s a loose weave cloth, usually cotton, that’s been treated with glue or sizing. It’s very stiff and lightweight. And you connect pieces of buckram by wetting the edges and then sealing them with the tip of an iron. And buckram hats cannot get wet. They’re not supposed to get wet. So keep that in mind. The process of making a buckram hat goes like this. You’re gonna make your mockup, and you can make mockups out of poster board so that it has a similar structure to the buckram. Of course, if you have a pattern, you might not need to make a mockup to check the shape. But if you really wanna get it right the first time, it’s always a good idea to make a mockup. And then you make the structure of the hat out of the buckram. Connect the pieces using that wetting and ironing process we talked about. Use a press cloth to avoid getting any sizing or glue on your iron. Then you add your millinery wire if you need it, and use your main fabrics to cover the buckram structure. This is traditionally done by hand, which makes sense because the 3D shape isn’t always possible to wedge into your machine without crushing it. And then, finally, you add any of the embellishments. So we’re gonna link an article from Threads where milliner John Koch teaches how to make a fascinator base with these techniques. It’s really cool to see the process, so definitely check it out. And by the way, “millinery” is another word for hat making, if you’ve not heard that term before. But yeah, picture all those amazing hats that the royal family is always wearing. The fascinators, you know, with all the structure and then all the accoutrements on top, feathers and all that jazz. You can make that. You absolutely can. It’s totally possible, using buckram. Incredible.

Caroline: Okay. Small side note: my niece, who is six, went to a friend’s birthday party and it was fascinator themed, so they all, all these little kiddos wore fascinators. I don’t know, kids these days, just…

Helen: That’s so fun. I love that as a theme. Or you could make little fascinators as a party theme. That would be fun.

Caroline: Yeah. Millinery wire is another way to give structure to your hats. You can make a channel at the edge of your brim where you can insert the wire, or if you’re making a hat out of buckram or something similar, you can hand sew it to the edge of the structural layer with a whip stitch.

Helen: And for some hats, you can use a brim insert. You can buy pre-cut brim inserts. Some are flat, some are shaped. Picture, like, a baseball hat. And you can take apart a worn out hat to reuse the brim insert, which is a great way to repurpose. Former guest, Cornelius Quiring, has a video with a free pattern for sewing a baseball cap, so you can see exactly how to insert that brim into the cap and topstitch it.

Caroline: Some people make their own brim inserts out of things like flexible plastic cutting boards, plastic binder covers, or even cardboard if you don’t plan to get the hat wet. Just keep in mind that if you want to do topstitching, you’re gonna want to choose a material that you can sew through. I don’t wanna give a spoiler, but I really would love to make a cap one day.

Helen: Oh, I see, so you didn’t make a cap. Interesting. Well, I don’t wanna give any spoilers, but sewing through these cap inserts is actually not as hard as you might think.

Caroline: Oh my gosh! Okay.

Helen: Okay, we’re gonna link a few online shops in the show notes for this episode where you can buy some of these specialty materials. Judith M., hatmakingsupplies.com,, and Petersham’s are all great places to go to get these kinds of supplies.

Caroline: So we have a few sewing tips for sewing hats. Some hats need hand sewing, so being confident about your hand sewing skills is really gonna come in handy for adding embellishments, too. Sometimes you can use a regular straight needle, and sometimes you actually need a curved needle. So if you ever feel like you almost need to bend your needle to get it through the stitches, that’s when you want a curved needle.

Helen: Those curved needles are so cool. Like, you would feel like a total badass if you’re using that curved needle.

Caroline: I’ve never used a curved needle. I gotta get into it.

Helen: Oh, so you didn’t use a curved needle? Just gonna narrow it down and then guess what hat you made. If you’re not feeling super confident in your hand sewing skills, we do recommend watching Bernadette Banner’s video about hand sewing. One of our favourite hand sewing tips is to sew a few back stitches right on top of each other at the beginning and end of your seam. It’s way stronger than just a knot, which can actually pull through your fabric. And it looks nice, too. So Bernadette Banner has a ton of resources about hand sewing. Definitely check that out.

Caroline: And you can add some structure to your brim by top stitching lines across it, like quilting. The closer together the lines are, the firmer the structure is going to be.

Helen: I’ve done this on the brim of a sun hat before, in lieu of interfacing. If you just sew a ton of lines in a circle, like the rings of Saturn, it adds a lot of structure. And then you can actually, like, fold it over on top of your head and stuff, like, it’s really cool. A hump jumper is a really handy tool for getting your seam started when you’re sewing with thick layers. It’s just a tool that you slide under the foot and it evens the foot out so it’s not sitting at an angle. And if you don’t wanna buy the special hump jumper tool, you can slide something under the back of the foot, like a flat needle pack. Those little plastic needle packs work really well. And if you have a machine with a little black button on the side, that’s a self-leveling presser foot, so you can use that instead of a hump jumper. You push that little button and it prevents the foot from angling forward and backwards. So we’ll link an article that explains more about how to use that.

Caroline: Okay. Okay. So we also have a few fabric tips. If you’re making a summer hat, you want to think about choosing lighter fabrics. Denim and canvas seem like a good idea until you’re out in the heat wearing two layers on your head. If you absolutely must use a heavier fabric, use a lighter one for the lining.

Helen: I did that for my first sun hat. I used denim. Denim on denim, double layer denim.

Caroline: Yeah, that would be hot, for sure.

Helen: It’s so hot. It was so cute and it held its structure really well. And it looked great in my sewing room. And then as soon as I wore it outside, I was like, “Major mistakes were made.” You might wanna choose smooth lining fabrics for your hat lining, like satin or rayon bemberg. They’ll cause less friction on your hair. And you can even add a satin lining on hats that wouldn’t typically have them. Melly Sews has a tutorial for making a stretch satin-lined beanie. That’s pretty cool.

Caroline: Ooh, that would be comfy. I feel like I would take it off and my hair would just, like, stick up from the static, though.

Helen: If it was poly satin, probably. If you used, like, actual silk to line like your bucket hat, I mean, power move. Love that.

Caroline: That would be fancy. And before we move on to some of the popular hat styles that you can sew, we want to talk about a medium-effort option, which is buying ready-made hat bodies and then embellishing them yourself. It’s amazing how much more affordable a hat is if it doesn’t have a hat band on it. Hat bodies, also called hat bases, are finished hats that just aren’t decorated. So you can find them in straw, raffia, felt, poly braid, and more. Just make sure not to buy unblocked hat bodies, because those are for hat makers who plan to block them into a different shape.

Helen: And most hat bands and embellishments are just tacked onto place with hand stitches. Easy to do and undo when you wanna change it up. And a great excuse to use all those fun trims that you always see at the fabric store that you wanna use, but you can’t think of what you’re gonna use them on.

Caroline: Mmhmm. Embroidery would be so beautiful on a hat.

Helen: Yes, I did a little craft with my friends where we took store-bought baseball hats and we, like, hot glued designs onto the front of them and then embroidered over it to get it to look, like, kind of three-dimensional. You see it a lot on social media and Pinterest.

Caroline: Oh, how cute! Yeah.

Helen: And it actually worked really well and it was super fun. You get this, like, bubble embroidery look and the inside’s just full of hot glue, which is hilarious.

Caroline: I love it. That sounds really, really beautiful and fun. I wanna see this hat that you made.

Helen: I haven’t finished it.

Caroline: Oh, okay.

Helen: It’s half done and it looks incredible.

Caroline: It’s in the pile. It’s in the WIP pile. Oh my gosh. Okay. I can hardly wait. But before we get into the hats that we made, let’s talk about some of the most popular hat styles that you can make, starting with the easiest one.

Helen: Yes: berets. Berets are super easy. The simplest kind is made from just three pieces. A flat circle, a flat circle with a hole in it for your head, and a strip of binding. You can use a thicker fabric like a traditional wool felt, or you can interface a lighter weight fabric. We’ll link a free tutorial by the last stitch that will show you how to draft your own beret. Our assistant, Lisa, made a beret recently and it was the cutest thing ever. So, definitely recommend checking out berets if you haven’t thought of making one.

Caroline: Yes. Okay. The bucket hat is a sewing community favourite for a reason. You can make it with regular sewing materials, and it’s super cute. I love when people make matching hats to go with their me-made outfits. The brim is short enough that you don’t have to worry too much about adding structure. Regular medium weight interfacing is totally fine. And sun hats are usually like bucket hats, but with wider brims. You may need to add millinery wire or stiffer interfacing, but it’s worth it to make a custom, one-of-a-kind sun hat in a cool fabric.

Helen: Yes, this is the genre of hat sewing that I have the experience with. Until this episode, I’d only ever made bucket hats and sun hats and they’re so easy and fun to make and great presents, too, for other people. Great scrap-busters. Yeah, just awesome project all around. A soft tuque, also known as a beanie, is also pretty simple to sew. You don’t need any special structural stuff, so that’s nice. I think the hardest part is finding a nice sweater knit or fleece to make them with. But there are definitely good ones out there if you look. Teddy fleece would be really adorable. I’ve also seen some people upcycling old sweaters, even felted or shrunk sweaters that aren’t usable as a sweater anymore. You could go to the thrift store and get an old sweater and make a beanie out of that. Lots of options there.

Caroline: Ball caps are always in style. There are some great patterns out there. We already mentioned Cornelius’s free one. I hope we demystified the structure of this one when we talked about brim inserts. Don’t be afraid. You can make a ball cap.

Helen: You can! And I’ve heard that flat caps, also known as newsboy hats, are back in style. I don’t know how I feel about this for myself, personally, but Sam looks so cute in a flat cap, so I would make him one, for sure. And I definitely remember a lot of my friends in high school wearing this style of hat, so, a lot of memories when I see this style. If you’re also into this style, there are some good options for patterns. Elsewhen Millinery on Etsy has one, as well as a captain style hat, which is kind of similar. Those would be fun projects.

Caroline: And finally, rain hats are on the trickier side of hat sewing because you’re dealing with waterproof fabrics and possibly sealing seams. Luckily for you, we have an episode coming up this season that just might help you out with that. And for patterns, check out Green Pepper. They have a bunch of outdoorsy stuff.

Helen: Yeah, including a hat with, like, a brim that goes down your back. I really wanna make that one.

Caroline: Yes.

Helen: So cute. Okay, Caroline. Will you show me your hat first, please? Pretty, pretty, please!

Caroline: Okay. Yay. Okay, wait, I’m gonna send it to you now.

Helen: Okay. Playing now. Ah, you did? Oh my gosh. Oh, it’s so cute. Okay. Tell our listeners about it. It’s so cute!

Caroline: Okay, so this is the Assembly Line Utility Hat. And I have made it in, like, a lighter weight twill. This is my gardening hat ’cause it has a longer brim in the back. So that was kind of my inspiration. Okay, I’ll tell you more…

Helen: Wait. Okay. I’m pausing. I’m pausing. I’m pausing.

Caroline: Okay.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: So I did cheat a little bit and make more than one hat. So I made this gardening hat. It’s green. I managed to find some elastic cord and a little cord stopper, or not cord stopper, cord…I forget what it’s called. But those things that you stick the cord in that help you tighten the cord.

Helen: Oh yeah. Toggle thing?

Caroline: Yeah. And I found one at Dressew that matches the fabric perfectly. So you’ll see in a minute ’cause I’m gonna show you a close-up. But yes, I am so happy with how it turned out. The fit is perfect. And it’s a free pattern, so that’s fun.

Helen: Oh, amazing. I want one. It looks like the perfect gardening hat. Like, a little bit of sun protection in the front, but then the back of the neck is fully covered. Love it.

Caroline: Yes, and I’m really excited about the colour. But I also made a tuque.

Helen: This is so cute.

Caroline: So this is a fleece tuque. I made it in teddy fleece and it has exposed seams and then a really, like, chunky brim. And this is actually not self-drafted by me, but drafted by one of my Birdie team members, Abby. And it’s kind of a dupe of a really cool hat. I know. It’s cute.

Helen: I’m sorry I keep interrupting you because she literally is just, like, this video has, like, what? A thousand hats in it? What happened?

Caroline: I just got really excited about making hats.

Helen: I love it. I’m gonna cop-…can Abby send me this pattern? I want it so bad. I have this exact fabric and I wanna make it. It’s so cute!

Caroline: Yes. I’ll send you the pattern. I have lots of feelings about sewing the teddy fleece. I ended up taking Abby’s pattern and adjusting it a bit for my slightly larger head and changed the brim a little bit from what she had originally drafted. But I can send you the pattern. It’s great. I love it.

Helen: It’s so cute. I love, so it’s like a panel situation and then a roll, kind of like, chunky brim?

Caroline: Yeah, it’s basically just two pieces. So there’s, like, the little triangle shaped panels, four of them, and then there’s, like, a wide brim that you fold up. It’s so fast to sew, but teddy fleece, she’s a pain. I’d never sewn teddy fleece before and…wasn’t my favorite, I’ll tell you that.

Helen: Oh yeah. Chunky. I made that Wildwood Jacket out of this fabric and it’s my favourite jacket, so I’m glad I persevered. I had to just serge all the edges. You just have to serge all the edges and then, and then it’s less of a nightmare.

Caroline: I think, because of the style with the exposed seams, I couldn’t really serge the edges. But anyways, I can talk more about it in a minute. But this one’s also in a chocolate brown, which is gonna go really well with my wardrobe. And then the last one that I made is kind of cheating ’cause it’s not exactly a hat.

Helen: It counts. It’s headwear.

Caroline: It’s a hood. So I made the Merchant and Mills Audrey Hood and it’s one of those really cute, like, hoods with a little tie in the front. And I made this reversible. So I think the pattern itself is reversible, anyway. But I did, like, a plaid cotton on the inside and a cord on the outside and it kind of matches my trench coat that I made last year. So I can pair them together. And it’s just, like, really cute and also such a fast sew. Like, so satisfying and quick to make and really, like, generous fit. So you feel really, like, cozy and protected.

Helen: Yeah, it’s so cozy. It looks like you could flip the brim back, too, if you wanted, like, to expose the lining.

Caroline: Yeah, you could totally flip the brim back. So, yeah, I made three hats. I’m just always trying to overachieve like you, Helen.

Helen: That’s why these episodes are so great. It pushes us out of our comfort zone. And we love accountability. So having a reason to sew something is always really beneficial. They’re so cute. I love them all. Probably the green one’s my favourite. It’s really cute. But they’re all fantastic. That little detachable hood is so freaking cute.

Caroline: It’s cute, right? Shea says I look like, like if I put on sunglasses, I’d look like I was like a celebrity in hiding, you know?

Helen: Yeah, totally. And I could see, like you said, matching your fabric choice to a jacket that you’ve made so that it looks kind of like it could be attached to the jacket, but it’s not. I feel like that’s so chic. It’s so cute.

Caroline: And like, it’s not waterproof. It’s definitely for the vibes, but like, I think it would work…like, often I’m, like, running from my car into the warehouse and I just don’t want my hair to get wet. So like, for those 30 seconds, I think it will totally do the job.

Helen: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Great selections. Okay. I am just playing the details portion of your video where you’re showing off the little toggle. This is so cute. I like that the brim has this cinching effect ’cause I find that hats often kind of pop off my head.

Caroline: Yeah, that was a really great pattern, too. Like, it came together really quickly and I just used medium weight weft interfacing from my store for the brim. And I feel like the structure is really nice. It’s in the lived-in cotton twill as well, so it has, like, a little bit of a washed look to it.

Helen: So cute. I think that hood would make a fantastic present. Like, you would barely need to worry about sizing and you could sew it up quickly.

Caroline: Yes. Yes. And like, you could do it in like a waterproof fabric, even like a little quilted, like some of our quilted waterproof fabrics that we have or water-resistant fabrics, I feel like could be really cute for a hood. You’d kinda have to figure out the construction ’cause I’m like, you don’t want it to be too bulky. But yeah, maybe binding it.

Helen: Yeah. Great selection. They all look really cute together, too. What a vibe.

Caroline: Thank you.

Helen: So cute. Do you have a favourite of the three?

Caroline: Honestly, I like them all ’cause they all kind of serve different purposes. Like, I’m really happy with how the tuque turned out. I really persevered on that one. This is the third tuque I made ’cause the first two failed. So, so I was just, like, trying to make it happen and I just, I’m happy I persevered ’cause it’s so warm and I think it’ll be really great for, like, really cold days or if I go to Montreal. It’s really, really warm around the ears. And I, I think it’s just, like, quite cute.

Helen: Do you make it every time in the same fabric? Like, what happened with the first few?

Caroline: I had two colours of teddy fleece that I brought home. And so, the first two I made in, like, a maroon-coloured teddy fleece. And then I ran out. So I was like, “Okay, I’ll, I’ll move on to the brown,” which I’m glad I did ’cause I like the brown more. And I was kind of saving it. I was like, “I’ll, I’ll save this for my final version.” ‘Cause I kind of imagined it would take a couple iterations.

Helen: Right, to get the fit right. Yeah. It’s hard. It’s a hard thing to, like, muslin in anything else. You kind of just have to go for it with the fabric you’re planning to use.

Caroline: Oh yeah. And, like, sewing teddy fleece, we don’t have to get into it now, but I have thoughts. I have gripes. I have feelings. Yeah.

Helen: Gripes! I love it. Okay, I’ll show you mine and then we can get into all your gripes.

Caroline: Perfect. Ah! Oh my gosh. Wait. It’s so cute. Look at how beautiful it’s finished. Oh, the inside is so gorg. Wait, this is so cute.

Helen: I love it. Okay. So I made the All Caps Cap by Minimalist Machinist…

Caroline: Oh!

Helen: Past guest. And it’s a fantastic pattern. We’ll talk about that later. But it is a five panel camp-style cap with a brim and topstitching and bias bound seams on the inside and all the beautiful details. It’s got so much going on. And, of course, I had to go extra and make it in, like, a bunch of different colours. Not multiple hats. I mean one hat in multiple colours.

Caroline: Yeah, the, like, panels. You can mix different fabrics, which is really cool.

Helen: Yeah. And she did that on a lot of her samples. So I was very inspired by all of the versions that she made with different colours. And yeah, I’m really happy with it. I have never been a hat person because I have a big head and so they just don’t fit me. Every time I try them on, I’m like, “Cute hat.”Try it on. Doesn’t fit.

Caroline: Big head club! Yeah, me, too.

Helen: That’s, like, the story of my life. So I’m just not a hat person ’cause I can’t find hats that fit. And I hadn’t really thought about making one until now, but this has really blown the door wide open because now I don’t need to rely on other people to make hats that fit me. I can make my own hats that fit me and customize them to my giant head. And it’s so fun. It was so cool to, like, go through the process of making it actually fit my head and realizing what I really need in a hat. And I will say that this one’s not perfect. I would love to make another one and tweak a few more things. Especially with the brim, because the brim, I didn’t quite cut it to fit my head right, and so it doesn’t sit straight. You either have to, like, kind of pop it down or kind of pop it up and it, like, kind of snaps down or snaps up at a slight angle and both angles look kind of dumb. So it’s pretty dorky.

Caroline: It’s like it’s, but it’s, I was gonna say it’s, like, dorky in a really cute way.

Helen: Yeah! My friend said it reminds her of the kid from Up.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: With his little hat. And like, especially when it’s pointing up, the brim, it’s really funny. And like, you can do lots of different shapes of brim, which I’d never really thought that much about. But Rachael goes into a ton of detail in this pattern about all the different brim shapes you can choose. And she gives you templates to cut your brim to size if you want more of a, like, shorter, rounded brim or you want a longer brim. I just kind of went with the size that came when I purchased the insert. And yeah, next time I think I would shorten it and cut it to my head shape better so that it just, like the, it’s a little more camp-style vibe. ‘Cause this has, like, it’s like a camp hat with, like, a baseball brim on it.

Caroline: Like you would cut, you can cut the brim at a curve so that when you attach it to the hat…

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: It, like, fits your head shape.

Helen: Exactly. Yeah. And she gives you templates you can trace onto the brim and then just, like, cut it down. It’s not super hard to cut. So yeah, I’m really happy. I’m so glad that I went for it. As soon as we decided we were gonna make hats, I was like, “I wanna make a brim hat, like a baseball hat or a camp hat. Like, I wanna go for it and make, finally make a hat that fits.” Mission accomplished! So fun.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh, yay. Okay. I’m also part of the big head club. Hats never fit me and I always have to buy, like, men’s caps for them to really fit me. But I love the idea of making a brimmed cap. I didn’t do it this time, but now I’m like, ooh, I need to do it soon. It’d be so fun.

Helen: It was really fun and there’s so many patterns out there. I mean, I’ll gush more about this one in a minute, but there are lots of free patterns, like Cornelius’s, or there’s tons for any hat styles, really. There’s lots of free resources out there. So you don’t necessarily have to buy a pattern. But sometimes when you buy the pattern you get a little bit more information, which is always nice.

Caroline: Things I love about your hat: I love the pop of colour on the inside, the way that you bound it. That looks like a really cool construction.

Helen: Oh yeah, I didn’t really describe the colours. I used, like, a forest green and a royal blue and like a wine red for the panels. And then on the inside the binding is, like, a bright like butter yellow…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Which was honestly just ’cause that was the only single fold bias tape I had in my stash. And I was like, “Well, whatever. It’s the first one. It doesn’t need to be perfect.” But it actually looks really cool, so I’m glad I went with that.

Caroline: It looks really fun. Yeah. I love that you added a little label on the back.

Helen: Yes, a little Sarah Hearts tag.

Caroline: It is so cute. I love that it’s kind of like a scrap-busting project, low key. Right? Because you can use whatever you have in your stash. If it’s, like, all the same weight, I feel like that would work.

Helen: Comically, I did use denim again for this project.

Caroline: Yeah. But I feel like a heavy denim versus, like, a bull denim, ’cause it’s bull denim, right? That you used?

Helen: It is bull denim. Yeah. So it’s nine ounces and it was only one layer instead of two like my last hat that I made.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: So I think the one layer makes it better. And I didn’t have to interface because it does have structure already. So that was nice. And I just liked all the colours and I thought it would be cute. So I’m glad I went for the denim in the end.

Caroline: So, question: where did you get your…the back closure is unique. I’ve never, I don’t know where I would even buy that. The little, like, clasp thing and then also the brim. Where did you get these things? Tell me.

Helen: Oh, the snap fastener? I got those supplies from a large online retailer.

Caroline: Okay. Okay. I’m pickin’ that up.

Helen: I got them on Amazon. Yeah. But the thing about buying them on Amazon was that you had to buy a ton of them. I don’t know if there’s a place you could get less of them. Maybe at a fabric store you could get a smaller pack. So I ended up buying, like, 50 of those little clips. But I was “Like, it’s cool. I’ll just give them to my sewing friends and stuff.” Like…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: If someone wants to make a hat, I’ll be like, “I got you. I got multiple brims. I got lots of snaps.”

Caroline: Did you?

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Did you get extra brims, do you have extra brims? ‘Cause I, I might take a brim.

Helen: Yeah. I got extra brims, girl. I’ll give you a little pack.

Caroline: Woo!

Helen: Actually speaking of that, after I made this hat, it really reminded me of my cousin’s partner, Parnian, who’s modeled for us before. She has great style and she loves colour blocking, like, a lot of her clothes are multiple colours. And she sews, as well. And so, for her birthday, I put together a little hat making kit with all the same fabrics I used, ’cause I still had some of those denims left, like scraps. So I cut her enough of the denim to cut out the pieces and I, like, put in the brim and the little clips and the little, like, nylon strapping and the pattern and, like, just packaged it all up and gave it to her as, like, a little sewing kit. And it was so cute.

Caroline: Oh.

Helen: She was so excited.

Caroline: Oh, that’s so fun. Oh, that’s a really great gift idea for a sewist. Make a little custom kit.

Helen: Custom project kit. Yeah, it was really cute. But yes, I have lots of extra materials, so I’m happy to give them away.

Caroline: Can you tell me, you mentioned that you fitted this hat and there’s a lot of kind of, like, style lines to it. So did you muslin it or did you have to do any fitting after the fact, once you, like, did your first try on? Like, what was that process?

Helen: I’m laughing because I did something dumb, which I’m sure a lot of our listeners can relate to. And it was a funny moment. I, like, I did make a muslin. I printed out the largest size ’cause it was, like, just shy of fitting around my head. So I was like, “I think I’ll give this a try and we’ll see.” ‘Cause it is adjustable at the back. But I printed the pattern out at the wrong scale and I didn’t check the box. I didn’t measure the box. Who measures the box?

Caroline: Yeah. Honestly, who does? Not I.

Helen: And it was like, it’s a hat pattern. So it’s like three pages. Like, it wasn’t a big deal. So I made the muslin at like 80% size, and then I put it on my head and it was like this tiny, it was, like, hilarious. Like, as I was sewing it, I was like, “This is not gonna fit me.” I was starting to get mad. I was like, “Oh!”

Caroline: Yeah. The big head trauma came up.

Helen: “Hats never fit me and this hat isn’t designed for big-headed people and oh, I’m gonna have to make so many adjustments.” And I put it on and it’s, like, super tiny. And at that point I was like, “Okay, I feel like something else has happened here because it’s like a child’s hat.” And then I went back and checked the pattern and, sure enough, it printed it to, like, fit to page or whatever. So I had to reprint and make a second muslin. And the second one actually fit around my head. Fit as drafted, as stated in the instructions, the right circumference and all that.

Caroline: That’s so funny.

Helen: So, sorry, Rachael, for getting mad. But yeah, it was pretty funny. And then my second muslin was pretty good, but it was still too shallow, I guess. Like, it wasn’t sitting far enough down on my head to, like, stay on, which is a problem that I find with, especially with these camp-style hats. They, they have a shallower fit, shallower profile, which is really cute and it’s kind of one of the defining characteristics of the style, but it doesn’t work for my head because it literally just feels like I’m, like, I have, like, something balanced on my head. Like, it’s not on there, you know? So I added a couple centimeters to the height of the hat which I thought would be challenging because of all the pieces and how they come together. But it actually wasn’t too bad. I just kind of slashed and spread and it worked out great.

Caroline: Yeah. Awesome.

Helen: Yeah, so I just had to make it a little deeper and then it was perfect.

Caroline: Ooh, okay. I love it. I’m just, like, thinking about all the hats. I’m like, “How soon can I make a brimmed hat? Can I mine some brims and closures from, like, my discarded hats that don’t fit me right?” Maybe…

Helen: Oh, you could, totally. Did you make a muslin for any of your hats?

Caroline: No. So technically, with the, I guess with the tuque, I sort of thought it would be a muslin and it ended up being a muslin. But for the bucket hat, I went in, I was pretty confident. I’d made a bucket hat before. I checked the, like, head circumference. It was pretty spot on and I was like, “This looks like it’s gonna fit. It’ll be fine.” And it did, it’s good. It’s like, maybe it could be, like, a tiny bit bigger. Like, if I were to make it again, I might just add a little bit. But it totally fits.

Helen: Yeah, it looks like it fits really well.

Caroline: And with the hood, I was like, “There’s no way this won’t fit my, my head. It’s such a big hood.”

Helen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Doesn’t need a muslin, for sure. Oh, that’s good. That’s pretty straightforward. Then it was just the teddy fleece that gave you grief. So tell us about that. Tell us your gripes.

Caroline: I mean, okay, so first, with the pattern, like, obviously, this was Abby’s pattern that was fitted to Abby’s head, and she lent me her hat, too, so I tried it on and it fit me and it looked like it was also made out of teddy fleece. So I was pretty overconfident when I went into it. But I think that she used a teddy fleece that was, like, a deadstock that we had. So the stretch was different. So when I made my first version, the fit was just, like, so different and it was so tight. I felt like my brains were gonna come out of my eyeballs. Like when I, when I put it on my head, I was like, “Oh, maybe this will be…” No, it was so tight. It was so tight.

Helen: Oh my gosh, so funny.

Caroline: And then I was having issues with it. I did make some adjustments to the pattern, like I just lengthened the pieces and I lengthened the brim ’cause I wanted to fold it up. Hers didn’t, like, fold up. So I had made some adjustments, but when I put it on, yeah, it wasn’t necessarily the length that was wrong. It was, like, the shape of the panels, because it was a different fabric, didn’t mold to my head the way that her version did. So I had to sort of trim off some of the edges of these little triangle pieces to, like, make it fit my head. But once I made those adjustments, that worked really well. The teddy fleece, it was just, like, one, cutting it was really annoying because my rotary cutter was, like, almost not deep enough to cut through the teddy fleece. So I had to really push hard and, like, paper was getting in the way and it was just, like, really hard to get, like, an accurate cut. And I was also wanting the cut to be really clean and straight because of the exposed seams, right? I didn’t want any jagged edges. I couldn’t just, like, trim off any mistakes. So cutting was annoying and then sewing it, the layers were so thick and not even, like, so squishy. You know, that, like, getting them under my presser foot. Like, I used my walking foot, I lowered my presser foot pressure all the way down. Even my Bernina machine, like, you can lift the foot pretty high but, like, once it was under there, like, it just felt like it was getting so squished that it wouldn’t move through the machine. So I basically had to guide it through the machine. I felt like I was the feed dogs, basically, you know? Like, I had to pull it through as I was sewing. I did lengthen my stitch length. Which I think helped because, yeah, this, like, backstitching, I couldn’t really backstitch ’cause if I would, just, as soon as I would start sewing, it would just be stitching in place, you know? So I had to, like, move it through. And then the thing that I found tough, because of having to move it through the machine, was maintaining, like, an even seam allowance and a smooth stitch line. So I found, because I’m having to pull it through the machine and line up my raw edge, I just ended up with some pretty wonky stitch lines. And there were some parts where, if I got too close to the edge and the underlayer wasn’t, like, perfectly lined up, I wouldn’t get the same amount of seam allowance or it would even, like, eat the bottom layer into the seam. So, like…

Helen: Oh no.

Caroline: It just looked so bad. So what I ended up doing for my final version is I added extra seam allowance. I also made, just made it bigger and I sewed with a wider seam allowance, and then I trimmed. So having that extra seam allowance just, like, helped it to move through the presser foot a little bit better. Like, there wasn’t as much of the possibility of a difference in height of the fabric, you know, like if you’re on the edge and it’s not perfectly lined up. So I just, like, didn’t stress too much about having the seam allowance be, like, perfect and the seam allowance even. And then I just trimmed it down to, like, a narrower steam allowance after sewing it. And yeah, I think it was also just one of those situations where, like, the first one didn’t work and then the second one didn’t work, and I was like, “I need a time out.” So I, like, put it aside. I made my other two hats and then I circled back and I was like, “Deep breath. Let’s try again. Like, what did we learn?”

Helen: Amazing. I’m glad you persevered because it’s really cute. And yeah, it’s interest–it’s good to hear about your experience. I could definitely see all of those issues. I wonder, with the cutting out, like, I’ve had that experience, too, where the fabric’s really, like, puffy, like quilting pre-quilted fabric and stuff, and, like, the pattern piece and the blade, like, separate when you push down with the blade and then the pattern piece gets moved and, like, it’s a whole mess. And at that point you’re just, like, just trace the pattern onto…like, use the chalk to put it on the fabric so that you don’t have to have the paper…

Caroline: Or, like, slowly. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. I, like, I did try cutting it with just scissors. That worked better, but it was kind of hard to get, like, that perfect, smooth, crisp cut line. I also think, like, I was maybe being a little bit lazy trying to cut it on a double layer, like…

Helen: A double layer? Okay. You didn’t tell me about the double layer.

Caroline: Yeah. So I think a single layer would’ve been slightly easier. But still, like, when you press down with your rotary cutter on the paper and the fabric, like, the paper just kind of crinkles under. Yeah. So you’re right. Tracing would’ve been good. But tracing on teddy fleece? I guess…

Helen: On the wrong side. Yeah, on the, if there’s a smooth side, on the smooth side. But yeah, I think the reason why my Wildwood worked out so well was ’cause I, like I said, I serged all the seams, so it got rid of all of the, like, fluff problems. And then Wildwood is all overlapping, so there’s not a ton of like, actual right-sides-together seams. Which, yeah, is annoying. It’s kinda like when you try to sew velvet and the nap of the velvet, like, repels each other and, like, shifts and it just, like, has a mind of its own.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. It is still, this hat still is, like, shedding a little bit. And it’s funny, ’cause I kept having Shea try on my different versions of my hats and his head is shaved, but he’s got, like, a little bit of stubble, so it was like velcro. So he would, like, take off the hat and his head would just be covered in tiny little teddy fleece fluffs and I’d have to, like, lint roll his head, basically, afterwards.

Helen: Oh my gosh.

Caroline: So, not necessarily, like, shaved head friendly.

Helen: I bet it looked really cute on him, though. I could see it.

Caroline: Yeah, it was cute. Yeah.

Helen: Sam really liked my hat, too. And he, he wants one of his own. He’s also in the big head club.

Caroline: Yeah. Big head club.

Helen: Oh my gosh. Okay. When I was sewing my hat, there’s a couple things I wanted to mention. Firstly, I did contrast topstitching, which was a choice on my very first hat.

Caroline: Yeah, because you would have to…wait, ’cause the topstitching is also what’s locking in your binding on the backside, right? So you had to do the topstitching from the backside. Like, did you do it from the right side or did you topstitch with the binding up? And then just hope that it looks straight on the right side?

Helen: No, I did it…I’m trying to remember, ’cause it was like a month ago I made the hat. I did it from the wrong side. Basically, it’s single fold bias tape that you, like, you, you sew the seam, you trim it down nice and tight, and then you lay single fold bias tape over the seam to kind of just, like, cover it up and then you stitch on either side. And that stitching does not have to be contrast. And if I could go back and give myself beginner advice, I would say, “Don’t do contrasting topstitching on your first hat.”

Caroline: It’s like blind topstitching. It’s like topstitching roulette. Like, what?

Helen: Basically, yeah. And so I didn’t use, I didn’t use topstitching thread because that often doesn’t work well in the bobbin. So it’s a, it’s just a contrast regular thread in the bobbin that is giving it the copper topstitching look. But yeah, it’s wonky on the right side ’cause, of course, I can’t see exactly what I’m doing. The bias binding is covering the seam, so you can’t see where the seam line is, exactly. So it’s far from perfect, but from a distance, on top of a head you wouldn’t notice. So it still looks really nice and the contrast topstitching on the brim looks really good. But again, tricky to go around those curves nice and even and, like, get them looking really good. So I would probably go regular matching topstitching for my first hat. But the bias binding finish was really fun and, like, I was a little bit apprehensive about, “Oh, this is gonna be hard with the curved hat.” Like, you’re kind of tucking it under your machine. It’s like a bowl shape, and you have to tuck it under and do bias binding. So it’s awkward, but it’s also really small and the seams are short. So you get through it pretty quickly and it coming together is so satisfying. So I actually enjoyed the binding part of it and, like, sewing the little rainbow shape opening at the back and, like, sticking in the nylon, strapping, the webbing, and, like, the little clip and stuff. Like, all the details were really fun on this project.

Caroline: Yeah, I do love a small project. Like, it’s kind of like the same thing with bags and kids’ clothes. And it’s not as daunting ’cause the seam that you’re sewing is shorter. You know, the pieces are smaller and it just comes together quicker.

Helen: It does. And if you mess it up, it’s not, like, a ton of investment of fabric. And you can still reuse your other supplies. So you can try again, which is nice. I mean, you had that experience with your teddy fleece. Just keep giving it a go. But yeah, I enjoyed the process and the brim. I had never sewn with a brim before and I was very skeptical about sewing through it. I was like, oh, I’m ready to break some needles, here. ‘Cause it feels like plastic. I don’t know exactly what the one I bought is made out of but it’s kind of a soft feeling plastic. And I just put in a heavy duty needle and it went right through.

Caroline: It just went through, hey? Wow. Is unpicking, like, if you had to unpick on there, would it leave holes?

Helen: I mean, it would leave holes in the brim, but you, you wouldn’t see them ’cause it’s covered in fabric. So you can…

Caroline: So the fabric would probably still be fine.

Helen: Yeah, I would, you could probably kind of rub it and it would disappear. Yeah. I think you could probably unpick it. And, like, the brim is a little bit tricky. After you stick the insert in, top stitch it, then you have to, like, sew it closed along the edge. And so you, like, put in your zipper foot and you put your needle all the way to the side and then you, you sew right along the edge of the brim, like, not catching the brim. But you want the tension there. You don’t want your brim, like, loose in the enclosure. So it has to be, like, tight, tight, tight. So that was tricky. And then the hardest part was sewing the brim onto the hat ’cause it’s like a hard, flat piece of plastic wrapped in fabric being sewn onto a round bowl shape. So, like, getting it under your machine and getting an even seam allowance, like, that was, I was like, you know those moments where your, your fingers are, like, millimeters from your needle, your face is, like, inches from your foot, and you’re like, you’re in it.

Caroline: You’re like, “Please, please, please, please, please work. Please work. Please work.”

Helen: Yeah. And it’s a short seam, but it’s, like, the most stressful experience of your life.

Caroline: Did you use clips or did you pin it? How did you attach, like, pre-sewing? How did you…

Helen: Yeah, I did use clips. And then, there, it was a bit wonky and I had to go back and, like, fix a couple areas to get it, to get it right. But yeah, that was the hardest part. And then you sew on the little, like, brim piece that kind of touches your face. Like, the inside of the hat has, like, a facing that touches your head.

Caroline: That’s the last thing you do?

Helen: Yeah, the last thing is a bit challenging. But like I said, I loved the pattern. This pattern is so good. It’s a pay-what-you-can pattern, too, which is awesome. And it has so much information in it, like so many different ways that you can finish the hat. There’s, like, all this information about the different materials that you need, different, like, styles that you can do for the back closure, different brim sizes. It’s, like, kids, youth and adults. It has all these different options. Highly recommend if you’re interested in making this style of hat, just ’cause it was perfect for me, having never made one before. I just read the whole instruction booklet and I was like, “Oh, this just, like, a font of information.” Incredible.

Caroline: Yeah. Oh, I’m, I’m looking at the examples on Rachael’s website and they’re very cool. I love, there’s, like, a cord version.

Helen: Yeah. So cute.

Caroline: Yeah. The way that you can mix colours or you just go simple, all the same colour, but those style lines really elevate it. You know, all that shaping is really cool.

Helen: Definitely. Yeah. Yeah, it’s a great pattern. I really liked it.

Caroline: Cute.

Helen: I’m just looking at my notes if there was anything else I wanted to say. Oh, don’t burn your fingers.

Caroline: Oh, okay.

Helen: ‘Cause I was using my tailor’s ham and my iron to, like, press all the rounded seams and it’s just, like, holding small pieces and holding a tailor’s ham and holding an iron…just be careful.

Caroline: You don’t have those little finger protectors?

Helen: I don’t. I should get some, but then I don’t know if I would wear them, honestly.

Caroline: I have a set of them for when I’m in that exact situation where it’s like, you just have to get in there with your fingers to get things to sit right. And the steam. And it’s like, usually once, I’ll, like, burn myself once and I’ll be like, “Ah, okay, go get the things.” But it’s like when a dog is wearing, like, socks, you know? Or like little booties. Like, it feels, you feel like you have two left hands. And then my fingers get really sweaty. So it’s, like, kind of an uncomfortable experience but I think it’s worth it to not just burn all of the tips of my fingers off. There’s, like, a special kind of hell with, like, steam burns, too. Like when you get…

Helen: So painful.

Caroline: Oh gosh. Yeah. So I would recommend those little finger sleeve things.

Helen: It probably would be good to have that. Yeah.

Caroline: Yeah. Sewing hats was really fun. I loved this project that we got to do, uh, for the pod, and I found it really satisfying. Like I said, my favourite thing is, like, a quick project, a quick win. And yeah, there is something to be said about being able to fit something to your head. You know, we haven’t really talked a lot about size inclusivity as far as heads go. But all heads are beautiful.

Helen: Even if hat patterns are often, like, not, like I made the largest size of this hat. I’m sure there’s people out there with bigger heads than me. But, but you can adjust the size. It’s, it’s not super hard to make it bigger if you need to. So, yeah, highly recommend making a hat. So much fun. Real good palate cleanser project. Real good scrap buster. It’s got it all, really, you know?

Caroline: Yeah, it really does. Alright, well we wanna hear what you’ve got to say about sewing hats. Tell us about your favourite hat making tips and resources. Tag us in your me-made hat posts on Instagram. We’ve got a love-hat relationship.

Helen: Nice one. My hat goes off to…no.

Caroline: Yeah, my hat goes out to you.

Helen: I really do wanna see everyone’s hats, though. And I’m so curious to know how big hat making is. Like are, are there people out there that just only make hats? I wanna hear from you. Tell me about it.

Caroline: Yeah, yeah. And go check out our socials this week. We’ll be, obviously, revealing our hats on there, so you gotta get the visual to go along with this episode.

Helen: Totally. That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me, Helen, at Helen’s Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co. and Caroline at Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Caroline: You can support Love to Sew and get access to bonus content by subscribing on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. You even get access to the back catalog of bonus episodes. That’s over 75 hours of Love to Sew. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew or check out our podcast page on Apple Podcasts for more info.

Helen: Head to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures of our hats from this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, leave us a message at 1-844-SEW-WHAT. That’s 1-844-739-9428. Or send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.

Caroline: Thank you to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant and Jordan Moore of The Pod Cabin is our editor. And thank you all for listening. We’re gonna talk to you next week.

Helen: Bye bye.

Caroline: Bye.

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