I think being pregnant with a little boy is making me a little crazy. Since my current youngest is a girl (Chloe, now 3), I have gotten my fill of girly, frilly, and pink! So now, I have this absurd craving to make this little guy a whole lot of everything boy-ish. I know I’ll never have the time……but I keep jotting down this idea and that one and how I should tweak this project and that one, making my list really long. It’s a problem! ;) But it’s kind of a fun problem because it’s my way to kill the time before meeting him. So, it’s therapeutic in a way. Yeah, I’m gonna call all of this craziness therapeutic. (Go with it…)
The other week, I mentioned that Pick Your Plum had some knit fabric on sale, for crazy cheap……so I bought a bunch. (I just checked…..and yeah, the fabric is gone. But they of course of like 8 other really good deals going on today. Careful……you’ll get sucked in. I always do!!)
Anyway, my striped knit fabric arrived in the mail a few days ago and I couldn’t wait to start cutting into it. So I made a quick little something that I use for all my babies when they’re brand new. Little stretchy Knit Hats.
So striped knit, thank you for arriving and helping to check an item off my “To-Make-For-Baby-Boy” list!
Those knots on top? Yeah, they help give the hat some dimension…..but also, they are so darn cute!
Also, the seams are hidden under the flap, so the inside stays nice and smooth. Nothing to irritate baby skin!
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, I like putting a hat on my brand new baby because even the AC or a ceiling fan in the summer can seem a little chilly to that brand new baby skin. And my babies never come out with a full head of hair either, so a little coverage is just what they need.
If you don’t have a baby of your own, there’s nothing cuter than making a gift for a friend/daughter/neighbor who’s having a baby. And these hat are a really quick project. Match them with a few homemade receiving blankets or an outfit from the store……and your gift is all set!
And yeah, I made these for my little guy but they would be just as cute on a little girl. Go on, throw a flower on there if you’d like! :)
Ready to make some Baby Hats?
Okay, let’s get started…
**The hat instructions and template below is sized to fit about 0-3 months, not newborn. My babies never come out newborn size, so I made this a little larger. However, if you’d really like a smaller hat, you’ll have to scale down the pattern piece just a bit.
Supplies:
For the majority of this tutorial, we will be putting the hats together the same way as these Knit Baby Hats. So refer to that tutorial as needed.
Use the pattern piece in the supply list above to cut 2 hat shapes from your knit fabric. BE SURE that the stretch of your knit is going right to left, so that the hat will stretch around the head. Also, cut a rectangle piece that is 15 1/2 inches wide and 5 1/2 inches tall. Again, the stretch needs to go right to left.
Place your two hat pieces together, with right sides together (matching up your knits if needed) and sew all the way around the sides and top, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
With the other knit hat tutorial listed above, I serged the edges but this time, I want to show you that a serger isn’t always necessary. So, you can either sew a zig zag stitch all the way around or just sew another simple stitch around the sides and top, right next to the first seam. (Knit doesn’t fray so a zig-zag stitch isn’t necessary.)
Then, turn your hat right side out and press flat with steam. Then, sew the band piece together and fold in half and press, just like the other hat tutorial listed above.
Now, the other hat tutorial, I sewed the band to the “right” side of the hat fabric. This time, I realized we could hide the seam a little better if you attach the band to the “wrong” side of the hat fabric. So, turn the hat inside out (no need to poke the top of the hat back out, since you just ironed it flat) and then line up the raw edges of the folded band to the bottom raw edge of the hat. Pin in place. Just be sure that the hat is INSIDE OUT.
Then, sew all the way around the bottom edge of the hat with a zig-zag stitch, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Just BE SURE that you’re using a zig-zag stitch so that the hat opening can stretch. A straight seam will prohibit this.
Next, turn the hat right side out again and steam the newly attached band flat (right where you attached with the zig-zag stitch) and then fold the flap up 1 to 1 1/2 inches and press flat.
To secure the band in place, stitch to the hat, at both side seams, just like the hat tutorial above.
See? Now you seams are hidden under that band. Sneaky!
And finally, tie that little piece of fabric into a knot on the top. You can adjust the size of the hat just a bit by tying more or less of the fabric into the knot.
And that’s it. Now, make a few more!!!
Enjoy!
-Ashley
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Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
