Vet2Be is welding again. He decided he needed a welding cap. They are kinda soft, backwards ball caps. The bill is worn to protect the back of the neck and they are made out of cotton so they don't burn easily.
They are supposed to be made out of 'unique' fabrics, because welders are very proud of their welding caps!
Taco, Vet2Be's good friend, is a welder, too. His mom, Sheepy, made him a cap and tried to use the pattern I used, but it was very difficult to follow. This tutorial is for her!
Ricochet and Away has a post about a
welder's hat. The pattern I used can be found
here. The instructions are found
here.
All the photos in the following tutorial are mine. I did make two small adjustments so the cap would fit Vet2Be's head better. I'll note them in the tutorial.
You'll need either 1/2 yard of fabric OR two 1/4 yard pieces to make a reversible cap. I used some of Vet2Be's favorites.
You'll also need thread (duh!) and a small piece of flannel or thin batting for the bill. I used flannel because it provides a little bit of weight without too much bulk.
Print the pattern out so that the pattern is the correct size. You can either use your printer's scale function or you can re-size the pattern in a drawing program.
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| Fabric A: (Clockwise from left) cut one strip for the band that is the same as the head measurement plus 1/2" x 1 1/2" wide. The pattern says 2" wide, but 1 1/2" fit Vet2Be's head much better. Cut four Front/Back pieces, one bill, two Side pieces. |
|
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| Fabric B: (Clockwise from left) cut one strip for the
band that is the same as the head measurement plus 1/2" x 1 1/2" wide.
Cut
four Front/Back pieces. One bill from Fabric B and one bill from flannel or thin batting. Two Side pieces. |
Sewing Directions
Bill
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| Place the bill pieces right sides together with the flannel on the top. Sew around the longer curved edge using a 1/4" seam. |
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| Trim the flannel (or thin batting) close to the seam allowance to reduce bulk. |
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| Turn right side out, press. Trim the raw edges of the bill so that they are even. |
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| Pin around the edge of the bill as shown to keep the fabric from shifting while you are top stitching. |
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| Top stitch close to the finished edge, then add as many top stitching lines as you like. Mine are about 1" apart. |
Crown
Step 1
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| Stitch Fabric A side pieces together, right sides together, along the top (short) seam. Repeat for Fabric B. Press the seam open |
Step 2
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| Stitch a pair of Fabric A Front/Back sections, right sides together, from the bottom to the dot. Back stitch at the dot. Repeat with the other pair of Fabric A Front/Back sections and both Fabric B Front/Back sections. |
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| Press the seams open. I shouldn't have placed my pieces so close together! The photo really shows four different sections if you look closely. |
Step 3
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| Place the Fabric A and Fabric B Side pieces wrong sides together and pin or secure so they don't shift while sewing. |
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Sandwich the Side (one A fabric and one B fabric) pieces (wrong sides together) with two of the Front/Back pieces (right sides together) matching the bottom of the crown and the end of the stitching (dot) with the stitching line on the Side piece. Wrong sides of Front/Back pieces face out, wrong sides of Side pieces face in.
Sew from bottom of crown to dot through all four layers. |
Step 4
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| Stitch the other side seam in the same manner. |
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| Pull the Side section out from the Front/Back section and the seams should all be hidden. Press to set the seams. |
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| Repeat Step 3 with the other two Front/Back sections. |
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| The seam allowances will be encased in the crown of the cap. I trimmed about 1/4" along the bottom of the crown so that it would be even. It also made the cap fit Vet2Be better. I think his head is a little shorter over the top than the pattern allows for. |
Band
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| Sew the short ends of Fabric A band, and Fabric B band. Press open. |
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| Match the center of the bill with the seam of the band. Sandwich the bill between the two bands, matching the fabrics. Using 1/4" seam, sew the long edge in a complete circle. Pull out the bill and press. Press one of the fabrics under 1/4" along the raw edge. (The pressed line will help when you hand stitch the last seam to the crown.) |
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| Match the seam of the band to the seam where two Front/Back pieces come together. Do not place the bill along one of the Side pieces! The cap won't fit correctly! The Side pieces need to be on the side of the head. Sew one raw edge of the band (not the side with the pressed edge) to the crown. Align the pressed raw edge of the band with the seam, covering the seam on the crown. Hand stitch or top stitch the band in place. |
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| Fabric B on the outside. |
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| Fabric A on the outside. |
If there is a step that is unclear, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to clarify it.
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10 comments:
Sandwich the Side pieces (wrong sides together) with two of the Front/Back pieces (right sides together) matching the bottom of the crown and the end of the stitching (dot) with the stitching line on the Side piece. Wrong sides of Front/Back pieces face out, wrong sides of Side pieces face in.
Sew from bottom of crown to dot through all four layers.
First you say front and back pieces right sides together and then you say front and back pieces wrong sides together....this step is kinda confusing...and you say take two front/back pieces and sandwich them together, should they be both fabric a or should it be one fabric and one fabric b? Thank you for the pictures though, you're the only one I could find that had pictures with it.
I think you mis-read it. It says:
Wrong sides of Front/Back pieces face out, wrong sides of Side pieces face in.
One of the Front/Back pieces will be Fabric A, one will be Fabric B.
The Front/Back pieces are sewn right sides together with the side pieces (one fabric A and one Fabric B) between the two Front/Back pieces. The side pieces are placed wrong sides together in between the Front/Back pieces, which are placed right sides together. Match the fabrics (Fabric A to fabric A, and fabric B to fabric B)
Looking at the stack in the picture (photo right before step 4) it is
Fabric A Front/Back right side towards the ceiling,
fabric A Side piece wrong side towards the ceiling,
fabric B Side piece right side towards the ceiling,
fabric B Front/Back wrong side towards the ceiling.
Another way to think of it: put the purple fabrics (Side piece and Front/Back piece) right sides together. Then put the blue fabrics (Side piece and Front/Back piece) right sides together. Then stack the two sets of fabrics with the WRONG sides of the Side pieces together.
Yes, it's kinda confusing and that's why I did the photos. It was so confusing in the original written directions (no photos!) that I had to read through it quite a few times and figure out what she meant. I found a few other blogs that had tried the pattern but gave up and made two separate hats, then sewed them together.
This is a great pattern and I really wanted people to be able to use it according to the pattern. It's an ingenious way to make a reversible cap without the two fabrics shifting.
Thank you so much!!!! I am new to sewing, so some of the descriptions i read from the original pattern were just hard to follow. The first hat I made I had to do two separate hats and sew them together but I really wanted to try it this way. You have made it much easier to understand for this newbie. Thank you
I'm glad you stopped by and asked :) If you have any more trouble, I'll be happy to help if I can.
I'm wondering if you have any pointers for me. I can't get the top of the welding beanie to line up exactly right. Seems like I've always got a hole in there and the stitching isn't matching up exactly. Not really sure what I'm doing wrong.
I'm not sure I can help you without sitting by your side. I can tell you that it's tricky to get that part to line up correctly. On the first one I made I had to hand stitch a small hole on the top closed. I think the more you make, the better you get at making everything line up correctly. I use alot of pins, too! And I take my time lining everything up and then pinning.
I found your tutorial thru a Google search. I just wanted to send a big thank you for providing a great pattern. I especially love that it can be adjusted to fit perfectly. I made one for my cousin and he keeps telling me how much he loves his cap! I did have a hard time with the assembly, but you clarified it better for me in the comments section. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this tutorial! Putting the sides together with the front sections were confusing at first but it really helped with your instructions! My husband loves his hat. He also likes the thinner band! I will be making a couple more soon!
I've made quite a few of these welding beanies and I just can't seem to get the seams to line up right at the top of the hat. Are there any other tips you can give me?
Accurate cutting and seam allowances. Try using a pencil to draw in the seam allowance, match up the seam allowances on the pieces, pin like a crazy person, then sew along the drawn seam allowance.
I'm not sure if that will help since I can't see you sew and I don't have photos to go by.
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