hats – THORNBERRY

crochet, hats, sewing

Braddon and a slouchy beanie

Back in early March I came across a call for crochet pattern testers. I’ve tested for Deanne Ramsay of Addydae Designs before, and know that they’re always well-written patterns in designs that I appreciate. This one would involve a new skill – crochet brioche! And it was for a hat, so wouldn’t be a huge time commitment. Off I went to Woolarium (yes, this was before the stay-at-home directives) and bought a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn. I think that the colour was called terracotta. And off I went, crocheting up the Braddon.

It starts off ruffly, but that’s the crown shaping. As the beanie gets larger the overall shape changes. And at the brim you get to the fun bit – the crochet brioche. I had some white 4ply wool in stash (I think it might have been my grandmother’s) that provided a perfect contrast.

If you look closely you can see my efforts are far from perfect – the white lines are not all the same length – but I’m pretty happy with it for a first try! This is a pattern where you really do need to use your stitch markers and make sure that you place them accurately each round. And the finished Braddon hat?

And on my little head (I crocheted the size small):

I really, really like this hat! I don’t think that beanies/slouch hats are necessarily the ‘best look’ on me, but I don’t really care – they so effective at keeping me warm when it’s chilly outside, and add a pop of colour and interest.

I also sewed up a slouchy beanie, from some soft ponte scraps. I used a free pattern from Patterns for Pirates. I have to say that this was SUPER fast to make! I constructed it all on the overlocker, and reckon that it took me less than half an hour to locate and print the pattern, cut it out, and sew it up.

These would be terrific quick gifts to sew. As always, fabric choice makes a difference – you need something stretchy and soft. These scraps were perfect! It doesn’t take much fabric at all. Once again, I doubt that this is my ‘best look’ but gee it’s great to have a slouchy beanie handy when it’s cold outside.

Saturday, 30 May, 2020 by thornberry

hats, sewing

A Flat Cap for summer

My dad will be 92 in March. Yes, you read correctly. And we’re all lucky – other than hearing loss and some comparatively minor age-related issues, he’s in pretty good shape. Dad still mows the lawns (not in the summer heat) and does basic garden maintenance. He’s only recently handed in his driver’s license, and he spends his days alternating between pottering with wood in one of his workshops, reading the paper, having a nap, and reading books. When I think of my dad, I think of a man with a hat. In summer it’s usually a brimmed hat; in winter it’s a flat cap. Each time a birthday or Christmas rolls around, I wonder what to give dad – after all, what would a man of that age like? He’s not a drinker and doesn’t have an interest in sports. So how about another hat?

I figured that this time I’d sew a flat cap in summer-weight fabrics. The main fabric is textured cotton/linen from The Cloth Shop. I lined it with quilting cotton (sorry, no photograph of that).

I’ve now sewn The Flat Cap pattern by Nicole Mallalieu of You Sew Girl four times. It’s an excellent pattern. The instructions are great, everything fits together beautifully. You really can tell that the pattern has been designed by a professional with loads of hat making experience.

I did a little trawl through the archives and found the other caps. One in wool, one in denim, and one in leather. My dad is a small bloke, with a small head. His cap is size Small, and as it happens it fits me too.

Not sure that I can carry it off with the same aplomb as dad! Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have recently seen a photo of my broken handled pinking shears. It was trimming back the seam allowances on this cap – through a section with about six layers of fabric plus template plastic – that resulted in that sad occurrence. However, I had no issues trimming the rest of it back with sharper scissors from then on. Moral of the story – make sure that your pinking shears are sharp, and don’t try to cut six layers at a time.

Actually, one of dad’s favourite things to do is to see and spend time with his granddaughters. My two are the only grandkids, and dad never thought that he’d be around long enough to see grandkids at all, let alone see them get to this age. We’re pretty blessed.

Tuesday, 1 January, 2019 by thornberry