You will need: Two pieces of fleece, the piece for the main body of the hat (shown here as dark green) 21 inches long by 8 inches wide. The piece for the band or lining of the hat (shown here in gray) 21 inches long by 3 inches wide.
*Click on any of the images to make them bigger.*
*Fleece has some stretch to the fabric, Make sure the you cut out the fabric with the most stretch running the length of the hat, that way it will stretch to fit around the head.
Step 1. Place the lining piece (gray) on top of the main hat piece (green) and sew along the edge, about 1/4 of an inch from the edge.
*Remember the fleece is stretchy, and the top (gray) piece may be pulled through by the machine faster or slower than the bottom (green) piece, so take your time and make sure the two piece are matching up as you finish the seam. To help the ends match you can ease the fabrics by stretching one or the other and use the elasticity to your advantage or for certain matching- use pins to hold the fleece in place as you sew the seam.
Step 2. Now fold the hat in half length-wise, right sides together, matching the seams where the lining band meets the main hat fabric (green). Open up the green/gray seam flat so that the existing seam will be nice and flat, fewer layers to sew over. Sew along the entire edge, about 1/4 of an inch from the edge. This will be the seam on the very back of the hat.
*Don't worry if the tricky seam you sew over during this step ends up with the inside folded this-way-and-that, it will be inside and never visible.
Step 3. Stand the hat on end, you are looking at what will be the top of the hat. Fold the top edges to form four equal parts.
Step 4. Take 3 of the parts and hold them together and out of the way. They can be pinned together to keep them neatly folded and out of the way. The hat is still inside out, right sides should be together.
Step 5. Measure 4 inches down from the top on the outside edge of the hat, mark with a piece of chalk or a pencil. Mark the center of the hat, 1/4 of an inch from the top (a seams width) with chalk or a pencil. Chalk or pencil in a slightly curved line between these two points. Sew along this line, and repeat for each of the four sections, holding the other three sections stacked up and out of the way while each one is being sewn.
The hat should now look like this when all four sections have been sewn together.
Step 6. Trim off the excess fleece from the seams you have just sewn. When you trim, leave at least 1/4 of an inch of extra fabric between your scissors and the seam you have just sewn.
Turn the hat right side out and the top of the hat should look like this, nicely curved to fit someone's head.
Step 7. Fold the gray lining up into the inside of the hat, leaving about 1/4 of an inch of gray visible from the outside and creating a second layer of fleece on the inside of the hat, and across the forehead. Pin the two layers of fabric together and the inside layer in place.
Step 8. Starting in the back, sew through both layers, 2 inches in from the bottom edge of the hat, all the way around.
*You can sew right over the pins- it's not very often the needle hits the pins. I like to remove the pins just before I'm about to sew over them, pins often bend when sewn over and on the off chance you hit a pin straight on with your needle, the needle will likely break. Removing pins before they are sewn over is a good habit to get into.
The inside of your hat should look like this. You can choose to trim the lining closer to the seam you've just sewn or leave the excess (gray) lining to leave the hat a bit thicker and warmer.
Turn the hat right-side out and put it on- just leave it plain or jazz it up with a flower.
*The great thing about working with fleece is that unfinished edges can be left unfinished, they will never fray or unravel.
For instructions on how to make the flower, follow me...
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