How to make a bunny hat

This is my first sewing tutorial and it’s a looooong one.  Sorry.  I may go a bit over the top with detail, but I’m sure it’s better I do it this way, than put up some quickie instruction sheet that leaves you scratching your head and cursing my name.  But, on the plus side, it is totally worth it.  Please, PLEASE make sure that you read these boring instructions in their entirety before you begin, and then again before you undertake each step.

This hat fits a baby with a 42 - 44cm (16.5 – 17.5 inch) head.  My little model is four months old in this picture, but I have it on good authority that she has a big head for her age.   There's plenty of growing room left in this hat for her big head, and I would say this hat could fit a baby anywhere from four to twelve months of age depending on how petite your child is.  Which mine is not.

You will need:

40cm x 50cm fur fabric
40cm x 40cm jersey fabric for lining
Scrap of whatever fabric you desire for inner ear (I used some towelling scrap I had)
Ribbed knit fabric 45 cm long (inc. 1cm seam allowance) x 6cm wide
80cm of 20mm wide taffeta or double satin ribbon

Important note!  These pieces do not include seam allowances – they need to be added by you!  The reason for this is because I couldn’t fit the pattern pieces on an A4 sheet of paper if I included them.  Don’t forget to transfer your notches to the seam allowances and include them when cutting!!

 

1.    Firstly print off the pattern sheets above (click on pictures to see full size images, then right click and save as a file, then print it).  Trace all pieces onto tracing paper or sew-on Vilene, leaving space between the pieces so that you can draw your seam allowances.  Once you have drawn them, add a 1.5cm (5/8 in) seam allowance on all sides.  

2.   From your  fur fabric,  you will need to cut one centre piece, two side pieces and two ears. (Note:  Cutting two pieces by placing the pattern piece on a folded piece of fabric and cutting through both layers is hard with fur fabric.  I cut each piece out separately, but be sure to flip your pattern piece over before you cut your second piece.  Your pieces should be mirror images of each other).  Take note of the fur fabric's nap when cutting.  Now, cut two more (mirror image) ear pieces from the fabric you have chosen for the inner ear.  Finally, from your lining fabric, cut one centre and two side pieces from your lining fabric.

Yay, that boring old prep stuff is finished.  If you have managed to stay with me up to this point, good for you!  It gets a lot easier and more fun from here!  Let’s sew!

(This hat is lined so don’t worry about finishing your seam allowances – no-one will know.)

3.    Pin one fur ear piece and the matching inner ear piece right sides together and sew around the curved edge on your 1.5cm allowance.  Trim and clip the seam allowance and turn ear piece right side out.  Stick the wrong end of a pencil in there and smooth it gently along the seam, just to make sure it’s all turned out nicely.  Make the other ear in the same way.  Now, make the tuck in the ear and stitch (the open end of your ears won’t be even and have a sharp angle, like this).

 

4.   Now, this is where my pattern making skills fail me.  Sorry.  You’ll note that your ears have a long and short side.  Fur side up, place the ears short side behind the notch at the top of the head, making sure the short side of the ears meets with the edge of the side piece you are pinning it too.  There will be quite a lot of overhang happening on the other side.  It will look something like this:

Place the side pieces with pinned ears on a flat surface in front of you so you can check that the angles of your ears match.  When you are happy with the way they sit (pointing on an angle downwards and towards the front),  you can hand or machine baste them on. 

That ear overhang is just annoying, so trim it in line with your side piece so that everything is nice and neat.

5.    Next, join the side pieces to the centre pieces, matching notches and taking note of where the front and back of the centre piece is.  The narrower end of the centre piece is the back, the wider end is the front.  Trim and clip seams where necessary.

 

6.    Construct lining in the same way (without the ears, of course).

7.    Place your lining inside the outer shell, wrong sides together and baste around the edges, matching seams and notches.  Take your ribbon and cut it in half and baste pieces to the hat, like this-

 

 

Coil and pin the ribbon on top of the hat, so you don’t accidentally catch it when you attach the rib knit binding.

8.    In this step, you are forming a seam binding out of your rib knit.  Fold your rib knit binding in half, lengthwise and press.  Open it out again to reveal the centre crease you pressed in, and fold each of the long edges in to centre, and press again, so that now your rib knit is evenly divided into four along its length.   Now, fold your rib knit widthways, and sew (1 cm allowance) to form a loop.  Press this seam open.

 Also, press in a crease at the direct opposite end of the seam you just made, and mark with a pin.

9.   Next, you’ll be pinning one long edge of the binding evenly around the outside edge of the hat, stretching slightly as you go so that it fits.  (Grrrrrrrr, I forgot to take a picture of this step - SORRY!)  Start by pinning the seam of your rib knit loop at the back notch, placing the band over and around the hat and placing the opposite end of the rib knit that you marked with a pin at the front notch (making sure there are no twists in your loop) and pin it around the hat.   Once you are happy with how your rib band’s edge is stretched around your hat, sew it on along the lengthways crease you made closest to this edge (which is a seam allowance of about 1.5cm).  Fold the other edge of the binding to inside, so that the centre lengthways crease sits on the edge of the hat, and then fold along that last crease and turn binding in so that it is tucked nice and neat.  Pin through all layers, then hand baste close to edge if you like (I do this to give myself a guide to stitch along; binding attachment is not my forte, I tend to drift off of the binding and onto the main fabric).

Again, when you are happy with how it looks, stitch it on.  

Yay, you’re done!

Now just tidy it up; unpin your ribbons, cut their ends on a slant, remove any visible hand-basting and comb out any fur that may have got caught in the seams.  To stop the lining from flopping about too much, just pop a couple of stitches on the inside through the lining along the seams near the ears, to attach it to the outer shell.

Again, I apologise for the long, boring instructions, especially the binding bit. I know.  That really sucks.  Many of you seasoned sewers will be able to whip through it in half an hour, but I wanted to include as much detail as I could for those of you who are not confident sewers, because this is a great little project for a beginner to try.  Thankfully, fur fabric hides a multitude of sins.   Just remember to take your time when putting the pieces together correctly, and again when attaching the binding.  And if I HAVE missed something out, please let me know.  

Some people have expressed that it’s a shame that their child, grandchild, friend’s baby, etc. is a boy and won’t be able to wear such a girly hat.  Don’t discount it as a girl’s only hat!  I think it would look rather snazzy for a boy made up in grey fur fabric and black ribbon ties.  And remember, it’s for a little baby – they won’t care.

And just finally, as with anything else, when you put your adorable baby in his or her new hat, keep an eye on bubs while they’re wearing it, just in case it falls backwards off their head and strangles them.  Sophie May likes to thrash her head about, especially when her brother is in the room and she can hear him (he can be a very, um, interesting boy), and ends up with her hat all wacky.  She also likes to suck on the ribbon ties and I can see those bits going down her gullet spaghetti-style if I’m not keeping watch.  If you have a hungry, inquisitive baby like mine, you might like to keep watch too.  But that won’t be hard when they look this cute.

Nawwwwwwww.